It’s been a couple of years since my last visit, but publishing some of my favorite photographs from two back to back visits to Dubrovnik has been long overdue.

The first time was when the Hilton in Dubrovnik invited me and a half dozen travel journalists from all over Europe to experience a weekend in town. The second visit was when a local tourist organization drove me and a dozen travel industry professionals from Zagreb to Dubrovnik in a caravan of 19 vintage Fiat Abarths. It rained, snowed and was incredibly cold during most of that press trip, but it was inspiring nonetheless. Especially one evening somewhere up near the Serbian border where we ate and drank all night long while being entertained by a band of Romany musicians. While we were driving southward towards Dubrovnik, I couldn’t help but think of how fortunate Croatia is to have such an amazing coastline – as opposed to their landlocked neighbor Serbia.

Here are my pics from Dubrovnik.

I’ve been a music fan for almost as long as I can remember. I can’t recall how I got it or who gave to me, but I know I had a small transistor radio sometime in the mid 1970s. It had a short, foldout telescopic antenna (which I likely broke off after a day or two) and even came with a white plastic earplug so I could listen to my favorite stations KHJ and KEARTH way after I was supposed to be sleeping or while riding the bus along Santa Monica Boulevard on my way to Bancroft Junior High in the morning.

In the beginning, I was an indiscriminate consumer of music, enjoying everything I listened to but not really understanding why. Then one day after school while I was working extra at Mayfair Market, our local grocery store, one of the cashiers showed me how to play a few chords on her guitar during a break. It was a lofty, partially acoustic song called Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin and I fell head over heels in love with it (and probably the cashier as well).

When I moved to Sweden in 1978, I was introduced to what is sometimes referred to today as “Yacht Music” where acts like Toto, Supertramp, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers and Kenny Loggins played immaculately produced and slickly performed white soul.
My musical taste has certainly evolved since and though I don’t feel any distaste, I rarely listen to the yacht genre anymore. Electronic instrumental music is my preference when writing and if I’m editing video or stills, I can listen to just about anything from the eclectic playlists of KCRW’s excellent deejays, Anthony Valadez, Aaron Byrd or Jeremy Sole, Jason Kramer, Ann Litt or Liza Richardson.

Of all of the shows available at KCRW, I felt the late Bo Leibowitz’s Strictly Jazz was usually the most challenging and therefore intriguing. I don’t really know squat about jazz, but the genre has always fascinated me – especially the instrumental, improvisational sub genres (which I know even less about) where artists seem to always veer inspiringly off the rails. There’s also something inherently beautiful and sad about jazz where pain and happiness, constraint and freedom are part of a long, winding, musical history.

Speaking of history…I just heard an episode of The Daily, the New York Times popular podcast, titled, The Birth of American Music. If music plays a role in your life, I urge you to listen to it. Click here to start listening.

Shot the above streetcorner band on Prince Street in New York City.

From early this morning as the yearly harvest fest at Slottsträdgården was about to open. I was there checking out the venue for my exhibit next week, Malmö Upside Down. I hope I am equally lucky in regards to the weather.

To me, it’s a whole lot easier to eat healthy, fresh food when I’m in Asia. The abundance of outdoor markets and street stalls make it simply more convenient to fill the gaps between proper meals with good-for-you snacking.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a relatively new, upscale restaurant here in Malmö called Pink Head HQ where we enjoyed a couple of tasty appetizers and entrées created from Asian recipes and seasonings. Sort of. However delicious last night’s food was, what we ate was still no better than what you are served at just about any sidewalk restaurant in Penang, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh or Bangkok.

Pink Head Noodle Bar, which opened a couple of years ago in a nearby food court location, has been wildly successful. So I totally get that the owners assumed the market was ready for an additional restaurant under the brand name “Pink Head”. What I don’t understand, though, is why the heck they’ve chosen to not offer any of their famous, fresh noodles at the new place (which they alternatively call Pink Head Headquarter, Pink Head Headquarters or sometimes just Pink Head HQ). That’s just plain silly if you ask me. But one of last night’s (many) servers hinted to us that it was likely just a matter of time before at least one noodle dish showed up on the menu.

Though I’ve fallen into similar traps a few times before, I’m not thrilled about contributing to restauranteurs with a business idea built on elevating street food into a fine dining experience. Why? Cause you’re paying for the fancy interior, trendy location and social media hype and not anything the chef cooks for you. Fact is, it’ll only take a few visits to Pink Head HQ, untill you will have  spent about as much it costs to fly to one of the aforementioned destinations – where you’d enjoy real street food on a real street, sans the creme fraiche and fancy cocktails.

The shot is from a favorite sidewalk eatery in “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”. Or, in plain speak, Bangkok.

The Priority Pass lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport is called The Miracle Lounge. I’m writing this from there. From one of many rooms. My flight’s not until 1:30 am, but I’ve been so conditioned by my wife Charlotte over the years, that I got here an ambitious four hours before takeoff.

While the food offerings are far from reaching miracle status, the size of the lounge itself compensates more than enough. It’s really big and as per usual here In the land of smiles, wonderfully overstaffed. So when I asked if they had any vegetarian alternatives in addition to the usual lineup, the hostess was eager when she suggested the kitchen make me a stir-fried vegetable and rice dish a la minute. It was pretty good, too.

Earlier, at the checkin counter, I asked, more or less jokingly, if there were any seats available in Business Class. Thai Airways is notorious for their upgrade pricing, so I wasn’t even seriously considering it. The soft-spoken airline rep that checked in me and my bagage, smiled and told me the flight was fully booked. She still managed somehow to reassign my seating to so that I got an exit chair. If you haven’t been seated by an exit on a Boeing 777, the legroom is on par with what you get in Business Class.

For whatever reason, I found the immigration process unusually smooth tonight. What typically takes about an hour, was completed in under half that. It’s still very serious business and I never feel as far removed from the country’s renowned gentleness and politeness as when entering and leaving the country. Once in a rare while, I’ll get a richly decorated official to share a smile with me. But not tonight.

Just learned that my flight to Europe has been delayed an hour. Which is a bummer, but a manageable bummer as long as I’m in the Miracle Lounge. It’s gonna be a long flight home…