Seen
February 1, 2012
Ten years of storytelling for h. I'm proud to have contributed 11 cover stories to the Heinz Endowments quarterly, recognized three times over as the country's best large foundation magazine. See my latest feature,United Front, in the current issue.
January 15, 2012
My Washington Post story on Chiang Rai today also includes two of my favorite photos from the trip.
December 28, 2011
WaPo in my tail lights: Pittsburgh replaces Portland on the 2012 In and Out List.
December 14, 2011
I've gotten to know a few more great little towns in West Virginia as I continue to write about the work of the Benedum Foundation. In the past I've reported on R&D, the local food economy, and the amazing life of Mike Benedum, one of the world's great oil wildcatters. This year's annual report is just out, with my story about grass-roots community development. As usual, Vicki Crowley at Landesberg Design created a beautiful frame for the words. Check out Rebecca Kiger's photography in Ansted, Shinnston, Chester and Morgantown here.
November 7, 2011
This pass to Angkor Wat Archeological Park set me back 80,000 riels. No wonder the Cambodians prefer US dollars. We biked to three of the temple sites, all unique and mossy and magnificent, and heading back to Siem Reap, encountered traffic mayhem that made Chiang Rai look like a lesson from driver's ed. That night we swam under a half moon. Now I'm looking at it from Pittsburgh.
October 30, 2011
Chiang Rai: maybe "inland Maui" is the best way to describe it. Green mountains surrounding a valley, mist, rainbows and plenty of hot sun. Yesterday we hiked to the Khun Korn waterfall and met some new friends.
October 25, 2011
Heading towards the Mekong and our heart of lightness: reunion with son Bill in Chiang Rai. The easy and cheap way to go north: a three-hour ride on the VIP Green bus, with A/C and Thai sitcoms on the flat screen. And cheap! We roll up through mist and mountains, emerging in a broad valley full of plantations: rice, coffee, palm. Cars? Hardly any. Motorbikes are the way to go here: we join the college kids zipping along Route 1 on our own steed. Dangerous? Sure. Fun? Most def.
October 23, 2011
Onward to Chiang Mai; the floods in Bangkok convinced us to change plans, and when we touched down briefly at Suvarnabhumi, there was water everywhere. The north flooded a month ago, and the Ping River was back to a muddy meander through CM. Great night market, super mountaintop temple (Wat Phranthat Doi Suthep, with performances by young local dancers), and wily songtaw drivers who drive a hard bargain (laughing all the way).
October 22, 2011
Koh Samui: pick your beach in advance. Changwei, to the northeast, has a pristine beach that gains shade as the sun moves from east to west. Bophut, the old north end hippie beach, has the hawkers, the beach massage ladies, and salty surf that rivals the Dead Sea (where does that extra saline come from, anyhow?). We liked Lawanna Changwei (two words: plunge pool). But I give bigger props to the Koh Samui emergency medical care system (in short, my nose broke my fall). Look for my forthcoming tribute to Thai medical tourism.
October 20, 2011
For a few hours in the middle of the night at the oh-so-lovely Queen Hotel in Surat Thani, we doubted that the overland/ferry route to Koh Samui was worth it. In fact, it was: your garden variety South Pacific paradise. Now the question that looms: will we be able to get to Bangkok as it floods, or will we have to stay here indefinitely?
The horror!
October 15, 2011
The journey of a thousand miles (up the Malay Peninsula) has begun with serious sweat and a few missteps. Supermodern Singapore was a perfect entry point, hyper-efficient, hip and friendly. Most people on the MRT clutched both iPads and iPhones for their commutes. Malaysia began when we boarded the train north: seven hours to Kuala Lumpur in icy refrigerated coach seats; after we thawed at the KL station, our overnight journey to Penang, billed as "first class sleeper," was just as cold. We stumbled onto the Georgetown ferry at Penang this morning, but face a further dilemma: do we really want to arrive by train in Surat Thani at 1 a.m. to catch a ferry to Koh Samui, our Tuesday destination?
October 7, 2011
Ouch. Innoculated and ready for Southeast Asia.
