Photo of the Day: Bejing

From Bejing

not a great picture, but just love the lines and colors on the roofs there.

Photo of the Day: Petra, Jordan

From Petra

Picture of the Week: Bullfight in Columbia

From Bullfighting in Medellin

Sorry about the quality of this picture. This was early on my trip and I really had no idea how to work my camera. On this one, the bullfight was inside at night with poor lighting and that's why it looks so off.

In another fit of travel luck, we ran into a local Columbian lawyer who was a huge bullfight fan. He took us under his wing for the entire evening, including the post-fight party, and instructed us on the ins and outs of bullfighter.

This guy was the top ranked bullfighter in the world. He was fantastic fighter, but got a little close to this energetic bull and almost got gored. This pic looks like he's gotten the horns, but in fact he was riding on the bull's head and holding on to the horns to avoid getting gored. He threw himself off after about 10 seconds. It was wild.

Potato Chips Around the World

I don't know about you, but potato chips are my personal crack cocaine. Once I open a bag, I just can't stop until I'm finished. Small, little personal sized bag. . . right on up to the mega-Wal-Mart sized ones. They are bad, bad things.

Back home, I had pretty much eliminated them from my diet. After doing some reading up on some food basics, I had taken out almost all processed foods (and fast food) from my life. I am of the firm belief that both of them are so packed full of chemicals and other stuff that is horrible for you that we are all just slowly killing ourselves with the food we eat.

Try as I might though, I have broken down a few times on the road and bought a bag or two of potato chips, only when getting something to munch on for a long bus or train ride, but since there have been so many of those -- have had a few chips (or apparently 'crisps' as much of the world calls them).

One of the fascinating things on the road is how products that we are used to from back home are slightly different around the world. Potato chips being a good example. Back in the U.S., we've got our regular chips, BBQ flavor, sour cream and onion flavored, and a few others. It is one of the few things in the food area where I have seen more variety outside the U.S. than inside.

Here are a few of the different flavors I've seen on the road:

Nori seaweed, spicy seafood, hot chili squid, supreme sausage pizza, barbecue max, and kimchi hot plate flavor (all in Thailand). Ham flavored (South America). Ketchep flavored (Europe). Mushrooms and sour cream (Russia).

For the fellow travelers out there -- tell me which ones you have seen. And tried. Some of these varieties just sound awful to me. I've tried a few. . . with not good results.

Photo of the Day: Damascus

From Damascus

I really, really liked Syria. Looking forward to a solid 4-5 months solely in the Middle East in the next few years. Now, if I can just get an Irish passport to make the Iran trip easier. . .

Photo of the Day: San Blas Islands, Panama

From San Blas islands

there were some really nice cloud/sunset looks on these islands. Problem was -- early in my trip, before I really knew how to use my camera (not that I'm any sort of expert now).

Photo of the Day: Zanibar

From Stone Town

I loved walking around Stone Town and taking pictures of the great doors there. Occasionally a nice local was willing to pose in front of one for me