Undress Me In The Temple of Heaven, by Susan Jane Gilman, reads almost like a mystery novel, except the mystery is why two naive teenagers who’d never been away from home before would decide to go to China in 1986.  You kind of know the mystery right up front.

But the rest of the story is gripping, the kind of book you finish with a moan of acquiescence and then guiltily flip back to the … Read more »

Just a quick heads-up to let everyone know I have a 5-part travel series appearing online at World Hum this week. Entitled “Where No Travel Writer Has Gone Before,” it documents my experience on a Star Trek-themed sea-cruise to Bermuda. What’s it like to travel the earth with people who’d rather be in outer space? Find out by reading the series, which will appear in episodic installments each day this week. A video … Read more »

Like most, I’ve afforded my Vagabonding freedom through a variety of jobs. However, none have been as stupidly lucrative as waiting tables. For years I slaved away as a server between my stints on the road. Knowing the transitory nature of my downtime, I would forgo the search of more permanent employment. My love for the road … Read more »

“Romantic travel was in its last great age. The tradition of the Grand Tour, though waning, was not yet spent. The cities and monuments of Europe still stood in their anointed places. Space had not yet been annihilated by engines, wires, wireless, and air flight. The sanctity of time and tradition still blessed the holy places of historical and aesthetic pilgrimage. Nations still lived in comparative friendship and mutual respect. Physically as much as spiritually, … Read more »

It’s never fun to run low on funds when traveling, especially when you plan to be on the road much longer than your budget may allow. While working opportunities in other countries may be limited due to lengthy or costly visa requirements, there’s a relatively easy way to extend your Australian vacation with a paycheck.

Australia’s Working Holiday visa is intended for people … Read more »

Although there are a lot of people in other developed countries who don’t travel, Americans tend to get singled out as the worst offenders. Backpackers love to repeat the statistic  of how few Americans hold passports as proof (read more about this myth).

This article from Brave New Traveler, Are Americans afraid to travel? tackles this recurring phenomenon. In the comments,  readers named some of the main obstacles to travel. Here are some … Read more »

Uvita, Costa Rica

At the beginning of his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain lays out the hope that nobody will find a moral in the story. That, of course, is about as likely as nobody finding beards in Afghanistan.

The Costa Rican boy in this photograph was … Read more »

While maps are an indispensable tool for travel, they don’t always provide enough detail to get around. A map of Marrakech doesn’t show the maze of the medina. When one has to walk through a graveyard in Mexico to get to a remote beach, there isn’t a signpost saying ‘This Way‘. If you don’t know which road you’re on in Costa Rica, a map won’t help you figure it out.

Read more »

Indigenous food directly connects you to a place–the place literally assimilates into your body–but it also works the other way around. When you’re home, food can bring you places by bringing those places into you.

The standard Western supermarket has a wall of imported chocolate offering escape. Goya (and competitors) often claim half an aisle, and it’s no longer a surprise to see basmati rice in Wal-Mart.

Wine … Read more »

With limited vacation time, my husband can’t always accompany me on my trips. When he is unavailable, I usually call on one of the few friends who I can always count on to join me in my next adventure. But, I am embarrassed to say, I have never traveled on my own. Oh, I’ve gone somewhere alone before (usually for … Read more »