LATE-NIGHT LUCKNOW –
Ashish the Seatmate’s recommended Hotel Sharma (“with a huge sign on top”) never materialized, so I ended up booking a room at Hotel Samrat, whose rooftop sign I can see from my current address.
I didn’t choose it so much as walk into a decent-looking lobby on railroad flophouse row, find out there weren’t [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Challenge'
No room in the inn
March 24th, 2010 No Comments
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The fruits of falling behind
December 30th, 2009 No Comments
I’ve been falling behind lately, battling inertia like lots of other people.
I’m not going to describe the malaise — it’s the same as yours. Not going to submit any remedies or prescriptions for shutting it down.
However, one of Chris Guillebeau’s suggestions in that last link is to carry a notepad everywhere you go. Hm — [...]
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Fall of the Phantom Lord
November 30th, 2009 No Comments
It’s just before bed and I’m about to finish off Andrew Todhunter’s Fall of the Phantom Lord.
Published in ‘98, I’m still not sure if the book will mention the tragic ending of its subject, Dan Osman (11 years and a week ago).
Even if it does, that’s not the focus–this is a book about Life.
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What if you don’t get the inner journey?
October 31st, 2009 2 Comments
It was the perfect recipe for transformation: A month-long trek around a clump of stupendous mountains. An ancient pilgrim path. A motorcycle through the jungle. A summer of scraping by with a baritone sax.
So what happens when you finally reread your journals and realize the pages are filled with mental dandruff? Quick shots of confusion, [...]
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Travel Self vs. Home Self
October 22nd, 2009 3 Comments
Do you play by different rules at home and on the road? When surrounded by the familiar versus overwhelmed by the new?
It’s a massive challenge to merge the travel self and the home self. To approach the world with open intensity no matter what part of the planet happens to be underfoot.
Do any of the [...]
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Thinking About the Camino de Santiago?
October 19th, 2009 1 Comment
Just posted my Camino journal here. If you’re thinking of making the pilgrimage, I hope it gives you an idea of the thoughts and concerns the walk is liable to catalyze in your consciousness.
If you’ve walked the Camino before, I hope it takes you back.
Most importantly, if you have any questions about the Camino–any–I’d love [...]
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Can Work and Travel Coexist? A Lesson from Funk.
October 10th, 2009 No Comments
When it comes to work and travel, the groove sets up the payoff.
Consider Funk. A bass lick is all the more nasty when the bass has been hanging in the pocket, keeping a low profile. When after seven or maybe 15 bars of solid groove, it pops.
Drops all constraints, steps forward, goes deeper, and realizes [...]
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Does Travel Lead to Service?
October 7th, 2009 No Comments
Nick Kristof released the winners of the “Half the Sky” competition last Friday, selected from over 700 submissions of positive work going on around the world, right now. He writes,
“…one of the things that struck me was how often the intercultural engagement involved Westerners who were as much beneficiaries of the process as the local [...]
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Anybody Seen a Boxcar of Hobos?
October 4th, 2009 2 Comments
While walking by this slow freight train the other day, I wondered what would happen if a boxcar of hobos passed and yelled, “Jump on!” Really animated hobos–flapping the sleeves of their flannel shirts, waving their bindles and whatnot.
What will happen when you get the chance to plug a stick of dynamite up the posterior [...]
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Do You Hold Back Your Stories?
September 21st, 2009 No Comments
The other day I happened on a concert in the back of a jeans boutique. Right there in the waiting-for-the-bathroom hallway. A solo guitarist with princely hair, tight white jeans, cowboy boots and a scorpion belt buckle.
He introduced his song with, “This one’s called Wildwood. I wrote it after I had an experience there.”
What do [...]
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Where Will a Walk Take You?
September 17th, 2009 No Comments
Have you walked across your city? Have you witnessed the bell curve of its development? Would you take the same route you’d use to drive? Or would you seek out some sort of alternate, foot-friendly route?
Yesterday I read about a back-up plan that many Bihari peasants keep in mind: Make the month-long walk to Calcutta [...]
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Want To Travel? Start Walking.
September 14th, 2009 No Comments
Not knowing my car’s transmission would soon be dead, I recently wrote something in praise of walking. Backhandedly, about the negatives of cars and even bicycles. Here it is:
Given the choice of any mode of transportation, I prefer my feet. I don’t have to lock them to a streetlamp before I go into the cafe. [...]
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How to Get to Santiago de Compostela (in 5 easy steps)
September 4th, 2009 No Comments
1. Fly to Madrid
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How to Get High in Nepal (5 easy steps)
August 19th, 2009 No Comments
1. Flight to Delhi
2. Cheap flight to Kathmandu
3. Bus to Pokhara till jet lag is gone
4. Bus to Besisahar
5. Follow trail upstream along Marsyangdi River and over Thorong La pass (5416m/17,769 ft.)
Photo by Dey
Tags: Nepal
Go to the Best Hotel in Town for Free
August 18th, 2009 No Comments
By the end of this post, you’ll know how.
The Hotel Bethlehem used to be the go-to spot for all facets of tycoons hoping to cut deals with Bethlehem Steel.
Today, it still has the white-gloved doormen, martini bar, and 20 foot-high red neon sign on the roof begging for a superhero fight scene.
And it still has [...]
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