Let’s Boogie on down to the Boogie Café

It was a cold, rainy November Friday evening when my Japanese friend, rock and roll and tattoo brother Kenny Shangrila took me to the Boogie Café in Yokohama. On my way from Bangkok to Chicago via Japan, I had a three-day layover in Japan where I would be hanging out with Kenny. After he had [...]

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The Dolmens of South Korea

On the island of Kanghwa, west of Seoul, South Korea is a very large and interesting stone structure that from a distance, looks like a rock table. Known as a “dolmen” or “goindol” as it is called in Korean, it is a kind of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones [...]

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Royal Treatment on Thai Airways

Robbie: Oh, my! I’m sorry. I’ve never been on First class before.
Flight Attendant: My name is Joyce. Just buzz if you need anything.
Robbie: Sir, is that Billy Idol?
Flight Attendant: I believe it is.
Robbie: Oh my God!
Flight Attendant: Would you like some champagne or some orange juice?
Robbie: How much is it?
Flight Attendant: It’s free.
Robbie: It’s what? [...]

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Starved Rock State Park – Named after a Native American legend

One of Illinois’ “Seven Wonders” and more popular state parks—famous for its fascinating canyons and sandstone formations—is also best known for the legend that the park and one of those formations is named after.
Located outside of Utica, Illinois—approximately 75 miles southwest of Chicago—along the banks of the Illinois River, the park is best known for [...]

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Lincoln’s New Salem Historic Site

When I was a young boy growing up in the 1960s, my grandparents took me to some cool places in Illinois including Ulysses S. Grant’s home in Galena, Illinois and New Salem, Illinois where Abraham Lincoln lived for six years.
One of Illinois’ more interesting and historical travel destinations is Lincoln’s New Salem Historic Site that [...]

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Vientiane – Gateway for your Laos Adventure

Hugging a bend along the Mekong River as it winds south between Thailand and Laos, Vientiane first appears a rather non-assuming town with a mixture of French, Chinese and Vietnamese-style buildings interspersed among Buddhist temples and modern structures.
Busy and hectic compared to the rest of the country, with a population just a little over 200,000 [...]

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It was twenty years ago today…

Not when Sergeant Pepper told the band to play but when this former Sergeant got on a plane at LAX and flew to Japan.
And so began this 20-year adventure of teaching English in Asia—first in Japan and then in Korea. It’s been some adventure that’s for sure.
I’ve already written much about my life in Korea [...]

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Buddha in the Bodhi Tree

Buddha in the Bodhi Tree
This stone head of The Buddha-
does not seem to mind
the Bodhi Tree’s powerful roots
intertwined and wrapped around it;
but instead finds harmony
in this symbiotic cradle.
© 2009 Jeffrey Alan Miller. All Rights Reserved

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Getting “high” in Busan

When it comes to enjoying some of Korea’s natural beauty, there’s perhaps no better way than getting out and exploring many of its majestic, rugged peaks up and down the peninsula which offer some of the more breathtaking and exhilarating outings for serious mountaineers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
To be sure, no matter where one travels [...]

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We’re leaving on a….

No, not on a jet plane but on a Lao Airlines’ turbo prop and for Jeremy Aaron, his first flight into the sky.
After Jeremy Aaron was not feeling too well the day after he had gotten some vaccinations, both On and I agreed that the 10-hour bus journey back to Paksong might be too rough [...]

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