Shopping in Saudi
I AM RIDING on a bus in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I am here for two months, flying charter flights during haj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
The dreadful dress
I AM WALKING through the museum in the 175-year-old Dohany Street synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. An amazing collection of antique artifacts has been amassed.
Written in the stars
I AM HAVING my palm and astrological chart read in Varanasi, India. A Brahmin priest, a professor of astrology at the University of Benares, is doing the honors.
The shit list
I AM SITTING on the jumpseat listening to a flight attendant friend talk about a recent visit to the doctor.
Mechoui for me
I AM EATING lunch at a small table in the back of a tiny little restaurant located in an alley off the massive lively square, the Jemaa el-Fnaa, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Hell or high water
I AM WEARING a helmet and a life vest, paddle in hand, ready to take on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.
Hold hands with a 6-fingered man
I AM STEPPING into a taxi the hotel has called for me, which will take me to an interesting artifact here in Turks and Caicos.
I kissed a hippo and I liked it
I AM KISSING a hippopotamus on the snout. It is wet, not smooth but not rough, dimpled and dotted, with small stiff bristles protruding from the leathery skin. This 3000-pound hippo’s name is Jessica.
Easy money
I AM COUNTING foreign currency I have just picked up from my bank. It is so convenient to place an order with Bank of America then collect it 2 or 3 days later.
Locked up abroad: Suriname
I AM HANDING my passport to the official seated in a cubicle behind a glass window in the airport in Paramaribo, Suriname. He dismissively flips through the pages then tells me I need to fill out an online customs form.
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