Author: John Collings

Year in Review – The Best Post of 2023

It has been another year around the sun, and it is time to look back and reflect on those moments that made this year great. It has been nice to know that the recent lockdowns brought on by the pandemic are behind us, and the world has opened up again. This means that travel is back, and many people took advantage of this fact to get out there and see many places on their bucket lists. I was no different. I was in eight different countries last year, three of which I have never been in before. During that time, I was able to tell you all about my experiences in this blog, and what follows are the posts from last year that connect with you the most.

10. Reverend’s Ridge Campground – Golden Gate State Park, Colorado

Every year my siblings get together during the summer to go camping some place in the Colorado mountains. It has always been one of my favorite trips of the year because I get to visit with my family in one of my favorite places in the world, the Rocky Mountains. Usually, we get site at the state park close to Golden, Colorado, and spend our time hiking, cooking, and hanging around a campfire. It is a great place to visit if you find yourself in Colorado during the summer, and one I would recommend looking into.

9. The Old Quarter – Hanoi, Vietnam

It had been a few years since I had made it to Vietnam, and the last time I was out there, they were still putting in place the infrastructure to turn it into the tourist destination it has become today. Even before this, the Old Quarter in the heart of one of its greatest cities, Hanoi, held a fond memory in my mind. It is the place where all of the Vietnamese people converge to enjoy a night out. It has amazing food, jazz can be heard playing on the street corners, and there are tons of shops to find that perfect souvenir. I didn’t think it was possible, but it had become even busier than the first time I had gone out and visited, but still was worth the effort to make it back to.

8. The Isle of Skye – Scotland

There were many highlights from my trip to Scotland, but the one that stood out the most had to be the Isle of Skye. We arrived by ferry, and left by bridge, but spent the whole time exploring every nook and cranny that this island had to offer. Some of the best hikes in the country can be found here with views of mountains, rock formations, and the ocean that stretches out beyond. I was lucky enough to be out there during the off-season, but even then, we had to plan ahead to make sure we got reservations at restaurants, but still there were many times where it felt like we had the island to ourselves. It is one of those places that I know I will come back to visit again some day, and it holds some of the fondest memories from the year for me.

7. Things

This was one of two poems I posted this year that made the list. It had been one of my favorite ones that I have written because it highlights one of the biggest reasons why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to share those memories with people out there, and inspire them to go out and collect some of their own.

6. The Turning of the Page

This was the first post I added this last year, and the second sonnet to appear on this list. It reflects on the time that I spent last holiday season in Oman, and like many poems I write at the end of the year and the start of a new one, it had me thinking about where my life had taken me. I know that nothing really changes on New Year’s Day, but it still is a nice time to take reflection of our lives, and think about where the next step in them will take. It is the reason you see so many posts like this one at the end of the year.

5. Arthur’s Seat – Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is easily one of my favorite large cities in the world. It is so atmospheric, and it reminds me of walking into a Charles Dickens’s story. One of the spots that I enjoyed the most stood at the edge of town. At this spot, a big hill, or small mountain, (depending on your perspective) beckons for you to hike to its top. Of course, I had to heed that call with a bunch of other people on one of the coldest days I experienced while out there. They call it Arthur’s Seat even though it has no connection to this legendary king. It is still worth the effort to see the view from the top.

4. Betrayal at House on the Hill – A Review

Like a lot of people, during the Covid years, I got back into board gaming. It was something that I enjoyed a lot during my youth, and now that there are a bunch of games being created with adults like me in mind, it was the perfect time to get back into the hobby. Since then, I have spent some time with the games I have been adding to my collection by writing reviews about them. This year, I wrote about a classic light role playing game, Betrayal at House on the Hill. This wasn’t going to make the list this year, but right around Christmas time, it got a surge of hits as people started to wonder if this was a good gift or not. I just hope my review was helpful to them in deciding whether or not it was.

3. Ma’in Hot Spa – Jordan

Though many of my travel posts come from other countries that I live near, I still do some traveling in the country I live in. I discovered a hidden spot this past year that has easily become one of my favorite in Jordan. It is not as dramatic as Petra, or Wadi Rum. It is not as touristy as the Dead Sea, or Aqaba. It is not as historic as Jerash, or Amman. But it is the place that many of the people of Jordan go to in order to unwind. Hidden in the mountains near the Dead Sea is a hot spring call Ma’in that I have found is the perfect place to unwind.

2. A Quick Tuk Tuk Ride – Chennai, India

I travelled with my school’s track and field team to compete in a meet in Chennai, India this last year. It was a really busy trip, and I spent most of my time going back and forth between the school and the hotel with the team. I did have a short amount of time where I was able to get away to do some shopping for my wife for Valentine’s Day, and got to ride in a tuk tuk to get that shopping done. It was not the most unique experience of my life time, but it did make me reminiscent of my time spent living in Thailand.

1. Denver International Airport – It is still weird

It always surprises me what becomes the most popular post of the year. I usually think it would have to do with the ones I spend a lot of time on, and have deep philosophical things that I contemplate on. And then there are ones like this one where I got stuck waiting in Denver International Airport while waiting for the late arrival of my wife’s plane. I used to work at this airport, and it is currently undergoing a renovation, but it still has retained its weird nature. This post talked about how proud I am of my hometown as it retains its strangeness in this iconic airport.

War

We sit on top of our house on the hill,
Turning our gaze over the salty sea,
Knowing the time is ripe for them to kill
From a grudge longer than this century.
They use their accusing fingers to point;
They use their clenched fists to thump on their pride,
And their many martyrs, they will anoint
Their reasons for why the others have died.
They use their platform in order to shout
Their grievances they have from the others,
And never trying to give pause about
How in the end they are all still brothers.
You will find that when you fight to the end,
Neither of the sides will actually win.

