Irrawady dolphins in the Mekong near Kratie, Cambodia

Phnom Pehn, Cambodia-  What do freshwater dolphins, sticky rice in bamboo and stilted mosques claim in common?

These were all found just off of the national highway in Northeast Cambodia thanks to our intrepid guide and driver.

The dolphins, which are impressive in their own right, were part of my daughter’s Cambodia itinerary.

Bliss on the river

Sitting in the middle of the massive body of water that is the Mekong river, with the sound of water breaking over the rapids upstream and the rhythmic exhaling of the dolphins surfacing every few minutes, was the sort of blissful family moment you get about once every teen calendar year.

Bridge to Kampong Cham

Our return to Phnom Pehn included a stop in Kampong Cham, Cambodia’s third city with a population of around 65,000, and a shiny new bridge across the Mekong river.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to explore this low-keyed town with a picturesque waterfront.

As we drove out of town to the Phnom Pros Temple we appreciated the green spaces and vibrant street culture of Kampong Cham and made a note to return here on a future visit.

Phnom Pros Temple

The Temple was our final stop on our 12-hour whirlwind tour and we took in the sunset view of the surrounding area while a tribe of small monkeys plied us for food.

The next morning at 7 am, we said our goodbyes to Phnom Penh and the mighty Mekong and hopped in a minibus for the (supposed) eight or nine hour trip to Koh Chang Island in the Gulf of Thailand, and that is a tale for another day.

Phnom Pehn family truckster

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Just back from a 10-day visit to Cambodia and Thailand and ruminating on my family’s adventures.

Among the amazing sights in Cambodia were the obligatory gravity defying scenes of whole families as well as just about any other household appliance or ware imaginable, slung over the saddle of Khmer Rouge era scooters and sputtering down the road.

But what was even more amazing in retrospect, was the range of transport we both saw and used in traveling across the better part of Cambodia, and the Southeastern corner of Thailand.

A brief survey includes: Motodop (motorbike taxi), Tuk Tuk (motorbike rickshaw), rented motorbike, taxi, minibus, ferry boat, pirogue, longboat, pickup-truck, and my favorite… elephant (see gallery pics below).

Bicycles were easily rented in Phnom Penh and I noted several day tours advertised. Unfortunately given the short time frame for our visit, family considerations (protests) and the hectic traffic in Phnom Penh, Bangkok and other areas visited, I did not explore this avenue (next time).

Rice fields near Cambodia/Vietnamese border

Cambodia is roughly half the size of Germany territorially speaking, with a highway system that while greatly improved recently, still reflects the largely rural nature and grinding poverty that characterizes the country – until five or six years ago the quickest route from Phnom Penh to the central and Northern regions of the country was along the Mekong river on the so called “Bullet Boat.”

I was in fact sad that the Bullet Boat no longer runs up the Mekong, at least not for daily travelers.

The only other option for slow travelers wishing to reach the nondescript villages along the river is to invest several days time in learning local minibus routes, or to rent a car and driver and ask him to drive into the hinterland… which is what we did.

As it turned out, our driver spoke a good deal of English and doubled as a guide to the images of rural Cambodia laid out around us. He also had a better idea of what we would find interesting, than we did picking towns off of the map and from the guidebook.

Highpoints included the rice paddy vistas going Northeast from the capital towards the Vietnamese Border, and a window into some of Cambodia’s minority communities as we went further North – including a surprising number of mosques (some on stilts emphasizing their dual identities).

Sticky rice vendor near Kratie in Northeastern Cambodia

Outside Kratie, our original destination, the National Highway turns into a sleepy lane winding along the Mekong River past roadside stalls selling bamboo stalks filled with sticky rice and other local specialties.

It was hard to believe this was the principal international route to neighboring Laos.

As we took in the sights, our driver, Naret deftly led us to a small dirt turnoff overlooking the river, “Here are the boats for dolphin viewing,” he announced.

