Places

Want to see some pictures but don’t have the patience for everything I have to say about every moment? Here’s the short version, with one photo from each point of interest I visit (not unlike Instagram).

Returning to New York via JFK where my international travel initiated, first stop was Dani’s Pizza in Kew Gardens Queens, which my family has been loyally patronizing since it opened over 60 years ago

I saw beauty in Los Angeles through it’s low density and hills and green space and beaches and great weather, but also spent a lot of my long weekend here in cars
I can get used to afternoons on Kauai’s Hanalei Bay
Photos are incapable of doing justice to the 300’ Hanakapi’ai Falls
Sunset in Kapa’a, the Kauai town I stayed in for the week
Kauai’s Waimea Canyon is guaranteed to make your jaw drop
Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe on Oahu’s northeastern shore
Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach
I rode the giant ferris wheel during my last stop in Japan, in Rinku Town, which sits alongside the Osaka Kansai Airport
I stopped in Nara to visit Nara Park, known for its deer that are socialized and approach visitors with the expectation of food
One of my highlights of Kyoto is the Kinkaku-Ji golden temple
The clouds encapsulated the monastery laden town of Mount Koyasan on my train ride out
Osaka is a hustling bustling fun city not as overwhelming as Tokyo
The shrines at Ise were serene and beautiful
The illumination at Nabana No Sato was immersive and impressive
Japan’s fourth largest of Nagoya was quaint but maybe the least interesting place I visited in the country
The most wonderful day trip to Lake Kawaguchi to see Mt. Fuji
Tokyo felt like stepping into New York City 30 years in the future and I loved every second of it
Most of my waking time in Cebu City was spent inside this mall
Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls was my favorite part of Cebu
One of the highlights of Moalboal on the island of Cebu was snorkeling in from the beach to see the sardine run
Tricycles were a popular means of transport in the Philippines, like this one in Puerto Princesa, where I only visited for the airport
Port Barton was a small town which I heard was undeveloped and serene but that description was probably a couple of years old, it is becoming a tourist-oriented shanty town. Still, it was a nice stop on Palawan.
The beach town of El Nido had some stunning ocean views with far off karst formations
Nacpan Beach on the island of Palawan was probably my favorite spot in the Philippines
Didn’t care much for Manila but the old Spanish architecture was cool
Summing up Bangkok in one photo isn’t possible, but here’s its Chinatown
We hung out in the jungle in Khao Sok National Park but this man made lake took the cake
Spent two days aboard a boat at the Similan Islands where we did six dives
Khao Lak on Thailand’s southwest coast was all beach with stunning sunsets
The island of Ko Phi Phi was picturesque, but the scene surrounding the nightly fire show made it stick out from Thailand’s other beach destinations
The big White Buddha overlooking Pai encapsulates the beauty and calmness of the touristy hippie town in Northern Thailand
A day trip to the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary
Temple overload occurred in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand
Angkor Wat, the jewel of Siem Reap, was one of 6 temples we toured
Cambodia’s floating village of Kampong Phluk as seen from a sampan
There are an assumed 2 million motorcycles in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), where the population is about 9 million. This image was taken during the unofficial and impromptu victory parade that followed the Vietnamese football (soccer) victory and included many of said bikes.
The boat ride along the Mekong Delta in the south Vietnam city of Can Tho was a memorable one
This dragon bridge seemed to be the most interesting thing in Da Nang
Tough to pick only one photo from Hoi An, where there were countless temples, river(s), beachfront, shopping galore, and a lantern adorned old town with bright and busy markets
The Central Vietnamese city of Hue is full of moats and temples and pagodas and the imperial palace
Few places on the planet and stunning and unique as Halong Bay
Hanoi’s night market was a near overwhelming representation of life in the Vietnam capital
I really enjoyed Singapore during my 3 day stay here
Kayaking in the backwaters of Alleppey during sunset might have been my favorite activity in India
The Chinese fishing nets on the Indian Ocean in Kochi are one of its signature attractions
Jaipur was a little more modern for India, and had many hillside forts
What else would I post a photo of from Agra other than the Taj Mahal? They do have other worthwhile sites, but this is the undisputed star.
Delhi was crowded and dirty and smelly and stressful, I was happy to move on from it
Nepal’s mountain town of Nagarkot has stunning views of the whitecapped Himalayas
Lots of wild animals in Kathmandu, where the city sprawls throughout the valley
It’s not all concrete and glass and steel in Dubai; Jumeirah Beach has pristinely fine sand, too.
Krakow had plazas and cathedrals scattered all over the city.
Wroclaw‘s town square looked very central European, I expected something more austere for the Polish city.
Prague’s gothic and baroque architecture was unrivaled
There are some redeeming qualities of Salzburg but I wasn’t too impressed
Fucking Austria
Lake Bled on Halloween
I’m pretty astounded that places like the cave in Postojna Slovenia exist naturally on this planet
I could’ve done without Trieste
The bright colored homes on the island of Burano really wooed me
Most of my time wandering Venice was at night, when it is still pretty photogenic
Bologna had that northern Italian city look and feel
There are some nice buildings in Modena’s center of town
Lucca is a typical tasteful tan Tuscan town
Wash uffizi drive me to Firenze
St. Peter’a Basilica in Vatican City. I was here twice and in Rome twice, each gets one photo.
The gardens of Tivoli provide a good setting for a fairytale
Naples has a strong Italy vibe and a lot of hill
Back in time in Pompei, beneath Vesuvius
Take me back to Capri ASAP
Positano is positively precious
They didn’t name the coast after Amalfi for nothing
Sorrento is dreamlike
Sant Agnello is not a hot destination on the Amalfi Coast but it makes for a pleasant place to stay
I am still perplexed as to how Julius Caesar built Rome in one day
View from the old town of Bolsena from the fortified hilltop
Siena is beautiful with or without good lighting
Brown gravelly sand of Chiavari’s beach
No place was more eclectic and haphazardly laid out than Genoa
Merlin didn’t know he was in this picture of the decorated Milan duomo
Menaggio is a picturesque place to relax on the west bank of Lake Como
Despite the drizzle I couldn’t help but be transfixed by Lauterbrunnen’s green valley, steep cliffs, and towering waterfalls
Interlaken was the perfect spot to muster for valley and mountain trips and exceeded expectations
Strasbourg is beautiful, I’ll need to go back someday
Ingwiller is a sleepy little town in rural France
The LIST campus in Esch-Sur-Alzette is about the most iconic thing in this small Luxembourgish city
The Adolphe Bridge is a sight unto itself in the middle of Luxembourg
Liege is pretty along the Meuse at night
Maastricht, Netherlands, is pleasant despite being mostly brick and hardscape straddling the Meuse River
My last stop in Germany, Aachen‘s sculptures are what made it most unique
I still can’t get over the Cologne Cathedral
Koblenz was a nice unassuming small city
View overlooking Rudescheim am Rhein was the best I saw in Germany
Neue Synagogue Mainz
Burg Eltz is a fairytale
Grandfather’s childhood home in Polch
The Stuttgart Schlossplatz
The Bavaria statue watching guard over Oktoberfest in Munich
I spent more time in the Frankfurt airport than elsewhere in the city, but here’s a shot from my walk
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your front door [in Ossining, NY]. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.
Boston, Massachusetts. Where one journey ends the next begins.