The Bald Eagle

Was I ever asked to be a symbol
To inspire all of a fledging nation?
The image of my presence is noble
When I sit out in my habitation.
I can see why I was the one chosen,
But I do not want your admiration.
There is something that needs to be proven
When you created this expectation.
I just desire to take to the breeze,
To soar above hasty agitation,
And to make my home among the pine trees,
My natural place in God’s creation.
Please do not stamp me on your shirt and coin
In your extreme effort to make more join.

Queued

You will face the east; I will face the west
As we are given our introduction.
I will face the east; you will face the west,
Winding our way to our destination.
You will face the east; I will face the west
When we give out our first recognition.
I will face the east; you will face the west,
Sharing the feeling of indignation.
You will face the east; I will face the west;
A subtle smile is our conversation.
I will face the east; you will face the west,
Ending this maddening depravation.
It is fun being herded like cattle,
Preparing for our TSA battle.

Shouting

You watch only a certain new channel
That is different from the one I view,
And we listen to various panels,
Explaining how little the country grew.
Why do your experts oppose my side so,
Saying we do not know where we should go?
They bang on desks, wag their fingers and crow
About things they obviously don’t know.
Can’t they see the facts in front of their face
While condemning people who’ve done no wrong?
The ideology that they embrace
Will never allow us to get along.
Could you listen to what I have to say?
Because it can’t be heard over your bray.

Rooftop Dining

It’s just a corner of the restaurant,
But I believe that it is my kingdom.
I’m given only an evening to haunt
The mighty view over the city’s slum,
And I can pretend I am not from there.
As I take another sip of my wine,
I comment on the pleas that I can hear,
Knowing their problems will never be mine.
It is not like they can climb up this wall
To attack the place where I am seated.
It’s a matter of time before I fall
With my solutions never repeated.
Tonight, I’d like to think I have a choice
To save those under me using my voice.

Bosphorus

Finding yourself in-between continents
Can pull your identity different ways.
One side yells at the other which prevents
Us getting together as the shelf frays,
Creating an ever growing divide.
Should it matter that my brother stood still,
Clenching his fist while on the Eastern side,
While I was charmed by the West’s tempting thrill?
We still belong to the same family
Though we are separated by a strait.
Does it change the understanding we can see
When this short distance no longer relates?
Or maybe we can start a new order
That is not subjected to a border.

Try Not to Sing the Song – Istanbul, Turkey

There a some songs out there that are ear worms. Once you hear the song, the melody digs a hole through your eardrum to burrow itself some place deep in your subconscious. They are the songs that you find yourself singing all day long even though you keep on telling yourself that you need to quit singing it. Some of those songs don’t even need to be heard in order for them to emerge again. All it takes is the mention of something that reminds you of the song, and all of a sudden allusions to the song pop up all over the place. If you do not believe, start telling your friends that you are planning to visit Istanbul soon, and see what they say. Will they start telling you that even old New York was once New Amsterdam? Will they ask if you are sure that you are going to Istanbul, and not Constantinople? Will they ask you if you have a date waiting in Constantinople? Will you respond that it is nobody’s business but the Turks?

If you want to hear that ear-worm play in your head even more, actually take that trip to Istanbul, and the whole time you are there, you will be singing along. Or at least that was what I was afraid I would be doing, but let’s be honest, how often do you mention the name of the town that you find yourself in. Despite this fact, my mind kept wandering back to this song while I was there, and not just because of its jaunty beat, and memorable lyrics. There is something behind those lyrics that give meaning to this world famous city, and the identities it has carried over its history.

Istanbul is a city centered around duality. It sits on edge of two continents, and it is one of the places in the world where you can travel easily between Europe and Asia. The Bosphorus Strait splits the city right down the center, and there are many places where you can peer across it to see the other continent. It also sits in the middle of the trade routes for both the continents, and the varying ways of looking at the world. There are many times when you wonder if the city has more of an Asian feel to it or if it is in fact part of the European ethos. The strange thing that you will realize when being out here is that it is actually both, and they can live together in harmony rather easily.

The people of Istanbul will claim that their spiritual nature is definitively in tune with the Middle East and its values, but this is not necessarily accurate either. Though there are many mosques and the call to prayer can be heard at the usual times of the day, there are not the restrictions on alcohol and other vices that are prevalent in other countries in the region. If you look hard enough beyond the Roman ruins that can be seen all over the place, you will find the Catholic, and Greek Orthodox churches that you would find in a typical European city. Even the city’s most historic monument, the Hagia Sofia, demonstrates this duality within the culture. It was at one time the greatest cathedral on earth, but was turned into a mosque, then a museum, and back to a mosque. Though it supports the current Muslim culture, it is hard not to walk through it, and not see the remnants of the original plan still all over the place.

This duality creeps its way into all aspects of the culture, giving the city of Istanbul its own unique flavor. It feeds into its food, its landscape, and its people. It gives context to the novelty song from the 1950s, so it is no longer an ear worm that will stick in your head from the moment your hear it, but instead will guide you through this amazing town supplying it with meaning.

Until next time, I hope to see you in Istanbul, not Constantinople.

Centennial Celebration

Today is the day we turn one-hundred,
A monument that not many can claim.
Many thought we would have ended up dead,
And would have never reached our current fame.
We endured in order to prove them wrong,
And built up something mighty upon this site.
In a world where they think we don’t belong,
We will continue to put up the fight.
Today we’ll sing of our national pride,
Lining our streets with our Turkish colors.
We will celebrate our historic ride,
Giving us reason for our hearts to stir.
We’ll meet again in the next century
In honor of this day’s great memory.