Adventures of Isabel

Mae Sai - Taichilek border crossing, from Mae Sai
I’m back in Thailand, in the lovely, seedy border town of Mae Sai. I’ll be heading back to Chiang Mai in a few hours. I have lots of photos and stories to put up, but I’m going to wait for a better internet connection to [...]

Smoking Lounge, Taipei Airport
Made it to Taipei, Taiwan. Confirming, once again, that airports (at least the big ones) are pretty much identical the world over — though this one is a bit chillier than average. Points for free wireless. Demerits for bad, overpriced coffee.2 more flights to go.

I’m off to the airport in just a few minutes, to Chiang Mai, Thailand via Taipei and Bangkok. I’ll try to post again when I arrive.

Snow? In upstate New York? In March?This is something that should have occurred to me in advance. But living in California has made me soft.

The (semi)final cut of my series on the drag show at Marlena’s Bar in Hayes Valley:Check out a few more from the series on my flickr acount

My loving mother, thread in hand,Mended the coat I have on now,Stitch by stitch, just before I left home,Thinking I might be gone a long time.How can a blade of young grassEver repay the warmth of the Spring sun?
- Meng Jia, translated from the Chinese by Mingfong Ho
I looked up, and discovered February had already [...]

I’ve been asked a few times lately, so: the title “Adventures of Isabel” refers to a poem by Ogden Nash about a little girl who refuses to be intimidated by anything or anyone. Those of you who were never a little girl named Isabel may find it a bit obscure, but she’s always been an [...]

While public attention is focused on peace negotiations between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Communist Party of the Philippines, a third, much quieter peace process has been underway in Mindanao. Since 2003, the Revolutionary Worker’s Party of Mindanao (Rebolusyonaryang Partido ng Manggagawa ng Mindanao - RPM-M) has [...]