I was not expecting this. It was a 100+ degree day in Jakarta, Indonesia, and I was on the verge of heat stroke. I gave a street vendor my money and reached into her ice box and pulled out an iced-tea. I needed liquid. Little did I know, this was no normal iced tea. I…
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“Randy, are you puttin’ me on??? You’re telling me that the world’s best pizza is in Arizona???” Why, yes. Yes I am. I’ve eaten pizza in Chicago, New York, even Italy…and yes–for my tastebuds–the best pizza lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Pizza opinions are certainly subjective, but what I love the best about Spinato’s pie, is…
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Here is the Travelers’ Century Club’s list of countries, which included many more than the standard UN 193. The territories in BOLD are the ones I have visited. I am a member of the TCC. Membership is limited to those travelers who have visited one hundred or more territories of the world. It was first…
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I remember, as a seven-year-old boy, being thoroughly disappointed visiting my first “island.” Not that my loving parents didn’t have the best of intentions—but as a child, when you’re told you’re going to an “island,” you envision the actual “island” geography and landscape you’ve seen growing up: those crazy-desolate tropical and tiny islands from shows…
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Imagine being a winner in a contest where the rules were: 1) You’d have to be willing to go anywhere, 2) Do anything, 3) And be ready to leave at a moment’s notice…as in bags packed and you’re out in 60 seconds after a radio station host knocks on your door. That’s exactly how the rules are…
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Perhaps what I will remember Tuvalu most for is the special meeting place that the country has designated for their nightly get-togethers. Every day, about two hours before sunset, hundreds of Tuvaluans, young and old, meet on the runway. Yes, the runway…at the airport. The international airport. Try and wrap your head around that…
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Funafuti, We Have a Problem Just as the pilot of the Fiji Link AR-72 was about to touch down, the engines roared and the nose pitched up. It was a missed approach. As we circled back around the island for landing attempt number two, the flight attendant informed us that the go-around was due to…
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