Oman – Really Wild Wadis

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Nori still hasn’t caught on to one of my greatest deceptions: I find places and activities that I really want to experience and then I pitch them as ‘something the kids will really enjoy’. Of course, it helps that my kids are all boys and that I have childlike desires. What Scott likes, the boys will like, she thinks – and in general, that’s accurate. Still, I was surprised that she wasn’t more heavily revising my plans to visit a half-dozen wadis during our Oman/UAE trip.

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Maldives – Return to Paradise

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We never expected to return to the Maldives. Not that we didn’t want to. It’s just one of those unique places – like Bhutan, the Galápagos or Antarctica – that you dream of visiting once in your lifetime. Beautiful, remote, romantic and take-your-breath-away expensive, the Maldives is for honeymoon splurges, silver anniversaries or “closing the deal” on that special relationship. It’s not a repeat destination, and it’s not appropriate or affordable for families like ours.

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Reservoir Monkeys – Khao Sok NP

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My confidence was beginning to slip. After a one-hour flight to Surat Thani, a one-hour drive and a one-hour wait we were motoring away from the deeply unimpressive Ratchabhrapha “Light of the Kingdom” dam across an underwhelming lake. Logan had fallen asleep on the bow, at least until it started drizzling. The other boys had ‘are we there yet?’ on repeat. Nori was giving me that ‘what have I let you get me into again?’ look.

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Koh Libong – Unexpected Island Idyll

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Travelling in coastal Thailand during the rainy season is risky: it might bucket down for days, cities can flood, many businesses close shop, and if the sea whips up boat journeys can be dangerous. During the drier months (typically November-April) the Anantara Si Kao offers day trips to its private Beach Club on beautiful Koh Kradan. It rained every day we were at the Anantara, but it didn’t dampen our enjoyment of the hotel and its stunning location. Between the Kids’ Club and hotel-based activities like fish-feeding, our boys kept busy. And whenever the sun showed its face, we all rushed to the pool.

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The Rong Island at the Right Time, Cambodia

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With all this talk about ASEAN integration and the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community), you’d think that driving a Thai vehicle into Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar or Malaysia would be easy – but it isn’t. As we approached the Cambodia border down a narrow finger of Thai territory, we still weren’t sure if we had all the necessary documents. Google didn’t know. Lonely Planet’s “Thorn Tree” had more questions than answers. And even if we DID have everything, there was still no guarantee that Cambodian Customs & Immigration officials would let us drive our right hand-drive vehicle all the way to Sihanoukville without greasing a few palms.

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Phi Ta Khon – Ghost Mask Festival, Thailand

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If hundreds of people wearing lurid, ghoulish masks with schlongish noses and shaking giant wooden penises doesn’t sound like a family-friendly event to you, then you’re clearly not from my family AND you’re not getting an invite to my next party.

I’d been desperate to see the Phi Tha Kon (ผีตาโขน) “Ghost Mask” festival in the northern province of Loei since I arrived in Thailand. It’s not that difficult to get to: a 1-hr flight to Loei followed by 1.5-hr drive to Dan Sai Village. But work kept getting in the way of my vacation (something I plan to address). And it doesn’t help that the date for the festival is divined each year (sometime between March and July) by local mystics. This year, however, the penises were aligned and the festival weekend was wedged between business trips to England and Singapore.

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Our Whirlwind Tour of Europe

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There’s an old joke about Americans’ whirlwind tours of Europe:
Son: Where are we Dad?
Dad: (Consulting itinerary) Well it’s Tuesday, so this must be France.

It’s funny. But it’s not really a joke at all. With so few vacation days, Americans tend to overdo their schedules and under-do their understanding. As a nation, we’re terrible at geography and foreign languages (including, some might say, English). So I couldn’t help but chuckle at our upcoming European road-trip: five German-speaking countries in 10 days, with notable gaps in our language (neither of us sprechen deutsch) and route planning (how exactly would we cross the Dolomites)?

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Petra: Rose-Red City, Jordan

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The path to Petra was lit by candles shrouded in simple paper bags. Their muted, flickering lights danced on the canyon walls. Above, the full moon glowed like a searchlight, bathing the rippled mountaintops in yellow light. As the canyon narrowed, the candlelight played on walls marbled in shades of brown, orange, pink and red. The wind came in soft, regular drafts, like the earth’s own breath. The ambiance was eerie, mysterious, and beautiful. We felt as if we were taking part in an occult ritual.

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