Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic

It looks like they are rebuilding their boat from the outside in. And, where is the work being done? Right on the beach. When the job's finished, a team of men should be able to pull it right into the ocean. [1992]

Antwerp, Belgium

 

Her Ph.D. is in French-frying potatoes. There they are: Piled higher and Deeper. In Belgium, though, they would never be called French! Frites are what you order in the French-speaking part of Belgium, and frieten are what you order in the Dutch-speaking part. And, please don't ask for ketchup; they are served with mayonnaise. [2015]

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Name an iconic surfing beach in Australia. Bondi Beach, of course. Wave riders converge on Bondi from all over the world. Although it's been eclipsed in popularity by other surf spots on the island continent, none are as well known as Bondi. [2006]

London, England, UK

Have you ever heard of a talking goat? They have one in Spitalfields. He's standing on a pile of shipping crates. All it takes to understand his language is a mobile. What he will tell you about are the successive waves of tough-as-goats immigrants who have poured over London's East End ever since the Huguenots arrived from France in the late 1600s. [2015]

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Three Morro Castles made sure, for more than a century, that the Caribbean was a Spanish lake. Two were in Cuba and one was in Puerto Rico. Castillo San Felipe del Morro guarded the entrance to San Juan harbor, one of the best in the Antilles. Today, it belongs to the U.S. National Park Service and is listed as a World Heritage Site by the U.N. [2009]

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is notorious for its traffic jams, but there is one way to cope. Buy a scooter. Here, a student at Bangkok Commercial College seems to have gotten to class with time to spare. She was able to weave her way through all those cars and arrive with a smile on her face. [2011]

Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Mexico is lucky to have at least a few islands in the Caribbean Sea. Cozumel is one of them, really a northern protrusion of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (a.k.a., Belize Barrier Reef), the second longest coral formation in the world. Take the ferry from Playa del Carmen and land in San Miguel. [2015]