Our flight home was uneventful. That's a major coup. We like to fly Singapore Airlines first and foremost because nothing goes wrong. You can rely on a smooth check-in, an

We are to stay in our rooms and not come out until morning. We are entitled to 10 total meals – 2 per person which we can order anytime and

I'm sitting at a desk on the 23rd floor of the Novotel Pratunam overlooking central Bangkok on our last night in Thailand. This is the same hotel we stayed in

The spell was cast using a mix of a glass walled beachfront bungalow, the incredible colors in the water at Ao Vongduan (arguably Ko Samet’s most beautiful beach cove) and

Greece is a country steeped in history. Everywhere you step, no matter how insignificant seeming has history to it. Even our beloved Patmos is known for being home to St

"They love me! These fishies love me!" Ailyn said while giggling loudly. "I've been petting them. I just pet that one on its poop hole!" We were standing in the

One thing you can count on in Thailand is that few things go exactly to plan. Sometimes it's because something that should be open isn't. Or someone showed up whenever

On quiet, innocuous looking Ko Samet, there's a lot happening on the beach. It's not the crazy parties and not-so-secret drug dealing of Ko Phagnan and Ko Phi Phi. It's

The last day of the year was blissfully incongruent with the rest of 2021. A year with COVID, stress, home learning, returns to school with numerous modifications, a new company

Our shuttle van headed out of Bangkok on a road that either I no longer recognized or on which I never have been. Most likely the latter. Thailand has built

Cities are a collection of spaces – profound and mundane; public and personal; holy and profane; safe and scary; familiar and unknown; inspiring and disheartening; beautiful and ugly; comfortable and

At 8 am, Ailyn begged to cancel our plans and go back to sleep. While no one else agreed per se, all were indifferent at best. We have gone from

"There's where the men with little boys go!" Sennen said to me as we headed down the corridors of the Siam Paragon Mall. I was thrown by the comment for

Having such a large, comfortable condo has changed the way we operate. Instead staying in for dinner once in awhile, we have eaten at home every night. Not that we've

Visiting Thailand right now is like Love in the Time of Cholera. We live our life and enjoy our ourselves to the backdrop of a pandemic. The day after we

Humans are a storytelling animal and through the use of stories,  we create contexts and meanings that allow us to cooperate and live together. Often, stories have variations that link

"I don't even feel soft like Jello anymore!" Ailyn wailed as she had a mini-breakdown on the steps leading out of the Rachadamri Skytrain station. Though we hadn't spent most

We may never know whether or not fish will fry in the kitchen or if the beans would burn on the grill here, but we have definitely moved into a

Sennen went quiet. It was such an unusual sound that at first, we didn't notice it. But there he was, passed out in the front row of the shuttle van

"Wait, so this isn't America?!" Ailyn exclaimed more than an hour after our arrival in Singapore and at least 20 minutes into our very Singaporean  breakfast of kaya toast and

Who knew we would be grounded for almost two and a half years? We came back from our glorious summer in Israel and Greece with the audacious intent to do

"Sennen, you have such a great attitude this morning,  I really appreciate it!" I told Sennen at 4:15 am in our Athens Airport hotel room. "No problem, Daddy! It's because

"I can't do this anymore, help! Daddy, Matheus, help – I can't do it!" Sennen cried out in a moment of exasperation as he struggled to keep his grip the

One of the strange things about an island is that you're either on it, or not. When you leave there's no gradual goodbye or change as you drive away. You

"As we get toward the 15th of August, things really fill up. That's why you see so many Greek tourists here, they come to Patmos because it's a holy island.

"Daddy, can hippopotamuses drown?" Sennen called from the swimming pool. "Because they live in water and can swim under water, so can they drown?" We spent Emily's last day in

"So I'll be the king, you can be the queen, Mommy will be the guard, Daddy will be the Duke and Matheus can be….the horse!" Sennen offered while playing with

Numerous emails from Sennen's school and the school district have been filling our inboxes. We have at least three online platforms to register for or update. It's the replacement of

"You made him cry!" I said to Emily at the end of dinner while Matheus and the kids were exploring a nearby tree that was just begging to be climbed

We wake up between 8:30 and 9:30 each morning. The kids usually get up earlier – between 7:00 and 8:30 and read books on the iPad. They have bulldozed through

"Matheus, how many days are in a year?" Sennen asked. "There are 365 days, Sennen"  "Daddy, can a person live for more or less than a million days?" "Less, Sennen.

From the number of churches and holy sites with icons, it would be easy to think that Patmos is the most religious place on earth.  Tiny Hora alone with a

"I really like being in Patmos. I like living here. I wish we could stay here forever," Sennen said while walking to the supermarket. I think we all feel that

"There's a question in a discussion board in one of my classes about on dating sites and apps, whether the ability sort by race and ethnicity is racist, or not.

