Days of Thanks Begin Early on Turkey Day
Thanksgiving, the Day of Thanks, is upon us. Well, it’s not until tomorrow but you know how everyone in America gets a jump start on the holiday by making Wednesday a basically irrelevant work day. I spent some time at the computer but I simultaneously stuffed and cooked and basted […]
How Didi Chuxing Crushes the Car-Sharing Competition Across China
Although Uber gets most of the headlines, there is a giant bear that dominates the car sharing business in China called Didi Chuxing. Apple recently invested a billion dollars into the company and now Uber has bought a share of the competitor too. Their president is a woman named Jean […]
Kent St. John Left Us with a Legacy of Travel Writing and Heart
One of the joys of publishing is to look back on stories from long ago that still resonate with me as a traveler, and bring me back memories of the writer who wrote the story. One of my fondest friends I met along my GoNOMAD road was our Senior Travel […]
Rye, in Sussex, is a Great Little Town for a Stroll
After my duties were completed at the 2016 World Travel Market in London, I boarded a high-speed train at Statford International to join some friends in Sussex, directly south of London. I learned that in the small village where Cindy-Lou and Jonathan live, Lydd, a particularly famous musician makes frequent […]
Chinese City Tries to Clean Up its Butts
In China, there are more than 300 million smokers. Even with smoking in the US and most other countries down dramatically, China remains a bastion of ashtray users. Or not. These Sino-smokers consume a staggering 2.5 trillion cigarettes every year. That’s with a “T” not a “B!” An article in last […]
At WTM, the New and the Beleaguered Fight to be Seen
Another busy day of World Travel Market and I chatted up many Americans, Canadians and Brits as well as representatives from dozens of countries around the world. I am trying NOT to think about what just happened in the US last night, as I bet many of my friends here […]
World Travel Market: What a Whirlwind of a First Day!
I flew to London on Sunday night and made my way via numerous trains, tubes and busses to 75 Sark Walk, my Airbnb home for the next few nights as I tackle the impressive World Travel Market here, held every year at the Excel Center in London’s Docklands. I’ve seen […]
Flying to London for World Travel Market Tonight
I’m in a pumped up mood today, as the clock ticks down until my departure for JFK airport for a night flight to London for World Travel Market at the Excel Center. Every time I am about to fly I get that little nervous tick, and as I secure my […]
Malcolm Gladwell’s Podcast Puts Things in Perspective
I’ve discovered Malcolm Gladwell’s fine new podcast, called Revisionist History, and have been enjoying his prescient observations and occasional outrage. The first episode I listened to was about a radical approach to shooting foul shots in basketball that actually increased the percentage of successful baskets, but that most players shunned. […]
Every Six Months, Dodging a Cancer Bullet
I see my cancer doc, Sean Mullally, every six months. Ever since October 2014, when I felt a lump in my groin, I’ve had to become familiar with the lingo and procedures of cancer. Something nobody wants to do. But at the time I got my diagnosis, which is […]
My Neighbor’s House, Why Do I Care About His Junk Cars?
Sometimes I feel like a grouchy old man. I guess I have to admit at some point that I’m old….hey I just celebrated my 58th birthday last weekend. So today, like the true old grouch that I am, I felt terrific when I heard a tow truck across the street […]
How Much Does Wine Cost?
I get a lot of interesting facts sent to me at GoNOMAD. Below is chart that shows how much wine costs in different parts of the world. In the press release from SHAREaCAMPER website it is also explained that of all the countries in the world, Luxembourg leads the way in wine drinking, with […]
Voting Ahead Makes a Whole Lot of Sense
Yesterday I exercised my Constitutional right to choose my new president. And boy, was it ever easier than in years past. For the first time, my town and most of the others in Massachusetts have begun opening up the polls a full 15 days before the actual date of the election. […]
Getting Back from a Trip is Hard Sometimes
Settling into the day to day is always hard after a trip. Anxiety over such a wide range of problems makes it hard to feel relaxed and inspired by the trip, it’s more like you come back to so many challenges and problems and it just doesn’t feel like you […]
News from Europe
Today I learned some interesting facts about what’s new in Europe, when I met with 40 tourism officials, representing 15 different countries, and I asked them all the same thing. What’s new, hot and being talked about where you live? In Estonia, it’s not a new topic but their […]
My Growing Library of Travel Sounds
Yesterday I did a radio program and shared some thoughts about my trip to Japan last week. I enjoy the medium of radio, speaking in clean sound bites, leaving room for the hosts to get in their questions, and mostly, having interesting things to share about the destination. I have […]
Thomas A Harty, What an Incredible Life
On the front page of today’s Recorder are two lowlifes from Athol who fled to Virginia after allegedly murdering one of the most interesting men who ever lived in Orange, MA. That man was Thomas A Harty, and in the paper today his long life story was told. Among the […]
The Mysteries of the Plate and of the Eiheiji Temple in Japan
In any trip to Japan, you’ll see a lot of shrines and Buddhist temples. As in Europe, where cathedrals and monasteries are always on the itinerary, here too despite the fact that 80 percent of the population no longer attends any church, religious sites are at the top of the […]