Tales of dolphins and travel in Cambodia and Thailand to be continued…

2000 US Tour

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – When was the last time someone said you were too old to dream?

For me, motorcycles and dreams, dreaming, have always been intertwined and I was unexpectedly cut low recently when a colleague told me there are few spots he would venture to on a motorcycle in Africa today.

We were drinking beer, celebrating a successful meeting and waxing poetic about bike adventures and the beauty of being at the same time more vulnerable, and more open to transformative experiences on a bike.

I was thinking of my lifelong dream to take a bike from Nuevo Laredo, Texas (nostalgic point of departure South) to Tierra del Fuego, loaded with a tent, some food and a camera.

I asked aloud if he thought it was statistically more dangerous to adventure-travel in the world of today than it was, say, 23 years ago when I was crisscrossing Central America.

Waiting for the train in Hannibal Missouri, birthplace of Mark Twain

His reply of “Good God, yes man!” couldn’t have deflated me more than if he’d have hit me in the gonads.

I was struck suddenly with the fear that not only had that dream vanished in time, but so would so many others, based on the fact that humanity has gone to hell.

Shortly afterwards I begged off for the evening, blaming it on a headache, and walked back towards my motorcycle, wondering if he was right.

And then another thought came to me regarding a work discussion earlier in the day on perceptions of increased xenophobia in Switzerland and beyond.

One colleague pointed out that historically bigotry has done quite well in Europe, and in most parts of the world at one time or another; frequently when work is in short supply.

For two weeks I have been ruminating on this. Are we going to hell then, really? Has the state of humanity declined? Do I need to rethink my 10 year plan for trekking in the Americas? Or is this a functioning of fear-mongering and how we see the world as we get older?

A little perspective is a good thing: I bought my first motorcycle in Nicaragua, where I was living during the tail end of the Contra War and I traveled solo on local buses through at least three nations living through civil wars.

Granted, ignorance and stupidity are sometimes saving graces, literally, in lieu of knowledge and intelligence. But the only near-death experience I have had on a motorcycle (that I know of) involved a drunk driver at 4AM in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The historical record would seem to show that the world is just as complicated as it has always been, that adventure is inherently risky, and that we only see what we allow ourselves to see.

Planning is back on for the 2021 TransAm(erica).

Morning clouds on Bassin de la Villette in Paris

PARIS, FRANCE – How long does it take to bike from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eastern edge of Paris? This was the premise of a recent bicycle circuit in the City of Light.

Having covered many of Paris’ 20 arrondissements separately on foot over the course of several visits, I was curious to see them back to back.

What I found was a web of marked routes and dedicated bike lanes stretching from the tony neighbourhoods around Monceau to the positively “popular” areas around Gare du Nord, and further into the banlieus.

The ride (less than 2  hours r/t) took me through Pigalle, past the Moulin Rouge, by a horde of tour buses and Place de Clichy and dumped me at Bassin de la Villette, an artificial lake in the middle of the city built up from the Saint Denis Canal.

"Paris Plage" at Bassin de la Villette

The Bassin or reservoir is surrounded by a series of open plazas and boat piers with tourist cruises running up the Saint Denis and is reason enough to check out this route.

I also happened to catch the last weekend of Paris Plages, a municipal effort converting various waterfront areas in the city including the Bassin, into “beach front” with lounge chairs, water sports and of course, sand.

Sleepy Sunday by the beaches in Paris

Other attractions included the vibrant jumble of new immigrant neighbourhoods running north east of the park – check out the Maghreb food stalls spilling into the street along Avenue Flandre.

I also loved the funky urban infrastructure here including the elevated train trusses along Avenue de la Chappelle going south towards Gare du Nord.

The bike route south from the Bassin on Blvd. de la Villette/Blvd. de Bellville will take you through pleasant every day Paris neighbourhoods devoid of shtick and deposit you in front of the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in case you haven’t got your Jim Morrison/Oscar Wilde fix.

