顺其自然 – “Shun qi zhi ran” Translation: “Let nature take its course“ This saying came to define the travels of Ya Ting and me for the next few weeks when I would end up hitchhiking for over 2500 kilometers (over 1500 miles) across Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China. The first time we tried hitchhiking […]
Dali is the Pai of China
I’ve sung Pai in northern Thailand’s praises until I was blue in the face. Whenever anyone asks me where my favorite place in Southeast Asia is, I answer, “Pai,” without even needing to stop and think about it. There’s so much to love about that hippie town, full of dreadlocked, tattooed, and pierced residents and visitors. […]
Is Vietnam Safe to Travel In?
It’s confession time: sometimes, I’m really scared to travel to certain places alone. Sometimes, even if the bus ride is 9 hours long, I dread the last 15 minutes because I’m going to have to rise to the occasion, watch the motorbike taxi drivers as they point directly at me excitedly, ready to grab my […]
Sapa: Trekking Rice Terraces and Staying With Hill Tribes
The fog was rolling in and the cold weather was biting at my nose. My endless summer had officially ended. I was at the very north of Vietnam, in Sapa, about 10 hours north of Hanoi, preparing to go trekking with some of my favorite travel buddies. They sent a message through for me to […]
A Story About Love (But Not a Love Story)
I never saw this issue coming. I didn’t realize that there is one big thing standing in the way of me traveling forever. It’s not money, homesickness, or a desire for routine. It’s the absence of a partner in crime, a significant other, a love. When I tell people that I’ve been traveling solo for […]