Itinerary: Los Angeles (2 days); Kauai (10 days); East Coast Australia (3 weeks); South Island New Zealand (3 weeks); Bali and Lombok (4 weeks); Kuala Lumpur (2 days); Thailand and Cambodia (3 weeks); Cairo (3 days); Istanbul (4 days); Athens and Cycladic Islands(3 weeks); Western Europe (2 months); Norway (2 weeks); England and Scotland (1 week); Iceland (4 days); New York City (2 days) …

“Such a woman knew how to appreciate the beauty of the changing face of the seasons and of the blue mountains, as she sat by her window at Myri. Oh, yes; she knew also how to talk about this beauty at a meeting; she talked about it with as much feeling as a tourist on a summer picnic. Work out of doors in nature’s bosom was, she maintained, a form of healthy physical exercise taken in the midst of the country’s indescribable beauty.” ~ Halldór Laxness, Independent People

...well, not Belgium, but any other country in Western Europe will do…

Outside every art museum we visited in Italy, street sellers were demonstrating toys for tourists. The most ubiquitous was the squishy tomato, a sticky red blob that could be thrown and rebounded like a gelatinous amoebic yo-yo. The price of admission to these sites includes awkward interchanges with the tomato sellers, downward glances, and reluctant polite dismissals that are taken as future openings. It’s a 21st Century iteration of some of the oldest tropes in art: patronage, visibility, the juxtaposition of crap and quality, exploitation of icons. …

Angkor Wat in Cambodia deserves special mention, although it is impossible to describe the incredible splendor, grace, and magic of the thousand-year-old temples without falling prey to the language of clichés and bad poetry. It's big. It's awesome. It's mind blowing. It’s hot. It's petrified history. Etc. …

Islam was first introduced to the Malay Peninsula Coast in 674 CE, just over fifty years after the Prophet’s flight from Mecca to Medina, and again by Arab merchants and traveling Sufis in waves throughout the 12th to 15th centuries. Today, over 60% of the population practices Islam, almost 20 million people. …

The Maori call New Zealand's South Island the “Land of the Long White Cloud.” It rained nearly every day, allowing for great familiarity with the Cloud. Alternatively, the rare unveiling of the sun encouraged the surfacing of extreme sand flies, mini participants in another one of New Zealand’s famous adventure sports: blood-sucking. One way or another, we spent many evenings inside the shelter of Shadowfax, our ancient white rental Corolla. …

… Apogee: Santa's Christmas Village at the Beach, as I affectionately referred to one particular monstrosity in Maroochydore, New South Wales. The tent site was a little slab of hardened grass in the midst of the most absurd tent-and-lightcircus-show imaginable. Friendly suburban outglow-your-neighbor Christmas light displays wouldn't stand a chance against THESE vacationers. I declared it a consummate experience after walking past a life-sized, sparkling, blow-up Santa on a surfboard, with not one, but TWO sharks nipping at his toes …

While waiting, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, for a rental car at the Kauai airport, I wondered foolishly why someone would bring their pet rooster to work at the outdoor car rental counter. …

Los Angeles: Point of Departure …