Estonia 2012: Tallinn (8/1-8/3)
Cecilia’s dad dropped us off at the Helsinki seaport about fifteen minutes before our ferry left to cross the Baltic Sea. Tallinn, Estonia would be…
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Finland 2012: Bruce Springsteen & I Tour Helsinki (7/29-8/1)
Summer cottages are big in Finland. They’re often small, but they’re important. If your Finnish family doesn’t own a summer cottage, someone you know…
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Finland 2012: Three Weeks in Vaasa/Vasa (July 10-29, 2012)
Vaasa, Finland sits just above 63º N (for American reference, that’s two degrees north of Anchorage, Alaska – so it’s up there.). As a…
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Finland 2012: A Wedding in Sälgrund/Kaskinen (July 14-15, 2012)
July 14th, Cecilia and I woke up mega-disoriented and pre-hungover thanks to a genial multi-venue evening of drinking, loud music and friendly shouting in…
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Finland 2012: Arrival in Helsinki / Onward to Vaasa (July 10th, 2012)
After ten hours onboard my intercontinental flight from Chicago O’Hare (for a total of about 14 hours of air travel from St Louis to…
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Finland 2012: Going Straight to HEL (July 9th, 2012)
From January to April of 2012, I traveled throughout India, mostly because I felt I had been challenged to do so on my previous…
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Malaysia 2012: 20 Hours in Kuala Lumpur (Apr 13)
Cecilia and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 1:00 AM, breezed through a clean and organized customs line and went on our way to…
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India 2012: Kolkata, Calcultta, Tomato, Tomato (4/9-4/12)
No matter how you pronounce it, Kolkata is a big place to tackle in two days. But two days was all we had, so…
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India 2012: Varanasi & The Ganga (4/2-4/9)
Varanasi is three cities. #1: The high holy Hindu city of myriad temples, ghats and the Ganga, with its boat men, water buffalo, hash…
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India 2012: Agra Again / Taj Take Two (3/31-4/1)
The New Delhi railway station is a silly place. The scrolling marquees above the platforms read “WelcomeAtNewDelhiRailwayStation“. No spaces. No “to”. When an announcement…
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India 2012: Return to Dirty Delhi (March 26-31)
I didn’t have to go back to Delhi. I had been there before, and I didn’t even like it that much. I had traveled…
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India 2012: North Andaman / Exit Andamans (Andaman Islands, Mar 19-26)
I could have stayed on Havelock Island for months. I would have. But my wonderful new group of friends started to leave, so I…
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India 2012: Holi Festival on Havelock Island (Andaman Islands, Mar 8)
The way my travel itinerary was shaking out, I was going to be in the Andaman Islands during Holi Festival. I wasn’t fully at…
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India 2012: 17 Days on Havelock Island (Andaman Islands 3/2-3/19)
I expected to spend three to five nights on Havelock Island. That did not happen. The ferry ride from Port Blair to Havelock took…
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India 2012: Arrival in the Andaman Islands (Mar 2)
Flying into Port Blair felt a bit like flying off the edge of the map. But of course, it wasn’t. The Andaman Islands were…
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India 2012: Madurai & Chennai (Feb 29-Mar 1)
It was still dark outside when the night train from Varkala pulled into Madurai Junction. I had one order of business in Madurai: visit…
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India 2012: Varkala (Feb 25-28)
I traveled/coordinated with travel buddies Mathieu and Chloe as far as Kochi, but there our partnership dissolved – Chloe had to get to Chennai…
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India 2012: Kochi & Kerala’s Backwaters (Feb 22-25)
My first day in Kochi was spent recovering from the long transit from Ooty and Coimbatore the previous day. Overnight transit sometimes isn’t the…
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