My first 5 surf lessons crushed me. It was my first time in a while trying something wholly new–not like tasting a new cuisine, but putting myself in a physical situation where it would clearly take repetitive failure and much practice in order to glimpse a modicum of success. I had never wake-boarded, snow-boarded, or participated in any similar sport, and I...
Standing at 3,726 meters (12,224 feet) and rising in a steady, virtually unbroken line from the nearby coastline, Mt. Rinjani is Indonesia’s second highest volcano. And we—Mica, myself, and my parents—were climbing to its crater rim at 2,639 meters (8,658 feet). The two day hike involves going up over 7,000 vertical feet one day and straight back down it the next...
“Are you a backpacker, too?” When a German 20-something asked me this question in Ho Chi Minh City recently, I cringed. We are traveling around the world with only our backpacks, so the answer is certainly yes. However, in my reticence to respond that way, a realization donned on me… I am a self-loathing tourist. I hide from the hordes of Chinese...
It broke my heart to leave these items behind, and not bring them home as keepsakes of our adventures. But alas, like a turtle, I travel with my home on my back (and a 20kg limit on every flight), so I will have to be satisfied simply bringing home memories. What I Would Have Bought… Bottles of home-brewed rakia from BulgariaA glass for Turkish tea with gold...
I, like most, have grown up with the photos and mystical lure of Angkor Wat. It was enough background to know I wanted to go there, but not enough to know much about the 1,000 year Khmer Empire that spawned the construction of so many monumental temples. But with a 40 hour window of time between Vietnam and Indonesia off I went to explore (with Mica heading to...
It’s a cliche that the barbershop is a bastion of male camaraderie. I’m not sure I fully buy that notion, but I can say that I’ve always strived to become a regular with a barber that I felt cared about their craft and created a welcoming space. Being on the road precludes the type of relationship you can only build over time of course. But one still needs a haircut...
Our two and a half weeks in Japan were a whirlwind of experiences and adjustments, both to the rich culture surrounding us and to our rhythms and relationship after two months on the road. It made for an interesting, challenging, and important stop on our travels that we are still processing in many ways. Coming into Japan we had very high expectations and very...
After flying from Tokyo to Bangkok and enjoying a refreshing 24 hours in Thailand we prepared to embark on the Thakhek Loop (also known as the Kong Lor Loop or just The Loop). The Loop is a 450 kilometer 2-4 day motorbike journey through Central Laos. The route meanders past myriad rice paddies and rural villages passing through unique towering limestone karsts...
When my friend Franny suggested a 4-day motorbike loop in central Laos, I didn’t give it much thought. She was living in Thailand, and I trusted her local knowledge of what we should see and do in the Mekong region. Victor and I had loved zipping around on our rented motorbike on the country roads of Chiang Dao and Ko Samui during our honeymoon in Thailand two years...
It’s early. About 7am. I woke up at 4:30 to the cry of roosters and the rustle of feet as our hosts began their day. We’re in the village of Ban Donkham somewhere deep in the Jungle between Luang Namtha and Huay Xai, both sizeable one-road towns in Northern Laos. Two kilometers up a dusty, winding track is the one store, fifteen house village of Ban Donchai...