Top Ten Reasons to go to Moorea, French Polynesia

Moorea is Tahiti’s sister island and part of paradisiacal chain of tropical islands that is French Polynesia. The flight is long but the rewards are great; here are a few reasons you might want to start saving now for your trip to the South Pacific gem.

Top Ten Reasons to go to Maine

Maine is the northeastern-most state in the union and is so far away and isolated, many people think its in Canada, and kids from Vermont make jokes about the lack of TVs and other pop culture servers in Maine.

But the rugged, maritime culture of Maine is rooted in the immense beauty of the state; look far into the backwoods and deep into Penobscot Bay and you will find a fresh beauty unlike any other place in America. 

Shilo’s Top Ten Paris

I have lived in Paris twice, worked there as a guide and interpreter and visited the beautiful, historic city several times more- but never enough. Out of all the wonderful, amazing things to do in the city, these are my Top Ten.

Thailand Full Moon Beach Parties

You are dancing under the blazing full moon on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, your arms flailing about wildly, your bare feet turning around and around on the white sand, your legs doing things you didn’t know they could. Electronic music stomps it’s way up and down the crescent beach, and the Gulf of Thailand seduces the party people successfully with its warm, foamy waves. You are surrounded by thousands of travelers from around the world; backpackers, worldrompers, budget tourists, fire-twirlers, old hippies, new hippies, artists, hedonists, jugglers, dancers, musicians, deejays, and wanderers. It is mere minutes until the fireworks show, and many, many, hours until dawn. The night has just begun.

Are you smiling? Scheming how you can get a ticket to Thailand? Already Googling “Ko Pha Ngan Full Moon Party?” If not, then maybe you shouldn’t go to THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BEACH PARTY.

Or maybe you need to go the most of all.

Saving Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel is the most visited tourist site in France outside of Paris, and this historic place of pilgrimage is in danger of losing its maritime identity as an island surrounded by quicksand- but never fear, the French government is here, and ready to spend 164 million dollars to ensure that this legendary monument is preserved and done so in the right way.

Ocean Beach – Lost Skateboard

Lost: Skateboard

There is a place on the West Coast of the United States where the surf dream is alive, where you can walk barefoot to all of your best friends’ houses, chill on the front porch swing with a cold brew before heading a couple of blocks away to the crashing waves, only stopping for a waffle cone of blueberry cheesecake ice cream along the way.

The place is called Ocean Beach.

I LOVE LA TRAFFIC

I LOVE LA TRAFFIC.

Yeah, that’s right, I do. This idiotic statement could be attributed to the fact that I have barely even lived in Los Angeles for three months and the negative aspects of the city- the traffic, the smog, the vapid nature of humanity- haven’t quite gotten to me yet, at least not past the palm trees, beaches, and sunny skies. I am still in the honeymoon phase of geographic relocation. You probably think I’m crazy. But sitting in traffic in LA is one of the only times in my life I ever slow down. Ever. When you are stopped on Highway 101 at midnight on Friday night or stuck on I-5 during the evening rush hour, you just have to accept it, exhale, and wait. Stop. Do nothing. And for me, that is a rarity, and a welcome moment in my life.

I am a very busy person- call it Type A personality or ADHD or what you will, but there is rarely a minute in this life when I am not doing anything. I can’t remember the last time I was bored. I just checked my three email accounts, Myspace and Facebook since I’ve been writing this post. I am an epic multitasker, a characteristic that fits my life and this crazy post-post-modern world very well. I am always on the go and I rarely slow down- except in LA traffic, when I am forced to. When your car is stopped dead on a freeway, all you can do is enjoy the warm sunshine on your arms, play with the thoughts in your head, and crank that car stereo up to the moon with the glitchiest, bassiest, heaviest music you can find and rock out. At least that’s what I do, and it is one of my favorite things on earth.

I am writing this post in part so I can re-read it in a year, when I am a little less pie-eyed and a bit more jaded, when the traffic has gotten to me and I have caught myself screaming at people in BMWs and cussing the motorcycles which race up between the lanes. I know it will happen, and when it does, I will remember the day I wrote an ode to LA traffic. I will breathe out, turn the music up, and remember to slow down and smell the exhaust every once in a while.

Photo by Alforque @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/alforque/1036407920/