Backpacking
Live Like A King In India (At Least For A Day Or Two)
India’s definitely one of those countries where its sheer magnitude is sometimes hard to get your head around. Take for example the fact that in 1947 the country was comprised of 565 princely states, most of which was home to their own extravagant palaces. What, you say, not content with shacking up in a hostel […]
Saigon From The Backseat
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 make my way through the […]
Not A Typical Day In Cambodia
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 relatively recent genocide, and the […]
Eating At Your Friendly Neighborhood Balinese Warung
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 what the Balinese locals call […]
Finding Colombia’s Lost City
A trek into the jungle in search of Colombia’s “Lost City.” Our group grabs the packs from the top of the Jeep’s rusty roof before we set off for Ciudad Perdida, or Colombia’s Lost City. Our guide, Tunyi, decides to begin the six-day trek by telling us about eight tourists who were kidnapped on September […]
Biking Shangri-La
Douglas Whitehead has been chronicling his epic 6,000-mile bike trek from England to India over the last few months for the Telegraph. His latest entry finds him in northern Pakistan, an area historically known for its beauty — it was here that the name Shangri-la was supposedly coined — as well as its for its […]
Manners And Taboos: Advice For Watching Yourself Abroad
We all know different cultures have their specific intricacies, and it takes a little research to become aware of them when traveling. Even I remember a friend of mine in Korea, very politely saying, “Jon, ah . . . that is, maybe, a little bit rude.” After a thousand apologies and deep bows, I was […]
Camping In The Caribbean
Though not as cheap as you’d expect ($80), there are opportunities for setting up tent in the Caribbean as an alternative to high-price, resort accommodations, as Benji found out here, especially in St. John’s’ Maho and Cinnamon Bay campgrounds. And the idea’s not new: “But on St. John, the expansiveness of its National Park, which […]
Granada On Haphazard Guitar Strings
A night out on the town in Granada, Nicaragua, with a Canadian, a Rastafarian painter, and an ex-revolutionary. Does it get any better than this? By Luke Armstrong España was beautiful, young, Argentinean, and when she came up to talk to me on a bus heading towards the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border to ask if I […]
4 Tips To Better Backpacking
Lately, even stripping travel down to the bare minimum, i.e. backpacking, has gotten lost in the piles of gear and tech out there (see this article on flashpacking). Over at Vagabondish, they bring true “backpacking” ideals back to the forefront with four tips that will make you rethink that extra pair of underwear you stuffed […]