Southeast Asia is probably the best place in the world for your first extended backpacking trip. The food is delicious, the locals friendly, the beaches extraordinary, the accommodations well-established and the sites varied and unforgettable. You’re likely to return home with plenty of fond memories and incredible photos of Southeast [...]

There is a saying: “To really see a country, leave the city.” Just as Paris may not be the best representation of France, and New York City isn’t a complete portrayal of the United States (sorry Matt), the same can be said about other parts of the world, Bali for example. There [...]

Seven million copies, 170 weeks and counting on the New York Times Best Seller List, and one Julia Roberts-starring movie later, Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love,” may, surprisingly, just be entering the backlash phase that was inevitable from a book with such runaway success. We’ve seen this story before: Peter [...]

The girls over at Something Creative decided to trek off of their home island of Bali, and head one island over to Gili Trawangan, off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia, where where the roads are carless, the shallow waters are ripe for diving, and the mood is laid back. Okay, [...]

Real adventures, I mean the utterly real, still exist. You may have to look quite hard for them, but they’re still out there. The Telegraph recently recounted a trip into the lair of the fire-breathing, man-eating lizard, the Kimodo Dragon. At first glance, I thought this was one of those real kind of adventures. [...]

It’s probably fair to say that Bako National Park, in Borneo, is the only national park in the world where you are likely to run into hairy-nosed otters, flying lemurs, silver-leaf monkeys, honey bears, and green pit vipers (whose poisonous bite will kill you within a matter of hours), all [...]

Known for its many food stalls serving perhaps Bali’s most famous dish, Babi guling — a spiced roasted pig traditionally made with a whole suckling pig that’s been stuffed with a fragrant spice paste and spit-roasted over a barbecue — Gianyar’s night markets come alive after 6 p.m. Head there [...]

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 [...]

China’s having a six-minute solar eclipse in July, Berlin’s celebrating 20 years of reunification in November, French Guiana is still amazingly diverse, and Bintan Island is emerging as the place to be among the 3,200 islands in the Riau Archipelago — take that Rempang. The other six to-do’s are kind [...]

Take a step back in time by about 1,000 years at Borobudur and Prambanan, some of the most spectacular sites in all of Indonesia. Borobudur, a vast monument containing 72 Buddha statues, and Prambanan, one of Indonesia’s largest temples, are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and oftentimes some of the [...]