The day gets greyer and greyer as we leave Bac Ha Market. I still have to journey another couple of hours to reach my destination, a reportedly upscale eco paradise/lodge (operated by a Danish hotelier keen on preservation projects around the globe) that relies completely on solar technology for energy and hot water. As we climb the mountain, the clouds …
2
You buy from me?
Let’s take a break from Europe and gab about textiles today. Late last year I was in Asia for a few weeks. One of the highlights of this trip was trekking through North Vietnam. In this mountainous area near the Chinese border, there are numerous ethnic minority tribes (the H’mong, Tay, Thai, Hoa, and Dao to name a few) identifiable …
2
Heaven behind hell’s gates
Way before 9/11 I used to spontaneously pick out a city, hop a plane and some hours later basically get lost somewhere in the world. If I didn’t speak the local language, all the better. Now it’s not so simple to travel. The consequence of 9/11 is the knowledge of how the impossible can manifest itself. That has changed how …
2
Land of the frites
Earlier this year I spent a few weeks in Europe. Because the dollar was tanking against the euro at that time I spent more down time sightseeing than shopping. Plus the summer sales were raging at home so there was no point to lug more things across the continent. I had a train ride at the end of the trip …
1
I heart LA
LA is basically a sprawling parking lot that we Angelenos love to complain about. Traffic, earthquakes, smog, and a million other reasons. But every time my plane hovers over LAX, no matter how great the trip had just been, I feel revived. Of course as soon as I’m in my car trying to get out of the airport, the love hate relationship I have with …