I’ve been visiting Bali since 1976, when Kuta was a handful of guesthouses and electricity only reached the airport. Fifty years and millions of visitors later, the island has changed — more traffic, more crowds. But the gamelan still plays, offerings still appear each morning, and the sunset still draws everyone to the beach. Here’s how I navigate it now.
Three days in Yogyakarta: Borobudur, Prambanan, a jeep ride up Mount Merapi, the Sultan’s Kraton, and a Ramayana ballet. Java’s cultural heart, fully lived.
The train swayed and the wheels clacked as we pulled out of Gambir Station in central Jakarta. Gradually, the gloss of prosperous commercial buildings gave way to a lower profile, both in form and affluence. Structures flattened and paint peeled as vendors shouted and vehicles pressed forward with all the speed of a tortoise in …
Jakarta surprised us. After decades away, I expected a chaotic megacity to endure before the “real” Indonesia began. Instead, we found world-class museums, a walkable neighborhood, excellent food, and a city that had quietly transformed itself. Two days turned three skeptics into Jakarta fans.
Plan your Morocco road trip with this 10-day itinerary covering Tangier, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, and Marrakech — food, culture, and expert tips included.
A month in Japan became a food adventure: Tsukiji tastes, a Kyoto home cooking class, sake traditions, and surprisingly great train-station meals.
From Gaudí’s grandeur to Alhambra’s quiet corners, this road trip winds along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, blending iconic stops with hidden gems.
A fall trip to Mallorca that blends historic towns, dramatic coastal scenery, and sections of the island’s legendary Dry Stone Route
The first spoonful of tagine stopped me mid-bite. The sauce was silky and rich, the meat tender, but it was the harmony of flavors that caught my attention—lemon brightening the edges, turmeric grounding it, and a whisper of cinnamon tying everything together. Morocco’s cooking doesn’t shout; it lingers, unfolding its secrets one spice at a …
Bali is just the beginning. After nearly 50 years exploring Indonesia’s 17,000 islands, here’s my practical guide to Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores, and beyond — plus real itinerary combinations for one week, two weeks, or longer.