Amsterdam is clearly one of the great cities of the world, and Holland one of the most successful countries. With only 16 million people, two-thirds of the country would be underwater were it not for the system of dams and pumping stations. The Dutch obviously have to cooperate with each other to survive. Reflecting that […]…
Category: travel-notes
Paris, September 2011
It’s interesting to take the TGV south from Amsterdam. You’re aware that you’re in Holland as you pass through Rotterdam, but the next step is Antwerp, which is in Belgium. There are no signs saying “Welcome to Belgium,” not even when the train passes through Brussels. There is no need to check passports or change […]…
Taiwan’s Challenges, as It Engages With China
In this my final posting from my Asian journey, I am left with big questions about Taiwan’s future. How can it maintain its political independence as it engages so completely with the mainland in economic terms? And how can it ever sort out very difficult problems between its government and that of the mainland? As […]…
South Korea – In The Eye of the Storm
DEC. 3 Rita and I have been in Seoul since the weekend while newspaper headlines proclaim the imminent onset of full hostilities between the Americans and South Koreans on one hand against the North Koreans on the other. Many friends continue to ask, “Are you safe?” What the outside world does not understand are the […]…
Tokyo, July 2010
The Imperial Hotel is an absolute knock-out. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it is obviously beautiful. But everything about the place is first-class. The Japanese toilet with heated seat had all the buttons that make water spray into the right places and then it had an arm that offered warm air to drive those delicate […]…
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