Exactly two years ago, I put out my last cigarette. It was a habit I never imagined I would be able to kick, especially as a traveler. For almost a decade, I lit at least 10 sticks a day. Some days, when things got so stressful, I could finish an entire pack. My cigarettes were…
PARIS, 2016. Exactly 6 months ago. That day, instead of sightseeing, we decided to have breakfast with a local friend and just walk around aimlessly after. We kept our cameras in our bags and phones in our pockets, and enjoyed the city without worrying about blog posts. It was our rest day.
In 2012, when I first abandoned the corporate world, I had a grand plan of traveling around Southeast Asia for a loooong time. 6 months, maybe? Or a year? “Easy,” I thought. SEAsia is cheap, and although the culture is so far from ours, it wouldn’t really be too far from the boundaries of my…
“How do we keep the snakes away?” one of us finally speaks up after Nick, our tour guide, told us we would be sleeping on the ground. Good question. It is the first night of our camping tour across the middle of nowhere (aka the Australian Outback), and we are all surprised to find there…
I’m usually scared of big dogs, so when this doggie here walked closer to me, I WAS TERRIFIED at first. I would move away, but he would follow. It wasn’t long until I realized what he was trying to do.
DARWIN, Australia — I stop in my tracks for two things: the delicious scent of grilled chicken is becoming too difficult to ignore, and the sunset’s afterglow illuminating the night market is just too irresistible not to be captured. I take a deep breath, raise my camera, and work the shutter. When I put my…
BATANGAS, Philippines — I am staying at the porch of our Batangas home and pondering life’s complexities when a family van pulls over. The window rolls down and reveals the matriarch in the passenger seat. “We’re going to Manila,” she says. “Should we go straight?” “No,” I reply. “If you’re Manila-bound, turn right.” With that,…
LUANG PRABANG, Laos — “To the city center,” I say to the tuktuk driver. The bus from Vang Vieng arrived in Luang Prabang much later than scheduled and I did not anticipate reaching the city at this time. It’s already evening, and my awkward social qualities made sure I didn’t make any friends during the…
