It’s true that I didn’t love Guatemala like so many travelers I know—but that doesn’t mean there weren’t parts I didn’t find delightfully charming. The ancient colonial city of Antigua, for example, was lovely in its cobblestone ways and crumbling facades. Sadly, throughout the duration of our three weeks in Central America in 2008, we [...]
Talking Turkey in Holland
November 22, 2010 By 15 Comments
This column appeared in yesterday’s travel section of the San Francisco Chronicle. “What kind of turkey?” the butcher at the pouliere, the Dutch version of a poultry shop, inquired. “Uh, there are different kinds? Just a regular ol’ turkey,” I said, miffed that there existed an entire avian world of which I clearly knew nothing. “What [...]
A California Escape Fit for a King
November 10, 2010 By 19 Comments
Many of you asked in my poll awhile back what sort of projects I’m working on these days. It’s not that I mind talking about them—that’s not it at all–it’s just that I don’t find the work part of my job all that interesting. It’s just a job, you know? It’s a lot of days [...]
A Room with a View
November 1, 2010 By 27 Comments
Following our heavenly days on Mataking Island, the last stop on the Malaysian leg of our trip through Borneo was to Mabul Water Bungalows (a part of SMART, a bigger resort that also boasts accommodation on “mainland” Mabul). We knew from the get-go that we wanted some sort of over-the-water bungalow experience during our honeymoon—hence, [...]
That Time a Triggerfish Mistook My Leg for Lunch
October 20, 2010 By 28 Comments
Early on in my scuba days Until recently, I was most afraid of a shark taking a chunk out of my arm while splashing around haphazardly underwater. Little did I know, it’s the small guys you need to watch out for. Borneo is most visited by divers as its east coast entities in the Celebes [...]
Borneo’s Turtletopia
October 18, 2010 By 20 Comments
The single best thing about staying on Mataking Island during our honeymoon was the presence of turtles. Turtles, turtles everywhere! Previously, if I ever saw one turtle on a dive, I would be ecstatic. Two would just about put me over the moon. So seeing as many as 20 during one 45-minute submersion was just [...]
Being a Tourist in Your (Former) Town
September 28, 2010 By 30 Comments
SVV and I returned from a bit of an impromptu trip to New York at midnight last night. It’s weird because while I spent a couple years in the Big Apple, I feel like it’s slipping away from me. Sure, I navigate the city on auto-pilot, knowing exactly how to get from point A to [...]
Trampin’ Around
September 20, 2010 By 37 Comments
The single greatest thing about living in San Francisco is there is literally anything under the sun you could ask for by way of activities within the city’s 49-square-mile confines—from an aerial tour via passenger blimp to fulfilling a childhood dream of bouncing around in a room full of trampolines. And you know by now how much [...]
Photo Friday: Long Beach, California
September 17, 2010 By 7 Comments
Right before the wedding, I headed down to LA and the OC just shy of a week to do a few stories for the California board of tourism’s annual Visit California guide. SVV joined me for the weekend, and we ventured on over to Long Beach bright and early Sunday morning. Of course, SVV was [...]
How to Gorge Yourself on Chocolate for $3.33
September 16, 2010 By 17 Comments
What do you get when you mix a perfectly sunny California day, one Moose, 30 tickets for chocolate samples and a monkey with a camera? Well, other than one wicked bellyache, you have the recipe for my Sunday afternoon. I’m a huge fan of Groupon—enough so to put a free banner on the side of [...]
