Four days after arriving in India, we took a quick three-day trip to Nepal. The purpose was to meet two Nepali friends. While there we made a new friend, someone I perceived to be a brother that I was meeting for the first time.
It’s often said that India is a land of contrasts, which I am happy to confirm and illustrate. India has some of the world’s richest people and many of the poorest. It has luxurious high-rise apartment buildings, surrounded by the huts and hovels in which the servants, maids, drivers, cooks, and workmen live who take care of their richer neighbors.
Columbus, Georgia, is the place I spent the first two decades of life, where I attended public school. But my real "ties to the land", my "roots", are actually to the forty-acre "country place" over the stateline in Alabama across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus. It's somewhat bittersweet to visit the place, since the memories of my departed parents are everywhere. But there's still a smell, a legacy, a longing to hold onto the past, that I feel every time I visit, which is only once or twice a year.
Susan and I had such a good time in our six weeks in Mumbai, that we plan to come again in November for another six weeks. Following a description of our time in Mumbai, this blog introduces the amazing sculptures of Khajuraho...erotic sculptures unique in the world.
At every Viking port, several different excursions with local guides are offered. We didn’t want to visit another winery or cattle farm. So we chose a city tour which included a tango performance. Our local tour guide began by acknowledging that Uruguay is not a tourist “destination”...
With all the upsetting news of the day, I'm happy to report some great news: the awarding of the Eminent Artist recognition by the Kresge Foundation, accompanied by a fifty-thousand dollar cash award, to our dear friend, Detroit harpist and educator Pat Terry-Ross. The awarding organization is the Kresge Foundation, which has awarded four and a half million dollars to various artists during the last seven years. Susan and I were pleased to be able to fly in to Detroit for the award ceremony. The award ceremony was held in an ornate theater in downtown Detroit, attended by a couple of hundred of Pat's friends and fans. Pat's ninety-five-year-old mother was present, as proud as one would expect her to be. . .
Welcome again to India: Above, two views of the Gateway to India India assaults the senses and the intellect. The smells, the sounds, the crowds, the traffic, all these constant phenomena reinforce the necessity to live consciously . . .
Singapore is a very small country located at the bottom of the Malaysian peninsula. It has no natural resources. Alli its food has to be imported. As a financial center and trading center, Singapore is extremely successful. Its citizens enjoy one of the highest median incomes in the world. Singapore's citizens are 70% of Chinese ancestry. Other ethnic groups include Malays, Indians, Thais, and more. Enjoy the photo gallery of Singapore's rich urban landscape.
For the last twenty years, Dallas has been meeting friends he first met over fifty years ago while a student in Kiel, Germany. This was the fourth reunion in Greece by the Kieler Old Farts. Previously, they met on the Greek islands of Poros and Corfu. This was their second reunion on the Peloponnese Peninsula, where KOF member David has retired.
Susan and I spent six weeks in Mumbai in early 2024. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to do it again, spending another six weeks in Mumbai, from the end of November until the beginning of January 2025.