I’m not that much for big crazy parties. Don’t get me wrong I have my moments. But normally I’m pretty low-key, preferring an intimate dinner to a raucous evening out on the town. But on a trip to Asia, I gleefully indulged in one of those aforementioned “moments” with a group of Kazakh Mongolians. And when […]
Asia, Destinations, Mongolia, Travel Stories
Why Kazakh Nomad Women in Western Mongolia Spend Half Their Summer Milking
01
Nov
Nov
It’s milking time. Again. All hands are on deck. The women of the Kazakh nomad community in Western Mongolia are in all-out commando mode. Their tongues click and arms wave as they chase their herds of goats and sheep into a pen. Hundreds of hooves dart this way and that, swirling and spinning, trying to avoid […]
31
Aug
Aug
I remember musing that an American wedding planner would think I’d lost my mind. Wrestling? You want wrestling at your wedding?! Her shock giving way to complete bewilderment and horror when I followed up with…..and, we’ll want a horse race too. A Kazakh Wedding Tradition: The Wrestling Begins I scanned the celebration and grinned. This […]
12
Aug
Aug
We sit on the ground around a low wooden table waiting for the day to begin. It’s overcast, threatening rain, and the ger is dim, throwing everything into monochrome. A pot of boiling milk sits on top of a battered wood-burning stove in the center of the room, and I watch as steam rises into […]
29
Jul
Jul
It’s been a while since my adventure in western Mongolia with photographer Timothy Allen and seven fellow photography lovers, and yet I still think of it all the time. We camped in the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, a vast and profoundly beautiful and pristine expanse where we met the world’s most tolerant and gracious […]
31
Mar
Mar
I’m watching girls from the Samburu Tribe whisper to each other, their hands cupped over their mouths in playful secrecy. I can’t help but laugh, it’s funny how some things are so universal. The scene reminds me of my high-school days, my friends and I giggling over my latest crush. The men, a few feet […]
03
Aug
Aug
Twenty minutes drive from Cape Town, high up in the hills of the Constantia Mountain Range sits Eagles’ Nest Winery, an award-winning boutique vineyard that has become a treasured respite for locals and travelers alike. I heard about the vineyard through a fellow travel writer and South African native, Linda Markovina of Moving Sushi. In […]
Destinations, New York, North America, United States
Exploring The Heights of The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine
03
Jun
Jun
At over 120 years old and the largest Cathedral church in the world, St. John the Divine was on my “explore” to-do list for some time. Over the years it’s hosted dignitaries such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. Sting gave a concert there for the launch of his album […]
Destinations, New York, North America, United States
Union Square Greenmarket: More Than Tulips And Marmalade
14
Apr
Apr
Looking for a palm reading with your baked goods? Or some hydrangea and a game of chess? On a visit to Union Square’s Greenmarket, it was all that and a man in a Speedo It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I, along with every other New Yorker it seemed, was anxious to get my […]
Africa, Safaris, Tanzania Safaris, Travel Stories
The Day the Hadzabe Tribe in Tanzania Got My Goat…Literally!
20
Mar
Mar
It was the end of our second hour driving down a pot-hole infested, rattle-the-teeth-out-of-my-head dirt road in Tanzania, and I was starting to feel as if my body was going to shake apart. We were on our way to visit the Hadzabe tribe, also known as Bushmen, living on the outskirts of the Ngorongoro Crater, […]