After a 7 years absence, I have decided to return to Mexico, our friendly neighbor south of the border. Having traveled there numerous times over the years, I have to admit that Mexico is one of my favorite destinations - it is a very fascinating and beautiful country. You know the old saying ‘Absence makes the heart fonder”- I have some wonderful memories of my travels to Mexico and in particular, I love the pretty senoritas (just kidding). In addition, Mexico’s close proximity to my home state of California is also a very strong factor in my decision to return there.

Mexico is a fairly large country - for the traveler, there are many beach destinations to choose from in addition to some very beautiful colonial cities in the interior. While most of American and Canadian tourists (your quintessential gringos) usually migrate to the big time resorts - Cancun, Ixtapa, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and the like, my preferences are just the opposite. I have been to most of these megaresorts and they are definitely not my cup of tea. I abhor crowds, loud and blaring music, ostentatious shopping centers and most of all I have dislike places that are overrun with automobiles and tour buses.

I admit that I am not particularly fond of the trappings of urban life and modern civilization so when I go on vacation nowadays, I gravitate towards the simple village scene. A certain level of primitiveness is actually preferred. I personally favor the smaller offbeat places like Puerto Escondido or San Blas on the Pacific Coast. I’m sure most of you have never heard of these two small beach resorts. Typically these small time beach resorts-cum fishing villages attract a small handful of eclectic, artistic minded gringos and ex-hippies like myself in addition to a lot of young, hip European travelers.

Right now, I bet you’re probably wondering where I am going this time around. I don’t want you think that I am selfish, but I would rather keep the name of this small hideaway-fishing village a secret for the time being. I will say this however, I found out about ‘My Secret Paradise” while doing a search on the Internet. Hint - it is about 3 hours south by car from Puerto Vallarta and the total native population (excluding vacationing and transplanted gringos) is about 1500 inhabitants. There are no banks or currency exchange bureaus in the village; however there are two small internet cafes (thank G-D), so visitors are able to keep connected to the outside world. I will be arriving in ‘My Secret Paradise” on March 16! Stay tuned…

While I was touring the Royal Villa (aka Swiss chalet) at Doi Tung in Northern Thailand, I came across a substantial planting along the walkway of Perennial Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), an attractive ornamental plant with small white flowers. Like so much of the flora in this mountainous region of temperate Northern Thailand, this low growing evergreen shrub is not indigenous to Tropical Asia. In the case of the Candytuft, it is native to Western Europe. The altitude at Mae Fah Luang Botanical Garden and the Royal Villa at Doi Tung is approximately 4500 feet above sea level - mornings and evenings can be quite cool here.

With its blend of French colonial and traditional Laotian architecture, Luang Prabang is a wonderful town to stroll around. On my final morning there before continuing to Vientiane, I had breakfast at a lovely little outdoor café that overlooked a most beautiful lotus pond. I forgot the name of the cafe (Could it be the Pond-Side café?), but it is not far from the tourist office in the heart of the tourist zone. What a most idyllic place to spend the morning!