He was a youth in 1979, toppling the statue of Reza Khan in defiance of the Shah. And as one of the many emerging activists of 1979 , he supported the historic regime change that led to the era of Ayatollah Khomeini. But before he was to bear witness to the events that would follow [...]
Archive for the ‘Epiphanies on the Road’ Category
The Revolutionary
Thursday, April 12th, 2012Persepolis
Monday, April 9th, 2012The view outside Necropolis The ruins of Persepolis It may have been a chapter you learned in your 8th grade history class, or an afterthought from a Sunday afternoon episode on the History Channel. It may have been the name of your local Persian restaurant, or that Greek goddess you had to memorize [...]
An American in Iran Says Hello
Friday, April 6th, 2012Hello from an American blogging from Tehran, Iran. Let it be known that at least the IKA Airport in Tehran has free wireless. There are a few moments in life where I try to imagine in dreams, realizing they might come true one day (making them all the more worthwhile to look forward to). [...]
Witnessing Guernica
Monday, December 26th, 2011Breaking stereotypes. (while having a highly recommended tapas brunch at Vinos Gonzalez) 2 items off the bucket list in one day and 2 more tomorrow; we are really cramming superlatives into a short amount of time. Despite the Prado being closed on Mondays, we made a bee line to Centro de Arte Reina Sofia to [...]
A Final Look at Myanmar
Saturday, August 6th, 2011The 66m long reclining buddha of Chaukhtatgyi Paya Traveling to Myanmar is like being in a time warp. Imagine a place untouched by McDonalds and Starbucks, where images of 1960s Southeast Asia become real life here. Cone-hat wearing villagers bike along a dirt road lined with endless rice paddies. This is a place not advertised [...]
“Where you come from?” “USA” “No, where you *really* from?”
Thursday, July 28th, 2011During the last 3 days in Bangladesh, I’ve come to develop a fondness for its brutal honesty. Given its complete lack of exposure to tourists and foreigners, rickshaw drivers and touts charge surprisingly such low fares that there’s very little need to haggle. Furthermore, the prices of everything in Bangladesh is so low, sometimes you’d [...]
Nostalgia in Chennai
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011My last few hours in one of my favorite countries has been a riot. It seems fitting that India wouldn’t let me down. Stephanie and I booked a flight out from Chennai to Sri Lanka at 10am the next morning, while Karen was flying out of Chennai to Kochin around the same time. The hard [...]
A New POV
Saturday, July 16th, 2011As a tourist (or traveler, a term Calvin prefers), we enter each city, see its sights, eat at the restaurants, and try to form a impression. This view, while vast geographically, is inherently shallow. Furthermore, up to this point in my travels, it has somewhat unavoidable. I have spent only up to 3 days in [...]
The Beauty of Relevance
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011I am alone. The desert gales wash my naked chest, and my bare feet burrow into the heat of the earth. I bathe in breathing moonlight. For a moment I can see God moving over the face of the sands. And I see only the desert. I feel a slight night shiver. – At time [...]
“The Story with Animals is the Better Story.”
Saturday, June 25th, 2011Doubt is useful for awhile. . . . But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. – Life of Pi, Chapter 7 In the course of 6 hours on the bus from Kathmandu to Pokahara I have finished Yann Martel’s [...]
