Travel

Travel is one of the passions of my life and it has played such an important role in broadening my scope of life. Certainly air travel is less than rewarding now but the chance to see new places makes the journey worthwhile.

Some of the highlights of my travels include:

A week spent inside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 2008.
Visting the DMZ from the south on a day tour from Seoul in 2006.
Sailing on my father's yacht in the Caribbean between 1980 and 1983.
Skiing in Chamoix in France in 1986. Afterward I rented a car, drove through Switzerland and finally to Paris where I celebrated my 26th birthday.
Exploring Napa Valley and renting a winery for my parents' 60th anniversary in 2007.
Riding the Maglev train in Shanghai many times during business trips.
Discovering the southernmost parts of Japan at Ishigakijima and Taketominjima for my birthday in 2009.
Visited Koya-san in Japan in 2008, a highly important religious location for the Japanese Buddhist region.
Our tenth wedding anniversary spent in Bora Bora in Tahiti in 2008.
Dressing for 'mas' and 'jumping up' at Carnival in Trinidad in 1983.
Climbing Mt. Fuji seven times.
Visiting Oxford In England and spending all day in a pub with a group of crazy Aussies. Never actually saw the university.
Made the journey to Canada in 2010 for the sole purpose of having dinner with my father on his 90th birthday.
A week in Belize with my father in 1991 around the same time as the end of the first Gulf War.
A couple of days in the Maldives where I was able to walk around Kuda Haraa one morning.
A week in Maui with my best friends on our 50th birthdays in 2010. We called it "Hawaii 5-0".
Visited the town of Cheriton outside of Folkstone on a day off while in London.

Driving through the Rocky Mountains from Banff to Canmore with Yoshiko at the helm. Just one of many vacation trips to allow us to explore Canada as our future home. Canmore didn't make the cut but we had a memorable vacation.

I spent a week inside the DPRK in 2008. One day I had established the trust of our three assigned guides enough that they allowed me to walk unescorted through downtown Pyongyang for about fifteen minutes. The traffic was very light and I got many stares from the pedestrians I passed. When I encountered a group of junior high students they were typical of anyone of their age group. Shy, curious and eager to make contact with me.

I have been told that the chance to walk alone in the heart of Pyongyang as a foreigner is very rare. Maybe it was my "fifteen minutes of fame".

December 2008. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary at the newly opened Four Seasons Resort on Bora Bora in Tahiti.

I would arise early in the morning and walk the resort with my camera to get some images while the light was soft and few other guest and staff around. I remember taking this image about 5AM and the boat appears to be suspended in the clear ocean water.