Not only was the ferry was running about 25 minutes late but it was unclear where it would pull-in. A low-end cruise ship that was small enough to be allowed

"Yes, you can light Greek coffee (grounds) on fire like this. It's very weird that it lights on fire because Greek coffee is the healthiest in the world for you,"

It's a nice 82 out – not terribly warmer than it has been for the past month – but the humidity has increased to 65%, making things a little stickier

We're spending today at the swimming pool at Pleiades Bar and Restaurant overlooking Sapsilla Bay – a gorgeous turquoise cove with a small and sparsely used beach. While the kids

Travel changes us all  - sometimes profoundly, sometimes imperceptibly. Every trip we see growth in our children – they come home different people than they started, like they go through

"Guys, last night was the best night of this entire trip!" Ailyn exclaimed this morning. It was surprising for a girl who spent the first hour of dinner laying her

"I don't want to go anywhere…. I hate this… I don't feel good…" Sennen said repeatedly yesterday. Today, he didn't want to go his favorite pizza restaurant, the beach or

Some light Sergio Mendes covers were playing loud enough to be noticeable – the first time a restaurant in Patmos wasn't playing mild, indescript Greek music in the background. Giant

"Daddy, I just read about four countries: Japan, Mexico, Italy and China! Most of Italy has farmland and it's well known for its food, clothes and beautiful land. And Japan

It started with the most unusual sound – Hebrew being spoken. On Patmos. I was sitting on a lounge chair at Campos Beach, Matheus to my left, Emily coming back

Since our year of travel in 2010, a lot has changed in the world of lodging. As we went from country to country, city to city or island to island,

By 1 pm, it felt as though we had never left and the fact that we began our day yesterday in Turkey and this morning in Samos was just a

It's not everyday that a Turkish woman sitting down next to you, smoking a cigar seems apropos  - but today it did. Emily had gone inside the air conditioned inside

"Scar is the meanest lion in the world!" Ailyn said after The Lion King let out. Sennen, as usual, had a million questions about all kinds of details in the

My friend Leanne first introduced me to Orhan Pamuk's work in 2007 when she gave me a copy of I Am Red which I consumed during a vacation in Cannes. Pamuk

From our new apartment-hotel unit, we have a fantastic view of the Antalya harbor, hills, colorful apartment houses, Ottoman era fortress, the Kusadasi sign (a Hollywood sign knock-off) and a

"What, you have something valuable in there?" the Turkish boat crewman said to Matheus as he removed his passport from his suitcase before leaving it with the "checked" baggage. Matheus

"Sen, remember when I went up to the boy and said Kalispera (good afternoon/evening in Greek) and he gave back my sand toys?!" Ailyn bragged of her success at intercultural

The Allied invasion of Patmos began last week. As we had been warned, mid-July to early August is Patmos' peak season. The French seem to have taken hold of the

Jerusalem, Istanbul, Athens, Thessaloniki, Skala, Heraklion, Nicosia, Lipsi Town, Dayton, New York, Orlando – what do they have in common? Substantive Greek populations. We easily understand communities like New York, Dayton

Until now, it has been a distant outline seen across the water from Skala and Grikos – some hills rising up from the sea with the same light brown color

"I'm think I'm addicted to Greek Mythology!" Sennen said last night and again this morning. Here he merges two concepts that have been on his busy mind: Greek mythology and

By our count, there are at least eight bakeries on Patmos. Like the tavernas here, each has its distinguishing specialties around a core set of items that are the same.

"No, mommy, no…. give me one more chance….one more chance…one more chance!!!"  Emily and I take a sick pleasure when it's not our kid. We just looked up from our

"How many years have we been gone now?" Ailyn asked as we left for the beach.  While we have been gone from home just over a month and in Patmos

Patmos – and largely Greek – business hours are usually 9 to noon and 5 to 11 daily, except Sundays with some minor variations and exceptions (like cafes   and

Arguably, Sunday peaked with me banging a shoe on the floor like Nikita Kruschev, snuffing the life out of my opponent – a giant wasp who mistakenly entered our house

Kampos Beach has nothing but swimming-pool calm water with shallow water that stretches on endlessly. I have never bothered to walk far enough to see when it becomes deep enough

Today, our landlord/host Victor came knocked on our door in the late morning. He very courteously wanted to find out what time it might be convenient for us to allow

"Happy Birthday, America!" Sennen yelled. "Happy Birthday, America!" Ailyn echoed while swimming in tourmaline blue waters of a cove of nearby Tiganakia island. They had tried yelling it from the

The European Union's periphery is both figurative and literal. If you think of the Iberian Peninsula hanging off the far west and Greece hanging off the Southeast, these areas have

