ASIA
Luxury in Bali at the top of the dream list.
If you could go anywhere, for a week of unparalleled luxury and exoticism, consider Bali. On my fourth trip to Bali I was introduced to the Amanresorts’ award-winning, secluded properties. Already well known to discerning global travelers, the exclusive Amanresorts are also popular with Hollywood stars. There’s a buzz among the well-heeled Aman-junkies who are [...]
Bali and Beyond . . . Trance Dance!
Watch this to the end to see what the men do when they’re in a trance. I got a chance to see this rare Javanese dance performed in rural villages and accompanied by gamelan music. Dancers are calling the spirits to possess them. When a dancer is possessed, he no longer performs regular dancing, but [...]
A Sultan’s Palace in Java and a puppet artist.
Regal school girls practice English with Marybeth Bond, the Gutsy Traveler. School girls, market, artist making shadow puppets. Shopping, handicrafts, etc.
Faces and Places of Thailand and Burma
My daughter and I traveled to Thailand and Burma for two weeks in May 2011. Here are some of the people and places that made the trip unforgettable!
One Perfect Day in Bangkok
Even after a dozen visits, I still love to spend a day or two in Bangkok between flights. Bangkok is a vibrant metropolis with golden temples, soaring skyscrapers, royal palaces, and floating wooden boats selling flowers and vegetables, but it also has 10 million inhabitants, traffic gridlock, diesel exhaust, concrete and shopping malls. Here’s my [...]
Saving Girls From Slavery in Nepal
Olga Murray spends half her time in Sausalito and the other half in Kathmandu, where she works to buy girls out of bondage in a rural farming district in southern Nepal. Poverty forces families to sell their daughters, as young as 7 years old, as domestic slaves or worse. She learned about the practice of [...]
Women Travel Statistics – 80% of all travel decisions made by women
Women—young, old, single, married, and widowed—are fueling an explosive growth in the travel industry. More women are traveling, for business and for pleasure, and they’re calling the shots. Just look around in a restaurant, how many tables are occupied by groups of women? Of those who currently take nature, adventure or cultural trips, 75% are [...]
Remembering Valentines & Romance in Kathmandu
“Do what you love and love will follow,” my mother told me. So I took off alone around the world to walk, hike, climb, cycle and kayak my way through six continents and more than 70 countries around the world. Along the way I never celebrated Valentine’s Day. I was sitting on a low sofa [...]
Giving Back
A rewarding aspect of travel is learning about organizations around the world that help the people and places we visit, and giving back to them to support their causes. Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation (NYOF) The Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, founded by Olga Murray, is a nonprofit organization based in Sausalito, California that provides education, health [...]
Himalayas? Been or Want to Go?
If you can’t travel to the Himalayas, the next best thing is to eat Himalayan cuisine. The Taste of the Himalayas Restaurant in Sausalito, California is the closest I’ve been to Nepal since I returned two years ago. Serving Nepali, Tibetan and Indian dishes, the restaurant is one of three in the Bay Area.The other [...]
