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Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.
~Henry David Thoreau
Introd…
Revised 6 Apr 2010 by
Melanie M
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South India Revisited, January-February 2003
"India was the mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. She was the mot…
Revised 18 Mar 2010 by
Melanie M
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“I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because
someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.”
~ Anony…
Revised 2 Feb 2010 by
Melanie M
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"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling" ~ Oscar Wilde
My Dad, Sister and me in 1978 on our trip to Seattle in our big cool-ass Thunderbir…
Revised 12 Jan 2010 by
Melanie M
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On Why I Write:
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. Th…
Revised 2 Jan 2010 by
Melanie M
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Just when I think I'm out, they pullll me back in. I'm back in the Middle East for the next six weeks!Boys on the way to prayers, Grand Mosque of Sult…
Revised 11 Jun 2009 by
Melanie M
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Angel Obama
Setting out on the rain-soaked streets of Sultanahmet armed with an umbrella and a camera, I went to survey the barricade situation t…
Revised 24 Oct 2009 by
Melanie M
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A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles. -Tom CahillThe Sultanahmet tram station in front of the Blue Mosque where I start most of my …
Revised 30 Mar 2009 by
Melanie M
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Mint Tea for Two: Our favourite tea haunt in Istanbul.“Look at this clump of grey, right up here in the front. One day I’m going to have a stripe like…
Revised 11 Mar 2009 by
Melanie M
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"There's no damn business like show business- you have to smile to keep from throwing up." -Billie Holiday“Knock Knock!” Rene said bursting through my…
Revised 27 Feb 2009 by
Melanie M
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Until you value yourself you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. - M. Scott PeckTwo days ago, I was…
Revised 24 Feb 2009 by
Melanie M
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"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'mgoing is what inspires me to travel it." Rosalia de Castro The miracle nut from …
Revised 13 Jan 2009 by
Melanie M
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Last night I had a vivid dream that I had just arrived back in Shanghai with my luggage. It was fairly nice weather, and I was happy to be back. Full …
Revised 30 Dec 2008 by
Melanie M
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Load the ship and set out. No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor. Cautious people say, "I'll do nothing until I ca…
Revised 30 Dec 2008 by
Melanie M
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I could write several blogs on India, and probably will. The teacher training was hard, and fabulous, and exhausting and I loved almost every minute o…
Revised 5 Jul 2008 by
Melanie M
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"Yes, You must watch out for the rats in India. If they bite you, you might catch the plague- and that would be no good."
Helen, from Hotel Astori…
Revised 30 Jun 2008 by
Melanie M
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A few months back I finished reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Three very cool friends of mine recommended this book to me in one week. I m…
Revised 3 Jan 2008 by
Melanie M
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"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love." Ernest HemingwayWe were sitting in the travel agency after hefty meal of adana kebaps, turkish bread …
Revised 17 Dec 2007 by
Melanie M
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"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is achange that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."Miriam Beard Two weeks i…
Revised 13 Dec 2007 by
Melanie M
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"If you find truth in any religion, accept that truth." - Buddha Who knew I could be so photogenic as a Muslim? The point of this shot it to show how…
Revised 22 Sep 2007 by
Melanie M
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"It is almost as if you were frantically constructing another world while the world that you live in dissolves beneath your feet, and that your surviv…
Revised 31 Aug 2007 by
Melanie M
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Sand and Slopes! Mall Culture Meets Outdoor Recreation! Heat. It's true, out here amongst the sanddunes you can't escape it. I'm generally one who a…
Revised 16 Jun 2007 by
Melanie M
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Welcome to the BULL! Tourists and Turks intermingle in the courtyard of the New Mosque built in 1597. Hardly new! Arriving. When arriving at a virgin …
Revised 24 May 2007 by
Melanie M
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Egyptian Spice Bazaar The Spice Bazaar is my favourite market in Istanbul, second only in size to the Grand Bazaar. This market was completed and has…
Revised 25 May 2007 by
Melanie M
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Trippin' around town...Life keeps ticking along in Al Ain. My days are filled with getting up at the crack of dawn to go to work, where I battle the l…
Revised 20 Apr 2007 by
Melanie M
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A little reminiscent of the nutty architecture of Shanghai???Two weekends ago, Josh and I caught a ride to Abu Dhabi on a Thursday afternoon with the …
Revised 10 Apr 2007 by
Melanie M
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Twenty Camels? That's it? Can I get a better offer???!???The long awaited UAE blog! You guys must be reading these blogs since I’ve gotten lots of mes…
Revised 16 Mar 2007 by
Melanie M
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"Travelling is not just seeing the new; it is also leaving behind. Not just opening doors; also closing them behind you, never to return. But the plac…
Revised 10 Apr 2007 by
Melanie M
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Happy New Year.... AGAIN!Except this time we are celebrating Chinese style. Here are some pictures I managed to snap while I ran around Shanghai shutt…
Revised 27 Feb 2007 by
Melanie M
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"Up in Heaven there’s a paradise, down on Earth there are Hangzhou and Suzhou.”Cold Mountian TempleI couldn’t leave China without a trip to Suzhou, on…
Revised 25 Feb 2007 by
Melanie M
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Goodbye Shanghai! Hello United Arab Emirates!"It is a bad plan that admits of no modification." -Publilius Syrus First Century BCMy life is in boxes, …
Revised 17 Feb 2007 by
Melanie M
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Next time someone asks me, why are you leaving China, I’m going to answer, “Well, isn’t it obvious? It’s because of the syphilis.”A few mornings ago, …
Revised 20 Jan 2007 by
Melanie M
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Xin Nian Kuai Le!This might just be one of the best photos I've ever taken. The more I look at it, the more I love it. I should be a backstage Peking …
Revised 4 Jan 2007 by
Melanie M
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T’was the night before Christmas and Melly was a sad girl. This is my third Christmas on my own without my family, and every year it’s bothered me to …
Revised 25 Dec 2006 by
Melanie M
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“I love the booty forty years!” The old man smiles piously and waves one hand around the temple. The other hand he has firmly squared on John’s should…
Revised 19 Dec 2006 by
Melanie M
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Week OneIf there is one thing I have learned about teaching the babies this week, is that I shouldn't teach anything under the age of five. I got into…
Revised 9 Dec 2006 by
Melanie M
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"I never travel without my diary. One should always havesomething sensational to read in the train." Oscar Wilde Michelle, my best friend and I are s…
Revised 18 Apr 2009 by
Melanie M
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China Rides.After living in Shanghai for two years and enjoying the service of cheaper-than-chocolate-bar taxis, I decided to go native and get a bicy…
Revised 16 Nov 2006 by
Melanie M
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Bali... You gotta love it. The first time I visited the Island, I was in an emotional wasteland, having just cashed in a plane ticket four days earlie…
Revised 5 Dec 2006 by
Melanie M
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