Casablanca

May 29, 2026

January 7–9, 2006 We took the 9 a.m. train from Tangier to Casablanca and learned immediately that "assigned seating" was optional at best. We never made it to the seats. The car packed out before we could get past the entry, so we stood the whole way in the vestibule by the doors, crammed in around the bathrooms with everyone who hadn't made it farther. Tina and I held that spot for three of the five hours, wedged in the middle, riding the sway of the train like it was part of the ticket…

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We Were Aliens

May 24, 2026

We Were Aliens Twenty-one years ago today, Tina and I crossed the Mekong from Thailand into Laos and booked what the guesthouse sold as a one-day trip to Luang Namtha — a boat down the river, then a truck the rest of the way. It took two days, cost us more than we'd agreed to, and left us overnight in a village no one had sold us. This is how it went. 2005 The immigration officer in Huay Xai held out his hand for thirty baht. I started reaching for my pocket, then stopped. Why am I paying this…

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