We have been gone for almost a month and not a post yet on food – which is very unlike this blog. It's not for lack of delicious food or

One of the great parts of staying somewhere for awhile is that everyday, mundane tasks become adventures. This morning, we planned to get up at our leisure, have breakfast and

There's no nice way to say it – our children have been fussier and whinier than usual. Ailyn is having infrequent – but uncharacteristic tantrums where she stomps her feet

Had we not spotted the man who looked just like Nicola, the whole thing might not have happened at all. As we were driving back down the narrow road to

Sennen had heard the story too many times. In 2010, Nicola, the owner of our studio apartment hotel, told us we must try the BEST pizza on Patmos, or perhaps

Nine years ago today, Emily and I began our journey together as a married couple. That journey has comprised so many journeys and adventures – mental, emotional and actual travel.

Being a tourist means to a large degree getting what you want. Popular tourist destinations learn what their visitors want and usually figure out a way to supply it to

"I am VERY impressed!" Sennen exclaimed. This is perhaps the highest Sennen compliment short of I love you. The Blue Star 1 ferry that connects Athens to the Dodecanese island

Modern Athens lives incredibly intimately with its ancient past. Unlike Jerusalem which has a clear division between Old City and Modern Jerusalem, in Athens you can be walking down an

We arrived to our Athens apartment-hotel at about 1:45 am. The kids were asleep in the back of the taxi-van, as they had been on the chairs of the airport

My parents generation grew up making the case for Israel. Israel was born at the same time they were and fought for its life just to make it to its

Sennen awoke first at 7:45 and Ailyn waited at least another 15 minutes to get out of bed. By the time we were all up it was past 9am. The

Napoleon Bonaparte invaded what is now Israel in 1799. He took Jaffa rather easily, surprisingly didn't care at all about Jerusalem (his aims had nothing to do with religion) and

The end of an 11 day tour of Israel came with relief, sadness and satisfaction. It was an intensely busy 11 days that in Dina's words was "boot camp" –

What makes murder so heinous is that it is not just a crime against the victim, but against everyone connected to the victim, not to mention all the possibilities that

We gathered as a family with little more than a table, a Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) and some prayer books. It was a simple morning service except for two important

Coming from the Los Angeles area – or really anywhere on the West Coast of the United States of America means having no depth of history. Houses from the 1920's

The Dead Sea is about 30% salt and minerals. Until the 1980's it was believed that no living organism inhabited its waters, until a microalgae was discovered. Israel sold research

Noah Yuval Harari is a Professor of History at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has written three recent books that have become worldwide phenomena - Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for the

"I go wherever Haydie goes" – Sennen "Where's Bailey? Can I go with Bailey?" – Ailyn "Bailey, put Ailyn down, you're going to hurt your back, Sweetie!" – All the

Ailyn stood on the side of the road wearing only her shoes and socks while everyone fluttered around figuring out what to do with her watermelon juice vomit soaked clothes

Chaim Weizmann came to fame not as Israel's first President – that was later – but through his scientific breakthrough of using the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum to generate acetone – a key

"We have a broad range of interests on this bus," my father-in-law, Jack explained to our tour guide Dina. It seemed fairly obvious at the time given the range of

"Mommy, Daddy, is it morning yet?" Ailyn asked, standing at the foot of our bed at 2:30 am.  "No, sweetie – it's many hours until morning and we need to

"Daddy, this guy knows everything!" Sennen whispered about our VIP arrival liaison, Yoni as we left the baggage area of the David Ben Gurion Airport. Last time Emily and I

"I don't think we'll be back here for five years," Emily predicted as we headed to the ferry dock on Patmos. "Five years?! That seems too long!" I responded. Really,

"Thailand? Well, young man, now you've seen and know not to take America for granted, right?" the Customs officer said to Sennen who didn't understand what the man meant. "He

You can’t always explain why some places feel like home. For us, the Royalview Resort in Bangkok is one of the least likely of them – an almost unnoticeable hotel

Driving along Highway 4 from Khao Lak to Phuket International Airport, once past the tourist heart of Khao Lak, you get a nice view of rural Southern Thailand. Farming, simple

The first day of the year was also our last full day in Khao Lak. Emily awoke with the the bittersweet tone about the day she gets when something great

It's not often we get to start start and end the year in Thailand – but in 2018, we did. Our family rung 2018 in with Arielle in Ko Chang

We came upon Kokulo by accident two days ago while walking around the Hat Bang Niang area of Khao Lak. Due to a local ordinance passed almost a year ago,

"I LOVE IT!!!" Ailyn exclaimed after trying a sip of Emily's beer. "I LOVE IT!!!" after a sip of coffee "I LOVE IT!" after her first sip of Thai iced

Ailyn asks all kinds of questions such as, "Why are there no sea gulls in Thailand?" and "Why is everyone staring at me?" (which I think she's figured out is

My masseuse clearly paid attention in class – likely taught by monks. She was a by-the-book traditionalist like my high school French teacher. Mrs Myer used to say, "I'm here

"This is our biggest adventure ever!" Sennen said after we waded through a long, often low-ceilinged cave the led to an emptied-out lagoon in the middle of a limestone island.

