Qatar is a speck of a country sticking out of the Arabian Peninsula like a pimple into the Persian Gulf. To the southwest lies massive Saudi Arabia. A stone's throw across the Gulf is Iran. At the base of the Gulf is Kuwait and, looming over it, Iraq. None of these ominous place names danced through our heads as we began dreaming about a year-long voyage around the world five years ago. The Middle East was one of the few places we'd decidedly scratched off t...

Affective science suggests that there are four basic human emotions: happiness, sadness, fear and anger. Some studies also include surprise and disgust. I hereby make the case for a new addition to the list(s) - "hot shower sour." It's one of those universal first world experiences. That sinking feeling you get when you realize, standing naked and cold at the edge of a shower with your hand under the cold water, that it is NOT going to heat up. You will NOT ...

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we arrived safe and sound in Kathmandu. Not sure where we are staying, but it's awesome. No garbage or cows on the streets and I'm actually sitting in a bar enjoying a real drink with real music playing! A few months back I heard the news of Lou Reed's death while traveling from some country to the next. Today I was saddened to hear of Pete Seger's passing. Wow. End of an era. Just ordered another Manhattan and am humm...

Today is an important date on the around the world trip calendar. Not only is it my birthday (Happy Jerry West to Me), it is also the physical, psychological and temporal halfway point of the trip. We left home 5 months and three weeks ago, and in five months and three weeks (mid-late July) we will be back in Yellowknife. We are almost exactly on the opposite side of the world from our home. When it's bed time here, our friends and family are getting out of b...

Night before last I almost did it. I almost said it out loud. "I can't believe we've been in India for two weeks and no stomach issues." I caught myself, knowing that it would completely jinx us. It didn't matter. Three hours later Deb was violently ill. She was in bed for 14 hours. Just as she was starting to recover enough to eat some plain toast, it hit me. The girls, Amy and Laurel are all fine so we've narrowed it down to the mutton korma at a suspect...