I knew immediately after landing in Lamu and saw that our taxi was a dhow (traditional sailboat with a motor) to take us to our hotel, that this was going to be a magical place to hang for a few days.   Lamu Island is a port, city, and island just off the shore of  Kenya  in the  Indian Ocean approximately 150 miles from  Mombasa.  Lamu was founded in the 12th century.  Lamu Old Town is a World Heritage Unesco site and is the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in

I am embarking on a month in Kenya followed by three nights in Istanbul. My husband Scotty took a pass on this trip as he developed an "allergy" to third world countries after our trip to Egypt last year. Mind you it is not his lack of interest in the history and uniqueness which we strive for with each of our vacations, but the poverty and conditions in Cairo were profound and he feared he would encounter the same here in Kenya. I am traveling with my friend Lauren who is an

We embarked on our first safari to Masai Mara. We took a small propeller plane to reach there; we were the second stop. However, when the plane landed on a dirt runway for the first stop, we got a flat tire. Who knew airplanes can get blow outs? Fortunately, they had a spare tire. We disembarked, the pilot and his crew jacked up the plane, and in under half an hour, we were back on our way to our destination. We were greeted by a driver from the Offbeat Ndoto Camp, where we w

Our first exposure to the Ginza  area of Tokyo was to have dinner at a bustling Italian restaurant called The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo Ginza . The food was decent, but the service left much to be desired. We experienced a long wait for our meal, and they played loud heavy metal rock music. Eventually, Scott's dinner came out but we still had to wait another ten minutes for mine to arrive. As a former New Yorker, I have no problem expressing myself and in this case, I pulled ou

We took a bullet train to Tokyo from Hiroshima for the last four days of our Japan tour. We stayed at The Okura Tokyo , which is a beautiful hotel that was rebuilt in 2019 and is located opposite the US Embassy. After what I considered to be mediocre accommodations with National Geographic, we were delighted to have a lovely, spacious, and elegant corner room on the 29th floor with a big view of Tokyo. I was very pleased and didn't feel the need to ask for a third room, as I

In the Iya Valley, we stayed at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn called Hotel Hikyonyu , which featured an onsen , an on-site hot spring bath. The onsen was very relaxing, but the inn itself was simple and not exactly the 4 or 5-star lodging we prefer. In lieu of marble bathrooms, we had prefab "lego-land" bathrooms. At least here, we were able to procure a couple of extra futons for more padding and the room was not cold, so we slept better. National Geographic didn't s

There are many historic sites along the Singapore River, such as The Fullerton Hotel , the Old Parliament House , Chinatown , and Little India . Another "must see" is the top of Marina Bay Sands SkyPark  for a panoramic view of Singapore: we did not see any obvious crazy rich Asians. One observation is that there are no grocery stores on the streets. I believe you can learn a lot about a place by visiting its supermarkets. We discovered a network of underground malls that in

We checked into Andaz Singapore  and were fortunate to get an early check-in. I had contacted the hotel prior to arrival when I realized how early in the day we would be landing in Singapore to request an early check in if possible, and they were happy to accomodate us. Don't you love it when you ask for something and it actually happens? When we travel, we tend to stay in 5-star hotels and prefer ones that are contemporary and chic. Especially, after a long flight, you rea

A ferry transported us to the small island of Naoshima, which has become a hub for contemporary art and architecture. The Benesse Art Site was established through the collaboration of an industrialist and a mayor, aiming to highlight this small island in the Seto Inland Sea by developing a venue where contemporary art and a beachfront hotel merge, allowing guests to experience staying in a museum. On our Nat Geo trip, this hotel stood out as the best in terms of design and

Mount Koya is the central hub of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Buddhism consists of three primary schools: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, each with numerous sects, subsects, and movements. The core tenets of Buddhism focus on understanding suffering, identifying its causes, and pursuing a path to liberation through mindfulness, compassion, and ethical behavior, all aimed at achieving nirvana (enlightenment).   We wandered through an enchanting cemetery nestled among tower