I arrived in Hanoi airport after a white-knuckle roller coaster courtesy of the lingering typhoon in the area. I had no idea what to expect, really. My idea of Southeast Asia was something along the lines of a ramble through Cambodia and Laos. Like the good relationship maintainer that I [...]

A tour of Saigon from the backseat of a motorcycle. By Justin Calderon It’s dusk in Ho Chi Minh City — or Saigon as it is still called here — and the haze of the last ounce of light from the crimson setting sun is smothered in smog as I [...]

I have yet to meet a person who is not fascinated with Cambodia. Even if the person has no desire to visit the country, they never stop asking about the people, the culture, the safety, or the temples. It’s difficult to describe Cambodia because of its past ancient civilizations, a [...]

Maybe it’s the -15 I see on my thermometer this morning that is making tropical destinations front and center on my mind. I have to personally thank the crew at GoNomad for taking me to the island of Papua New Guinea. I couldn’t have imagined a better mental getaway. Battling [...]

Kayak to a limestone spire jutting defiantly out of the Andaman Sea. Climb said rock formation without that cumbersome safety gear. Willing or not, jump from spire into the ocean safety net waiting below you. Simple, yeah? Only after you squash an episode of fear-induced vomiting. I’m in. Where can [...]

There are people who like to eat local and then there are people who like to eat local. It’s quite a difference. Eating street side vendors is often an experience, a lesson in culture, and a deliciously cheap meal all wrapped up into one juicy, roasted, suckling pig. Ibo Oka is [...]

  Volunteering abroad is full of highs and lows. Choosing to do that in Cambodia, one of the least developed countries in the world, has it’s own set of issues. Seeing the body pits from the genocide by the Khmer Rouge regime, to the ever cheerful village children, Lauren Dickerson (not her [...]

Whenever I’m doing my own videos (next to come on Monday!), I’m always thinking, “How can I really immerse a viewer in the experience of the trip?” Well, one way to do that, would just go ahead and make a video where the viewer sees everything that you did. And [...]

Bánh xèo means either “sizzling cake” or “sound crepe,” depending on what your Google search turns up, but either way, the name refers to this southern Vietnamese crepe made of rice flour, water, coconut milk, pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts that’s pan fried, then “rolled up in a leaf of [...]

In the never-ending quest to discover the “Phuket of the ’80′s,” could it be that the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, just off the Cambodian border in the Gulf of Thailand, is the real thing? Years away from overdevelopment, Phu Quock is known for its peaceful white-sand beaches, laid-back atmosphere, [...]