“How do you tell this story, over and over, Mama Antoinette?” I asked the tiny woman standing before me, ” and with no trace of bitterness or hatred for the people who murdered your brother?” “Forgiveness,” she said reaching out to hug me, “it’s the only path from grief.” A hug from “Mama Antoinette” sister of slain Hector Pietersen Mama Antoinette On June 16, 1976 a twelve year old boy named Hector Pietersen was killed by police in an event the world would soon know as The Soweto Uprising. The school children’s protest against South Africa’s recently established a policy to use Afrikaans ..read more

With its expansive mountains cut by wandering rivers and rolling hills heavy with verdant vines, there’s no arguing that South Africa is home to some of the world’s most beautiful wine regions. Picture 250,000 acres of vines across the Western Cape region alone—it’s easy to get lost in the vast array of the country’s wine choices. Scenic Franschhoek in the middle of the South African winelands with its beautiful vineyards At the top of the list is Franschoek, Afrikaans for “French Corner”, a small town on the Western Cape and one of the oldest in South Africa, a 45 minute ..read more

A veteran of African game drives in Kenya and Tanzania, I thought South Africa and Zimbabwe would be much the same. I was wrong! Let’s visit Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, a Big 5 Game Park in the KwaZulu Natal region of South Africa. Join me on my recent safaris in South Africa in search of the majestic five: Elephant, Lion, Rhino, Leopard and Cape Buffalo! Thanks to our group of generous companions and our brilliant guide, Desiré Pringle for sharing photos from our adventures. Wild. Vast. The oldest proclaimed reserve in Africa. It was time to Safari in the Bush Velt of Zululand! Memorable ..read more

Share my visit to the Kingdom of Swaziland, or eSwatini as it’s now known. The last traditional kingdom in Africa. I found cheerful, friendly Swazi people proud of their rich culture and traditions, which they love to share with visitors. In few places have the youth uprisings been as surprising as in Eswatini, a kingdom of 1.2 million people that changed its colonial name, Swaziland, in 2018 on the order of the king. Unmarried women wear their hair bound atop their heads…she’s smiling because hers unwound while she was dancing! I found the Swazis to be charming and anxious to provi ..read more

As much as I viewed Dyer Island as a rocky and uninhabitable place to live, it’s actually the defining feature of the area coastal area of Gansbaai, on South Africa’s eastern coast. A place known as “Shark Alley”. Dyer Island is a small island located only a few miles off the southern shores of mainland South Africa. Aside from being the shark capital of the world, is also a nationally protected penguin and seabird sanctuary. Tourists from all over the world take cruises to watch the assortment of marine life living on and around the island. This tourist came to see the sharks! The islan ..read more

Its beauty is mesmerizing. Drive with me along South Africa’s rugged coastline to the Cape of Good Hope. Before “Good Hope”, the Cape was actually known as the “Cape of Storms”. Aptly named by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to discover the Cape in 1488 for the rough tides and heavy storms that could, and often did, tear ships into pieces. And as if the waters didn’t provide enough of a challenge, the Cape offers other terrifying tidbits with its dangerous underwater reefs and a long, rocky coastline. Shipwreck along the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. F ..read more

It’s an 11th century Buddhist VM! Thangka roughly translates to “recorded message” in Tibetan and is an ancient form of Buddhist art. The art of India and Nepal is one of flamboyance! Color in capitals! Flags fly, ropes of marigolds are offered to visitors along with welcoming red bindis and bracelets. Each with a prayer. Carvings, sculptures, paintings…all celebratory and strange. But so beautiful! Boudhanath Stupa in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Prayer wheels at temple in Kathmandu I watched artists in the city of Patan, near Kathmandu Nepal, practice the painstaking but gorgeous art of ..read more

It was the most imposing structure I have ever visited, dominating the landscape, miniaturizing the “Blue City” below. On par with the Great Wall but so much richer in ornate decoration and impossibly grand. Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur Rajasthan, UNESCO World Heritage site. Tourists walk through a gate at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur Mehrangarh Fort stands four hundred feet in splendor on a perpendicular cliff above the sky line of Jodhpur. Burnished red sandstone, imposing, invincible and yet with a strange haunting beauty that beckons. I took this photo from the fort overlooking the ‘Blue City ..read more

Many claim there are more gods than people in the Kathmandu Valley. It feels that way. Spiritually pungent, deliciously rich in culture and tradition. Flower petals, vermilion powder and rice are offered on brass trays daily at these sacred spots. The contrast with frenetic India is dramatic. Chill, more peaceful. An absence of car horns. The Himalayas loom, menacing with tectonic threat but grand and gorgeous. Nepal is the country of Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world, and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha. Nepal exists outside of normal time. Time as we Americans me ..read more

I loved watching Indian women draped in brightly colored, embellished silks managing to accomplish, to me, awkward side-saddle motor bike rides, managing unruly kids, raking basmati, worshipping at the temple all the while composed and lovely in their saris. In Indian culture, the sari symbolizes respect, dignity, modesty and confidence. The word “sari” means “strip of cloth” in Sanskrit. But for the Indian women—and a few men—who have been wrapping themselves in silk, cotton, or linen for millennia, these swaths of fabric are more than just simple garments. They’re symbols of national pri ..read more