Author Archives: kurczy

I’ve never had a more raucous introduction to a country. Nepal’s roads were crowded, loud, jammed, and crumbling, although I thought the latter was somewhat excusable, because while roads are unpaved and potholed in many poor countries such as Cambodia … Continue reading →

Watching the sun set on Mount Everest was the highlight of China, and my seven days in Tibet. It took more planning, and money, than I’d anticipated, but for about $700 I was able to fly from Shangri-la to Lhasa and … Continue reading →

“I should say that our prevalent belief is in moderation. We inculcate the virtue of avoiding excess of all kinds—even including, if you will pardon the paradox, excess of virtue itself.” That’s a quote from the British novelist James Hilton’s wonderful … Continue reading →

BEST HIKING EVER. From Lijiang City, I rode a rickety minivan about 40 miles north to Yunnan Province’s Tiger Leaping Gorge, a contender for the world’s deepest river canyon. Several miles away from Qiaotou, where the gorge trail starts, our … Continue reading →

It’s hard to enjoy a city when you’re suffering from swine flu. In Beijing I had come down with a cold, and it worsened in Shanghai to the point where I couldn’t leave my hotel room for several days.I barely left my … Continue reading →

From Beijing’s airport, a clean and pristine subway sped us downtown. The subway stations were immaculate, even the floors. I’ve eaten off dirtier dinner plates. The cleanliness ended as soon as we walked outside, where we hit China’s great wall of pollution, smog and … Continue reading →

Here in Ho Chi Minh City, we’re suddenly back in muggy weather in the high 80s. I am sitting inside an air-conditioned Highlands Coffee, a commercial chain of Starbucks-like cafes that sums up HCMC compared to the rest of Vietnam. … Continue reading →