Yom Kippur 2007: "Good Advice"

Posted September 23, 2007 by admin

Bangkok
Sunday
23 September 2007

Dear Stanley,

Thank you for your Yom Kippur e-card with the printed sentiment, "Wishing you an easy fast."

Many of us have been using this greeting for as long as I can remember. We all wish for an easy fast on Yom Kippur; we recall the difficulty of not eating or drinking for twenty-four hours, especially we coffee addicts.

But your additional, special greeting was both a surprise and a challenge: "Enjoy your fast." Enjoy! This was the first time anyone made this suggestion to me. What a great idea! Excellent advice! I accepted the challenge to enjoy my fast this year.

On the Road in Rajasthan: "Horn Please!"

Posted February 24, 2007 by admin

This Travel Letter was "almost published."  The editor of To North India With Love liked this letter better than one she had already chosen on a similar topic, and she had to honor her commitment.

Jaipur to Bikaner
Rajasthan, India 
February 24, 2007

Dear Family and Friends, 

The phrase "Horn Please" is emblazoned in huge, colorful and artistic boldfaced letters on the rear end of every powerful, solid, steel-framed intercity truck. Or "Sound Horn" appears. Or "Blow Horn." My favorite is "Blow Horn." India is a nation of one billion horn blowers.

It is good form. Everyone is encouraged to sound his horn to alert the truck driver ahead that his rig is about to be overtaken. And, (and this is a big "and") every driver of every type of vehicle alerts everyone else of his presence and his insistence to proceed unimpeded according to some preordained universal master transport plan known only to himself.

Nawalgarh: "The Haveli and Mundan Sanskar"

Posted February 20, 2007 by admin

This Travel Letter was published in To North India With Love.  ThingsAsian Press.  2011.  pg 71-72.

Nawalgarh
Rajasthan
India

February 20, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,

"Jan, why India?" "Why now?" Perhaps you are asking these questions. The obvious answers are: "India is close to Thailand." And, "There's no time like the present." True. Very true.

The real truth is that my friends in Mumbai, Paawan and Sushma, invited me to an auspicious family celebration.

The Maya - Lamanai

Posted January 2, 2007 by Jan
Belize

Belize City

Belize

January 2, 2007

Just south of Mexico, and only slightly larger than Wales or Massachusetts, Belize, the former British Honduras pop. 275,000, lies at the western end of the Caribbean Sea.

I suppose that when one thinks of Belize one thinks of pristine white sand astride a clear blue warm sea, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, and strolling the beach on one of the many islands or Cayes that form the largest reef in the Americas.

I read that half of all tourists to Belize go directly to San Pedro, the seaside town on Ambergris Caye. So, did I make for the beach? Nope. I headed for the hills.

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