Let me tell you a story…
“Fail.” - Moments where I failed at life.
- Running into Gerard Butler...again January 4, 2012 1st time is happenstance, 2nd time is coincidence... Let it be known that Gerard Butler now reads this blog, and I quote from June (left in photo): "It was funny how he mentioned he had read The Monsoon Diaries, because he kept saying how he usu...
- Missed Connections December 29, 2011 The good news is that we accomplished the challenge of making it to 3 countries/sovereignties in a single day. We got in and out of Gibraltar and got to see the Rock, we made it to the Algeciras ferry to Morocco, and we caught the 9:35pm train to Fez 5 mi...
- The Road to Alhambra and La Mezquita December 27, 2011 Pulled off seeing the two greats back to back today:We rolled in 6:30am in the morning on an overnight from Madrid, and was received by two friends living in Granada (whom I met through contacts via famed international organization, AIESEC). Upon our sayi...
Crisis! - Moments where I really almost lost it.
- Missed Connections December 29, 2011 The good news is that we accomplished the challenge of making it to 3 countries/sovereignties in a single day. We got in and out of Gibraltar and got to see the Rock, we made it to the Algeciras ferry to Morocco, and we caught the 9:35pm train to Fez 5 mi...
- A Plane Crash in Nepal September 25, 2011 About 2 months ago I was extolling the wonders of seeing Mount Everest with my own eyes. I woke up today to read that the same Beechcraft 1900D turboprop airplane I had been on just crashed a few hours ago, killing all onboard: 2 Americans, 10 Indians, 6 ...
- "The scariest place on Earth": The North Korean DMZ. August 18, 2011 The DMZ. Former president Bill Clinton had named it the "scariest place on Earth." It is the most heavily militarized border in the world, with over a million soldiers ready to go to war at a moment's notice if either side dared to cross the 38th parallel...
Serendipity! - The most wonderful parts of our trips are the coincidences we create with other people.
- Magical Moments in Switzerland April 19, 2012 After 5 hours in Frankfurt, we landed in Geneva, Switzerland where we had a whopping 20 hours to kill. Our options were:Stay in Geneva, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back homeHead to Berne, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back ...
- Our Free Day in Tehran April 14, 2012 As Americans, you're not allowed to wander around Iran alone. You're supposed to be guarded by an MFA-approved tour agency at all times following a strict itinerary. But that was not the case today. In true Monsooning fashion, we decided to skir...
- Running into Gerard Butler...again January 4, 2012 1st time is happenstance, 2nd time is coincidence... Let it be known that Gerard Butler now reads this blog, and I quote from June (left in photo): "It was funny how he mentioned he had read The Monsoon Diaries, because he kept saying how he usu...
Way Way Off the Beaten Path - You won’t find these in any guidebooks…
- How to Get into Trouble in Iran April 23, 2012 I had said in a previous entry how "normal" everything seemed when I was in Iran last week, but about a week since I've returned I've noted some exceptions. Of course, some of these are via word of mouth through our interpreter, but this is the close...
- Magical Moments in Switzerland April 19, 2012 After 5 hours in Frankfurt, we landed in Geneva, Switzerland where we had a whopping 20 hours to kill. Our options were:Stay in Geneva, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back homeHead to Berne, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back ...
- Our Free Day in Tehran April 14, 2012 As Americans, you're not allowed to wander around Iran alone. You're supposed to be guarded by an MFA-approved tour agency at all times following a strict itinerary. But that was not the case today. In true Monsooning fashion, we decided to skir...
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Around the World…. - Some stories simply can’t be categorized.
- From Guatemala to Belize (11 years in the making) November 28, 2011 The first time I've heard of Belize was when I was 14 years old. I was sitting on the 7 subway train coming into Manhattan and my friend Sara was sitting across from me when she looked at me in the eye and firmly declared: "I want to visit B...
- One Week in South America April 4, 2011 As I step back on the escalators leading down to the NYC Subway, I see how much of the last 9 days I can remember. I remember Lima; the way we danced around the fountains as they danced around us, the taste of Peruvian chicken in the middle of the nigh...
- Who missed their flight now? Huh?! April 3, 2011 What an oddly perfect way to conclude this trip. In Monsoon Diaries tradition, every excursion requires a serendipitous coincidence to round it off. And this one is no different: Kseniya and I had parted ways earlier this morning; she was to take an...