On the whole, the dedicated bike lanes like the one running from Boulevard des Batignolles, to Place de la Villete look awfully nice with sections providing a great traffic-free vantage point from which to take in the surrounding street life, and sizable stretches running along a lush median.

A word of caution though, bring a spare tube or two; the dedicated lanes tend to accumulate glass as they border the sidewalks and don’t seem to benefit from street cleaning.

In fact, I found the shared bus/bike lanes to be preferable for this reason. At least they are not full of dog deposits…

Download the Paris bike map here.

Happy riding.

Fruit stand on the road from Bogota to Mariquita

Colombia - At least once a day, my Colombian-born wife will say (usually around breakfast time) “oh what I wouldn’t give for a batido de lulo or curuba” or one of any number of exotic fruits native to her home country.

To someone raised in a northern climate, the fruit selection at Migros pretty well represents my vocabulary of sweet succulents: apples, pears, bananas, oranges, and heaven forbid, pineapples and mangoes when they are “in season,” that is when shipping allows.

But the choice of fruit in Colombia is akin to the cheese selection at a Geneva farmers market; more variety than you can physically sample at one sitting, often including a number of items you may not even be aware of.

Papaya trees just out the back door!

During a recent trip to Colombia, I had the chance to sample a  smorgasbord in the fruit capital of the country, Mariquita.

Mariquita is situated in a wide river valley, about a four hour drive Northeast of Bogota and on the other side of one spit of the Cordillera. The drive alone from the capital to this large ranching and agricultural town was stunning.

It is impressive to think that this provincial town was founded only 13 years after the country’s capital, Bogota. This was in part due to its navigable location near the mighty Magdalena river.

View of the Cordillera outside of Mariquita

The Magdalena nearly traverses the length of Colombia from the Southwestern floodplains of the Andean Cordillera to the Caribbean port of Barrinquilla in the Northwest of the country (stay tuned for tales of the Magdalena on this blog). The town was also renowned for the precious metal that was mined there, and for the luscious flora, including fruit trees, that carpeted the valley.

Today, Mariquita and the surrounding area continues to be a rich tapestry of fecund brown earth, intense green leaf, and vibrant hues of multicolored flowers. Corn fields alternate with rice paddies, stands of palm trees and fruit plantations. Fruit offerings range from the basic luxe of mango in several shapes and sizes, to the relatively new and exotic “mangostino,” which resembles something between a pomegranate and a guanabana.

Vibrant colors abound in Mariquita

During our brief stay, we did our part to support the local fruit growers and sellers, gorging each morning on piles of fresh picks and making frequent snack stops for star fruit, persimmons and other delicacies we knew we would only dream of upon our return home.

Horse carriage and fruit seller inside the walled city of Cartagena

Cartagena, Colombia (GenevaLunch) – When my wife suggested combining a December work assignment in Cartagena, Colombia with holiday vacation, my first thought was “I am going to miss some great early snow!” Three weeks later, with a nice tan and saltwater still seeping out of my ears, I am thanking my wife for her wisdom. Here is what we found traveling the country largely by bus, from the Caribbean to the Pacific Coast, with a passage over the Western and middle branch of the Colombian Coordillera.

Our trip began in Cartagena de Indias, on Colombia’s Atlantic or Carribean Coast.

The city is probably the most well known tourist destination in Colombia. The 500 year-old colonial city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as home to white sand Caribbean beaches.

The city is also home to Colombia’s largest naval contingent, and the government has been very conscious of maintaining public security in the area given the importance of tourism and foreign investment. The result is a traveler friendly urban area where horse carts mingle with taxi cabs and beachgoers walking to the surf, literally 2 blocks from the walled city.

Cartagena is hot! Temperatures varied between 29 degrees at night and 36 during the day: a good hat and sunblock are essential accessories. Dress comfortable and casual because the old city is visually stunning and a joy to explore on foot, especially early morning and later at night. The latter was particularly noteworthy given the level of public insecurity in Colombia due to common delinquency and/or armed groups in many regions of the country.

