A couple of weeks ago, a reader emailed me asking for some advice on how to deal with her worried parents. She had long wanted to take off on a solo trip around Southeast Asia, but every time she brought it up to her family, her mother would get teary-eyed and her father would express […]
Sak Yant Tattoos: The Ultimate Travel Memento
There is a magical Buddhist blessing that each of us carries on our bodies. Some of us carry just one, others two. Some of us were gifted this art from the very same monk – Luang Pi Nunn of Wat Bang Phra near Bangkok, and others traveled to the green and mountainous Chiang Mai to […]
Coming Face to Face With Blue Flames
Kawah Ijen was one of the most brilliant parts of my trip so far, which is saying a lot considering that I have now logged about 8 months traveling all over Southeast Asia. It was also a challenge to do solo and independently of a tour, as online information was scarce and Kawah Ijen is […]
Off-the-Beaten Path: Motorbiking Borneo
Days 248-251 Let’s ride a motorbike through Borneo “I was thinking to myself, this is crazy. I’m riding a motorbike through Borneo with two people I met only a few days ago.” Neil had a valid point. We had only met a few days before, randomly, in a dorm before deciding to climb Mount Kinabalu […]
Loving Langkawi’s Hidden Beaches
Day 220 For someone who fancies herself an off-the-beaten path traveler, Langkawi in Malaysia would not seem like an obvious addition to the itinerary. Given its status as a duty free shopping hub, coupled with the numerous beach resorts that dot its shores, I was a little unsure if I’d even enjoy my time there. […]