You've been in Thailand awhile when you become indignant about the price of a $15 taxi. In Thai terms, it's practically scandalous – although if you were trying to get

"I can't believe we're going to Khao Lak today! This is going to be amazing!" said the boy who has never been to Khao Lak before. I think we all

"I want to take her home, I want to take her home!" an older Thai woman said feigning grabbing Ailyn's cheeks. Ailyn's curls and general cuteness make her practically a

By 10 am, I felt that old, familiar sweat – the special overheated, drippy sweat caused by air trapped below corrugated metal roofs, plastic tarps and fueled by too many

"Daddy, I think we have the best family? Are we the best family in the world?" "That's so great, Sennen! I think we're a great family and I'm glad you

Bangkok is booming. With every visit, its economic ascendancy becomes clearer. More new malls – when you couldn't imagine another one could even be needed – and yet every one

Hanukkah literally means dedication or consecration and in the context of the events around the holiday, it really means rededication. When American Jews talk about Hanukkah – especially with children

Why did the king need so many buildings? Why did he need to pray? Why did he need to pray so much? Why did he need to build a palace

To enjoy the rewards, we must first pay the price upfront – Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore to Bangkok – the longest flight sequence of the trip. Singapore Airlines

A year has passed and while the time seems to have flown by for Emily and me, our lives have changed and most importantly, our kids have changed. This year,

The biggest drawback to our big international trips is the return. Besides the typical "the vacation is over" blues most people experience, the long series of flights home is tiring

Walking the streets of Bangkok, it's easy to see Thailand's strengthening economy and the wealth accumulating in Bangkok. From the vast number of new buildings rising where old, decrepit ones

For the average Westerner, Thailand can be surprising, shocking and lead to all sorts of questions as they encounter a significantly different culture and society. Why do some things work

Although it was just 10am, the sun was setting on our time on Ko Chang. The minibus loaded with a driver, the five of us and 10 bags and a

On November 21st, 2010 I wrote The Long March Or The Things We Do For Love – the story of Emily's and my three day trek through the Kathmandu Valley

In the middle of my beachside massage, I felt someone lean over my body and arms wrap around me. "Sawasdee Pi Mai!!!" my smiling masseuse from two days ago said.

We're doing something right when we're having a discussion with our children about the different colors of blue in the water. As our boat took us away from the pier,

Our kids partied hearty under the Ko Chang moon. Siam Huts, the bungalows, restaurant and bar at the south corner of the sandy section of Lonely Beach setup a dance

When I lived in Bangkok, Singapore, Hsinchu (Taiwan) and Taipei – the tropical sun beat against the concrete walls of the structures, making its energy known despite shades and air

When a couple of friends urged me to go to Thailand for the first time, one naturally told me to watch "The Beach" with Leonardo diCaprio which was filed on

Arai Gor Dai is one of my favorite Thai phrases. It is a versatile phrase that means roughly, "Whatever works" or even just "Whatever…". The phrase captures a key component

There's no word for similar in Thai. There's same and different. So the closest thing to our concept of similar is literally, "Same but not same" which is most commonly

'Twas the day before Christmas and all through Chiang Mai, everyone was shopping. Not specifically because it's Christmas Eve, but because weekend markets and shopping streets are ubiquitous in Chiang

"It's the Tiger Family Trip!" Ailyn sang at the top of her lungs as we our Tuk-Tuk zipped through the back alleys and side roads of Chiang Mai tonight. While

We went from "Dad, can you give the elephant this banana for me?" while Sennen stood about 10 feet beyond the elephant's nasal reach to "I'm an expert elephant feeder!"

"Let's have a conversation. Let's have a full conversation. I want to have a conversation about my lives before. You want to hear about my lives before?" "Sennen, first we

It's always the last hour of travel when things – or more specifically the kids – fall apart. They can go 21 of 22 hours of flight without a hitch,

Journeys seldom go as expected and ours began with some twists. For Sennen and Ailyn, they were surprised Friday night when I came home from the airport with our cousin

On December 17th – two days from now – we'll depart Los Angeles for parts well-known: Thailand with an 8.5 hour layover in Singapore. These are places Emily and I

On June 28, 2011, I wrote the last line of the blog that cataloged our one-year, around-the-world honeymoon – Our First Year Everywhere. I felt that once that story was