View near the battlement wall, Cartagena, Colombia

Our three day whirlwind visit included extensive walking along cobbled streets largely unchanged since Spanish adventurers first colonized the city in 1533. Walkways along the battlement walls surrounding the old city provide a birds eye view of both the nearby beach front, as well as of the colonial architecture inside.

One of our favorite areas was the Getsemani neighborhood, adjacent to the more gentrified areas within the walled city. The neighborhood is split between a low keyed residential area of long and narrow attached residences of modest means, and a commercial area full of guest houses, cheap eateries and bars.

On the evening we walked through, we found Cartagenero families enjoying “tinto” or coffee on impromptu curbside patios, children playing football with a bundle of newspaper and musicians playing a pickup tune in the church square.

There are any number of excellent restaurants in Cartagena where you can sample costeño or afro-Colombian dishes and an array of fresh seafood. I think the best meal I ate there though was served to me on the beach; a grilled mojarra fish with lots of lime, coconut rice, and fried plantains.

While at the beach, we relied on Lucho, a Cartagenero and friend of the family who earns a living guiding and assisting visitors. In addition to supplying us with excellent food, he provided us with local tips on everything from where to find great music (Café Havana, Quiebra Canto…) to possible day trips outside of the city.

"Raspado," shaved ice vendor at Centenario Park in the historic center of Cartagena

Unfortunately, our travel itinerary (and scheduled flight out of the city) only allowed us 3 days to enjoy the magic that is Cartagena. But then again the rest of the country lay waiting…

Your options for travel from Geneva to Colombia are varied depending on the airline, however the flight with one stop averages 15 hours. Air France and Iberia have some of the better connections from Geneva. If you don’t mind combining airline flights, you can also find great deals on tickets flying into Miami and then onto Cartagena.

Check my blog for further musings on bicycling in Bogota, boating on the historic Magdalena river, devouring mangoes in Colombia’s fruit capital, crossing the Colombian Cordillera and surfing the wild beaches of the Colombian Pacific.

Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - At an easy three and-a-half hour train ride (TGV), or leisurely five hour drive through rolling farmland, Paris should be on your list of weekend  getaways if you live in Geneva.

My family manages at least two trips a year, usually with visiting friends or family in tow. Which begs the question, how many times can you see the Eiffel Tower or walk the Champs Elysée? Here’s a recipe for wandering in Paris guaranteed to change the way you see the world’s most touristy city.

First: Get an inexpensive apartment for the weekend in a low key Parisian neighborhood – Craigslist has a range of affordable listings by private parties willing to rent on a short-term basis. We paid 150 Euros for four people and two nights in a very cool 2-bedroom duplex apartment in the 11th arrondissement (a great local neighborhood previously unknown to us and packed with tempting food joints).

Second: Explore the 11th arrondissement in general. Our apartment was on Boulevard de Charonne, an area full of small cafés, bars, restaurants and most importantly, bakeries. The area in a rough triangle stretching from Nation, West to the Bastille and North to the Parmentier Metro, is a rabbit warren of one way streets and great residential neighborhoods that deserves getting lost in on two feet (or two wheels as it turns out).

At the Parmentier Metro stop we were immediately drawn into a neighborhood bakery by almond croissants and the kilo sized quiche Lorraine slices steaming the front window.

Third: Check out the Paris Catacombs if you haven’t already done so. I was not sure what to expect even after reading the clip in the guide book.

I took my daughter down the 60 meters (yes that’s right-not for claustrophobes) of spiral steps burrowing under the sewer lines and electrical grid in the neighborhood around the Denfert-Rochereau metro stop.

The site is part natural history museum, and part mausoleum for the hundreds of thousands of souls interred there.

If you have ever enjoyed the spiritual aspect of strolling through an old cementary, you will appreciate the subdued nature of this homage to Paris dead dating from the 18th century.

Catacombs, it's a long way down (and up!)

