luke armstrong
Q&A: Rolf Potts Went There
Q&A with Nomad Rolf Potts, Author of Marco Polo Didn´t Go There It is easy to forget that when it comes to “travel writing,” traveling is the easy part. These days, anyone without the last name “Bin Laden” can buy a plane ticket and go just about anywhere. But turning a trip into a compelling […]
I Urge Immediate Travel To Egypt With Megan Fox
Though I cannot be held responsible for any adverse outcomes if you follow my advice: I think you should go to Egypt. Not since Ramses II’s coming of age party has there been a better reason to travel to Egypt. What is happening in Egypt (brace yourself for a grandiose claim) could be the most significant […]
Top 10 Best Travel Songs
Did you know that 85% of kangaroo dreams are about koalas? No, I can’t back up that previous statement anymore than I can claim that the following ten songs are the “best” travel songs. But these travel songs are pretty good and really intrepid. Just ask my friend. She once said to me, “Luke, you have […]
Be The Change: Save A Life
Of all the advice Patrick Atkinson, founder of the GOD´S CHILD Project has given to me, one stands out. “Atkinson´s Law” says simply that when faced with the problems of the world everyone: 1) Wants to help; 2) Can help in some way; 3) But too many people just do not know how. I believe this. […]
Paul Can Eat Glass And It Doesn’t Hurt Him
Paul Sobczak can eat glass and it doesn´t hurt him. Or at least, that´s what he´s told scores of people in dozens of languages since starting his “I can Eat Glass Project.” This project is one of many travel projects Paul has undertaken. Of all the travelers I have met on The Road, few travel […]
2011: The Year the Guidebook Burned
Last year a friend of mine was visiting Portland for the first time. Since I am a frequent visitor and have family there, she sent me a Facebook message asking if I had any recommendations for her. I copied her in a message I sent to a dozen contacts of mine asking them to help […]
An Open Letter To The Guatemalans Setting Off Fireworks Outside My Door Every Morning At 4 A.M.
Guatemala has a loud tradition of setting off firecrackers early in the morning to celebrate a birthday. Contributor Luke Maguire Armstrong has a tradition of sleeping in the early-morning hours. Dear Firecracker-Loving Guatemalans, Let me begin by assuring you that I am no hater of firecrackers. When I was a young boy I fondly remember […]
It´s the Year of the Rabbit, You Stupid Ox! (Time To Travel To China)
On February 3rd, the Tiger stepped aside to make way for the Year of the Rabbit. When he did, something surprising happened. People seemed to actually care about it. I can´t recall another Chinese New Year really capturing everyone´s attention quite like The Rabbit has. I could not log onto my Twitter account without constant […]
On “On the Road”
“I’ll be back in thirty minutes,” Stu said to me, his glazed-over eyes had that spark of craziness that fuels the worst and the best fires of humanity. Amid the rabble-rousing of a dimly lit Brooklyn bar, a tension released in Stu’s wake. Not because he was not likable or interesting, but as his intake […]
A Year’s Worth Of Sins Went Up In Smoke
In all of Antigua, Guatemala, there is only one place in the city where two gas stations sit across the street from each other. Someone years ago decided that this is the spot where every December 7, people would gather to watch La Quema del Diablo: The Burning of The Devil. Across the country on […]