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Gwangju Spring
Our hotel is mere steps away from Geumnam-ro, the main thoroughfare in Gwangju, South Korea. We’re in this city because of a novel written by Han Kang. Human Acts documents 9 days in May 1980 when a student-led democracy movement was brutally suppressed by the military junta then in power. 7 years later, in 1987,…
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The Last Emperor
Today is our last day in Vietnam. We started in the south in Saigon, traveled through central Vietnam, to end our 1 month stay in the capital of Hanoi. A month is hardly long enough to grasp the history of any country, let alone one with such a long and tortured past. I struggle to…
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Into the Kitchen
When my husband and I first considered this mad round-the-world adventure, the kitchen was always at the heart of the plan. For at least some part of our journey, we’d stay at a place where I could cook. Some travelers like to volunteer as their way of getting to know a country and its people.…
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Apsara
An apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and water. You can find their images in both Hindu and Buddhist temples. In Khmer, the language of Cambodia, you call them tep apsar (ទេពអប្សរ). Apsara appear in paintings, bas-relief and in three-dimensional sculpture. Angkor Wat is rich in apsara. The complex spans an area of some 400…
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Saigon Stories
Every city has its own creation myth and Saigon is no exception. The name alone offers so many possibilities. Saigon could reference the forest of kapok trees that once stood on this site, an embankment on the river or a royal city. Today, Saigon is not a beautiful city. Crowded, noisy, thick with scooters. The…
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Taiwanese Beauties
This is my third Taiwanese visit. First, as a child in 1969, to visit my maternal grandfather in Taipei. I can still remember a trip to Sun Moon Lake, the aborigines performing for us tourists, and my very first site of a typhoon. 7 years ago, I returned with my mother on a sentimental journey.…
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The Curious Monkey
Meet the Curious Monkey. He’s going to be my avatar for the next 7 months as my husband and I travel the world. If you live in Amsterdam, you might recognize this little guy as Artis de Partis, the mascot of the local zoo. Artis de Partis is a strange sort of monkey. According to…
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Before and After
Every writer needs a good editor. Finding a good editor is easier said than done. You might get lucky, as I have, in finding serious feedback in a creative writing class, a critique group or a writing conference. But feedback and editing are two different animals. You need the former while you’re still writing. Feedback…
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In the Chinese Garden
At this particular juncture of the stars, I am in the process of putting to bed both my garden and my novel manuscript. My garden doesn’t deserve this treatment. There are at least 3 more months of growing season here in Amsterdam. According to my gardening app, I should be sowing lettuce, marigolds, red beets,…
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The Black Hands
Hong Kong is entering its 9th consecutive week of protests against Carrie Lam. She is the Beijing figurehead appointed to govern Hong Kong. Her proposed extradition law sparked the protests. It would allow criminal suspects arrested on Hong Kong soil to be sent to China for prosecution. Hong Kongers believe — and rightly so —…