While my daughter was impressed by the bold display of human bones, I found the space more meditative than macabre.

Fourth: Borrow a bike from Velolib, the City of Paris’ nearly free bike service, available all over town. This amazingly convenient service was originally designed for Parisians going to the movies, or to the bar, however it has been adapted now to suit visitors as well. How does it work for non-Parisians? Simple, you find one of the Velolib bike stands, located every 300 meters, register a 150 Euro deposit on your credit card at the nearby bike pay meter, and you have two wheeled transportation all over town.

The machine issues a paper ticket for visitors, with a code which when entered, unlocks a given bike in the rack.

The bike can be returned to any Velolib stand in the city, at which point the paymeter registers the bike’s return. The only caution to remember, as a friendly resident informed us, is that some bike stands in the center of the city, or at tourist hotspots, tend to be fully occupied more often than not, and you may have to look around for an empty rack for drop off.

Fifth: Ride your bike outside of the tourist loup of  Île de France, including the lightly trafficked (at least during our visit) Jardin des Plantes which is also home to the Natural History Museum. The subdued atmosphere and extensive flower gardens bordered by tree-lined walkways is perfect for a picnic, or just to get lost for a while in an urban “forest.”

Chartier Restaurant Menu

Sixth: Finish the day off with a small feast at the Chartier restaurant, a favorite of locals and tourists alike, located in the Montmarte neighborhood.

The fare runs from calf’s head, to pig’s feet, to tripe, to lamb chops for the less adventurous, and somewhat surprisingly, given the location and the historical stature of the establishment, for under 20 Euros a plate. I loved the atmosphere; cathedral ceiling with wall murals, basic, shared table arrangements, and efficient service.

In a moment of mental instability I ordered the lamb chops (exactly as advertised) while my wife got the Tendron de Veau, or calf cartilage in a Milanese sauce; the tendron won hands down. Both plates were ample, served with fries, and on the table within ten minutes.

Restaurant Chartier in Paris

Fine dining it is not, but the quality was good, the atmosphere entertaining, and all for the price of a couple of nutella crepes on the Seine.

This was the perfect end to a great couple of days in a Paris I felt I had rediscovered.

Jewish quarters in Lyon - Photo ©Jared Bloch

Geneva, Switzerland – It’s officially summer and time for weekend getaways! And at one-and-a-half hours south, Lyon is a great shoestring evasion from Geneva.

Stuff your backpack with a toothbrush and a camera and catch a train at Geneva’s train station, Gare Cornavin. Change trains at Bellegarde, or get the local Poste bus from there to Lyon.

The ride itself is a panoramic plunge into the Rhone river valley, so don’t nap.

Make sure and grab an espresso on the way as the central train station resembled a gladiatorial contest on two recent visits.

More than mere metaphor, the city actually represented the ancient Gallic capital of Western Europe and boasts extensive Roman ruins on the edge of the old city.

Old settlement

Old is relative as Lyon has enjoyed several heydays, including as a seat of the Roman Empire, and later on as a medieval trading, and financial center during the Renaissance.

The history and intrigue in Lyon oozes from the cobbled streets in the old town and the ramparts of the Roman amphitheater on the hill overlooking town, and wafts from the back doors of Lyonaise Bouchons (the traditional Lyon restaurants renowned for their baked pigs feet and similar “light” fare); a word to the wise, order a lot less than you think you will eat, butter and lard are the operative words.

The Hotel St. Paul, located in the town center near the old train station and the St. Jean cathedral, presents a reasonable, convenient, and quaint lodging for exploring the city.

Reservations highly suggested. Alternately, you can venture to the other side of the Saone and the Rhône and find reasonable lodging in the University area (Hotel du Helder was a good value and appreciated last minute find).

As a bonus, this area hosts a mini Chinatown with a selection of Asian restaurants.

Bon week-end!

