Here’s a little something you should know about riding an elephant. Having done it three times — in Laos, Thailand, and now India — it’s a meditative, almost soothing experience, balancing on a loveseat strapped to the elephant’s back, lumbering along with the giant beast through the jungle. Our first two pachyderm rides were essentially […]
WE CRY IN PUBLIC: KELLY GEISSMANN (1978-2012)
Today we lost a great friend who died way, way too young. Now we are slammed with the peculiar pain of anticipated heartbreak. We knew all too well that Kelly was sick, that she was down to her final months, weeks, and recently days. We had mourned for her many times in anticipation of losing […]
HOW OTHERS LIVE: OUR DRIVER’S HOUSE
It’s a five and a half hour drive from Delhi to Jaipur. We took a detour. Please watch what we discovered.
TWENTY QUESTIONS: A HINDU PRIMER
On a few occasions during our travels we have encountered a truly learned and inspiring person. This was true in Delhi, where we spent an afternoon driving around with a man named Munish Anand — teacher, father, philosopher, guide, and all around wise dude. In a single afternoon, our family learned about religion, the history […]
OLD DELHI RICKSHAW RIDE
On our first day in India, we climbed aboard a couple rickshaws to explore the narrow crowed streets of Old Delhi. We had been offered many rickshaw rides all over Asia and had always refused them, thinking they were either a waste of money or “that’s what tourists do” (though we are tourists of course, we […]
THE MANY FACES OF INDIA
India! It seems as if our entire journey so far has been leading us to (and preparing us for) India. Now here we are, toughened by our time in Southeast Asia and ready for anything. We had been warned of the intensity of India, the crush of humanity, the poverty, the mountains of garbage — and […]
THE OPTIMISTIC EYE
When you have a travel blog, it’s easy to edit out the difficult parts and make everything seem wonderful. It turns out — thanks to the wisdom of a nine-year-old — that you can do this in your day-to-day life as well. We proudly present a phrase and a concept that has carried our family […]
HOW OTHERS LIVE: THE FLOATING VILLAGE
Throughout our travels, we’ve discovered a handful of villages (complete with schools, stores and hospitals) floating in the middle of vast bodies of water throughout Southeast Asia. The first was in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The second was a fishing village in Thailand. But we didn’t get to know either of these villages as intimately […]
FRANNY REPORTS: LAOS JOURNAL
A thirteen-year old girl reflects on a hike through the bug-filled jungle on a sweltering day and what she discovers.
LOOK AT THAT MONKEY JUMP
Come with us on a trip upriver in Thailand, where our family of primates has an unexpectedly close encounter with another family of primates. (WARNING: Adult content. Sexual situations.)