This trip is such a kaleidoscope of texture and color and emotion that I can’t get my thoughts to settle down long enough to write about it. There have been awe-inspiring moments. Two days ago we rose early for a predawn departure to see the sun come up behind Angkor Wat. It was breathtakingly lovely,…

[Delayed post, sorry. Written July 11] No Internet on the refurbished junk we are on so I can’t look up the origin of this kind of wooden boat that we spent the night on in Ha Long Bay, but I am pretty sure the average passenger experience wasn’t air conditioned cabins with marble baths and…

Today we head out to Ha Long Bay. A little late in reporting yesterday’s food adventures because truth to tell, there weren’t any. Got up way early (hello World Cup, on at 3 am Hanoi time) and had breakfast with the slow-rising tour group. Breakfast was fine. Jer had another fantastic pho and I had…

Should be asleep but the World Cup fan in the room thought getting up at 3 am to watch the game was a good idea. Plus, jet lag. Arrived Hanoi last night. Easy peasy flight from Bangkok. Since it was late and I knew we’d be in unfamiliar territory I booked a hotel limo. They…

Sitting in the Bangkok airport, WAY too early for our flight to Hanoi. They won’t even let us check in for another hour and a half and the business lounge is located on the far side of security. So, to entertain myself I can count all the bug bites on my legs that are starting…

Food tours are a brilliant idea — there is no better way to get a window into how other people live than to see what’s on their plates. Often we are do-it-yourself food tourists, hanging out in grocery stores and markets, but sometimes it’s a bit more organized than that. On our trip to Israel…

On the flight into Bangkok from Tokyo, having food fantasies. Food memories are funny things — like dreams they sometimes have a blazing intensity that can make real life feel like it’s the ephemeral shadow. One of my best food memories of all time was many years ago, arriving in Bangkok in the middle of…

We had American food for Thanksgiving in Jerusalem, so I guess it makes some sort of sense that we had Jerusalem food in Florida for Christmas. One of my presents from Jer was the phenomenal Jerusalem, a gorgeous cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi — an Israeli Jew and an Israel Arab who grew…

Driving back to the hotel, late Saturday night, after a very happy day. Since we have to be at the airport in about 5 hours I am going to get a quick post in with the day’s highlights (and there were many!) Forgive the choppy writing. **Nazareth is a city of vibrant energy and beauty….

I am writing this in Nazareth (Nazareth!) where we spent Friday night in a gorgeous old renovated mansion — once the home of a wealthy Arab, today half hostel, half hotel, all hospitality. The sound-proofing is not so good, but even listening to very earnest and very, very young English-speaking students solving the world’s problems…

A short post today because I am an idiot and didn’t watch my step yesterday on ancient cobblestones and took a spill. Feeling every year of my age today — a little creaky and moving slow with an hour to be ready to hit the road for a trip to the Dead Sea and Nazareth…

Went to sleep last night with the window open and the sound of young people singing in the cafe across the road filtering into our room. Parts of Jerusalem seem lighthearted and joyous, filled with the energy of youth. But we saw another side too — the intensity of religious devotion as men and women,…