Inclined towers in Madrid, not an optical illusion

Madrid, Spain & Geneva, Switzerland – The trip to Madrid from Geneva is a quick hop, 1.5 hours by plane, or 14 driving, minus the detour through Bilbao at midnight.

On a recent trip to Spain I was awestruck by the automobile driven megopolis that is Madrid – there are 6.5 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and with some of the cheapest gas prices in Europe, cars and overpasses are ubiquitous.

I was also happily surprised by a number of noteworthy architectural works breaking up the city scape. Our tour of the City began, with a Priest and friend of the family, driving from the North of the City, South along the Castellana, the principal avenue in Central Madrid.Our first stop was the KIO Towers (Kuwaiti Investment Offfice Towers), otherwise known as the leaning towers of Madrid. As I stood in the middle of the Castellana taking shots of the towers, a New Year’s reveler stumbled past me (at 11 am) on his way home; his sideways stagger mimicked almost perfectly the incline of the building behind him.

After a brief stop at the Colón Plaza, a Neo-Gothic 19th Century homage to the explorer, we arrived at Atocha Station, the recently completed central train station which was added onto the existing rail yards and train bays.

Atocha parking lot

A lateral view of Atocha

For me, the real draw of the station lies outside, with its walls of automatically articulated shutters, and semi-enclosed parking structure dotted with Arabesque archways.

Inside is a pleasantly open modern space that is best appreciated by stepping through the entryway into the hall housing the original train quays; the older half of the combined structure is dominated by a spacious courtyard with a fountain in the center.

The antiquated steel frame structure of the train hall is effectively on display here, now that most traffic transits through the new station.

Our guide pointed to a darkened room with what seemed to be ultraviolet lighting; a memorial to the victims of the 2004 bombing at the Atocha Station.

In fact the room was illuminated through a blue skylight, with homages to peace inscribed on the glass in a helix pattern.

We finished our whirlwind tour with a walk through El Retiro, an urban retreat designed in the 17th century, and on the scale of New York’s Central Park. While portions of the Park are over the top, like the collonades and statue commemorating Alfonso XII, others like the tiered fountain area around the main entrance, and the walk around the lagoon, lend themselves to getting lost in your head on a Sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon at El Buen Retiro Park

Where the Road and the Sky Collide... Road to Nowhere

Driving through Southern France on our way to Madrid, through the Basque Country, and two days later returning through North eastern Spain, I see glimpses of the Road in a European setting; rugged hills breaking up the monotony of endless townships combined with vast spaces between settlements and an emptiness unblotted, or too immense to be paved over by humanity – and still it is the road that has brought us here.

By some luck, good or bad, we miss the turn for Madrid at Iruña, and end up at 11 pm touring the outskirts of Bilbao.

At this hour, it is disheartening to imagine another 3 hours driving until we reach Madrid.  My wife laughs and doesn’t say “you wanted a road adventure…”

On a blissfully empty stretch of road, somewhere in North eastern Spain between Zaragoza and Barcelona, my wife offers; “driving is empowering, I miss driving.”  I have never thought of it in these terms, over countless thousands of miles logged, mostly in North America, but also in Europe.

Mostly driving has been a meditation; in the days of gas at $1.25 a gallon, you could afford to “lose” a few days wandering around on lonely highways and back-roads.  On a motorcycle the possibilities were endless with a few dollars of change in your pocket.

Road to Nowhere

Motorized meditation may be the closest approximation to a vision quest that the last two generations of Americans have experienced as a mass culture.

Immortalized in Easy Rider, Zen and art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and Two Lane Blacktop, motorized transcendence has been an American pastime for the past 50 years.

Most of our adventures since moving to Geneva have been via train, on foot, and on bicycle.  We don’t own a car and so don’t often venture out in one, much less so without a destination in mind.

There is something incredibly decadent, fantastic and wonderful about traveling in a car – the power to transport yourself into someone else’s reality on a whim, this turn, that road, the odd cafe, an out of the way town.

In the best sense of traveling, the road is open.