Posts by hedley bontano
Indian Briefs #6
A not-so-brief catch up on two months of travel.
Read MoreIndian Briefs #5: Jaisalmer
On turning fifty in the Thar Desert.
Read MoreIndian Briefs #4
I wrote three blog posts about the first two cities I visited, and then there’s been nothing since, though I’ve careened through nineteen more cities and towns since I left Agra.
Read MoreIndian Briefs #3
Indian Briefs #3: Adaptation, Head Trips, & Agra.
Read MoreIndian Briefs #2
Part two of the blog catch-up.
Read MoreIndian Briefs #1
The first (I hope) of some brief snapshots from India. If all goes well, I’ll get caught up a bit the next few days while I’m here in Jodhpur.
Read More24 hours in Delhi
Delhi. I’ve read about it in guidebooks. I’ve discussed it with others who’ve been here before. I’ve absorbed its depictions in books and films.
Read MoreWoodward’s: Then and Now
Hedley revisits and reflects on a childhood haunt and Vancouver institution.
Read MoreDestination: Richmond
The latest instalment in my effort to visit Vancouver’s neighbourhoods as a tourist.
Read MoreTokyo: Ikebukuro and beyond
A small restaurant just outside the city centre. At a table in the middle of the room sits a beefy young man with t-shirt sleeves rolled up, a pack of Marlboros and a Zippo on the table in front of him. On the wall behind him, a poster, one of those old black and white…
Read MorePenang, Part 2: The food
Okay, I’m a little behind in my travel blogging. Maybe it’s the heat. Or maybe it’s the food. There’s been a lot of food. In fact, this whole trip has mostly been about eating. Of course, one can’t eat continuously throughout one’s waking hours, so we’ve filled in the non-eating periods with other activities, like…
Read MorePenang, Part 1: The heat
Three years ago in Thailand, on my first visit to Asia, I thought my skin would melt off. I like heat, but I’m accustomed to the Pacific Northwest variety, where in summer one can be comfortably hot in the sun, but kind of chilled in the shade. The vast bulk of my DNA likely originates…
Read MoreA final day in Singapore
On my final day in Singapore, I once again ventured out to the north end of the island in search of the Changi Prison Museum, this time equipped with a more detailed map and the freshly viewed Google Street View image in mind. As it turned out, I was only a couple of blocks off…
Read MoreSomething to (not) chew on
A couple of weeks back, as I was cycling out to Wreck Beach, my front fender started to make a hell of a racket, so I pulled over to check it out. As it turned out, I’d run over a piece of chewing gum that someone had coughed up onto the roadway. It was firmly…
Read MoreHe’s got radioactive blood
Well, here I am in beautiful downtown San Jose. Today, I went to the Mueso del Oro (Museum of Gold) and looked at their collection of gold artifacts that had been made by the original indigenous inhabitants, before Columbus and his countrymen enslaved them all and stole their gold (fairly traded them for valued coloured…
Read MoreFlexibility is still key
Reporting my bike theft to the Toronto police is turning out to be difficult. Every time I call them, they claim to be ten hours behind and ask me to call the next day. I guess they are too busy out on the streets ticketing cyclists who are riding without a bell. Not that I…
Read MoreWhen one door closes… (when did I become such an optimist?)
Well, I checked out the Visa “Purchase Protection” insurance that covers my bike for theft for 90 days. I bought the damn thing 99 days ago. If it had to be stolen, why not in Hamilton, where I would have expected it, and where I would still be in the claim window? Oddly, I was…
Read MoreNever underestimate the value of a good bike lock
Toronto (Sightseeing). July 08: DAY: 25.35km. ODO: 4,232km. AVS: 18.7km/h. MXS: 37.5km/h. ATM: 1:20:59. Toronto (Sightseeing). July 09: DAY: 8.06km. ODO: 4,240km. AVS: 18.6km/h. MXS: 34.0km/h. ATM: 0:25:56. I should have left on Thursday. Last night, I went for dinner to Le Commensal, a vegetarian buffet off of Bloor. It’s a great place if you…
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