Diving into southern English life for a weekend is like being tossed from white water into a lagoon. Unhurried locals stroll down mossy lanes, gliding through an all-consuming marine layer with relaxed expressions and friendly eyes. Smiles, chimneys, cobblestones and roads embrace their…
Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains are in a blurry category of their own, with complex ties to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but fully reflecting none of the above. Driven by the heat, we first headed…
A breeze even for the solo backpacker, Laos should be Southeast Asia’s welcoming station. While it lacks the highs of the greater region — Thailand’s cuisine, Cambodia’s temples, Vietnam’s coast and Myanmar’s authenticity — Laos has its own understated, accessible beauty and culture. Explore by…
Croatia: home of lazy, fish-fed cats, orange roofs and game-of-thrones-worthy coastlines. All of which we experienced on a mid-June boat trip from Split to Dubrovnik.…
Journey to a place where music is a daily given, where sheep strike a pose and where green rules. Guinness flows like water, and conversation does too. Here, books are older than time, surpassed only by overgrown, forgotten roads.…
What happens when two nations half-heartedly volley a region back and forth for centuries? A mutt is born. In this case, Alsace, where the food is not quite German, not quite French. Same goes for the dwindling dialect. Luckily, this is one attractive…
The sound of waves breaking, children chatting in Gaelic and our ferry motoring away faded out quickly under the thick layer of mist tasked with keeping the island hidden from outsiders. We, and a handful of other visitors, had arrived nonetheless. A windy, thirty-minute…
Think morning motorcycle rides and seafood on the beach. Though often overlooked, aside from the famed Angkor temples, Cambodia’s slow tempo, open spaces, solid infrastructure and friendliness, will win you over. Island hopping, ruin wandering and river floating are all on the itinerary,…
If walls could talk, these are the ones I’d invite to coffee. They’ve soaked up blood spilled by the Khmer Rouge, housed prisoners, hidden secrets, raised families, divided and protected. In each case, they reflect ourselves and our cultures back at…
Tibetan flags, weathered faces and muted colors greet you upon arrival. After a few weeks of moseying around Ladakh’s dusty mountains life takes on an addictive simplicity that steadies the pace, deepens the breath and slows the heart. The trip…
When I think of Varanasi I think of bodies. They’re everywhere, some living, some not. The shores of the river are where they gather. If the city had a heartbeat, the Ganges would be its source. The banks are alive. Corpses burn…
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but it might be fair to judge a place by its seasons. By popular demand, here is finally a post on Luxembourg, a tiny, often overlooked country that I have called…
Istanbul is the end of the road – the Silk Road namely – the point on the map where the East and West come to a head: symbolically, geographically and, in many ways, ideologically. It’s situated on the Bosphorus strait, which stretches…
December is that time of year When what’s important becomes more clear. Presents and bows glitter under the tree But it’s our loved ones who are truly the key. To you, dear readers, I thank you for reading And send…