It’s a common traveler’s dilemma: to avoid jet lag after a long-haul flight, you should really sleep on the plane. That way, you can wake up refreshed and already be on local time. The problem: you can’t sleep on planes.

If you’ve ever arrived at an airport feeling groggy like Bill Murray’s character in the film Lost in Translation, you’re not alone. Seth Kugel, who writes the “Frugal Traveler” column for The New York Times, … Read more »

For the last year and a half that I have been living in Asia it has been a constant expensive struggle to maintain regular use of vitamins and supplements. It is a bit difficult to find bottles of vitamins here in Korea.  If they are found it is little more than a basic multi-vitamin and they come … Read more »

Every year, as spring makes its slow way across Korea, the country is set upon by the phenomenon of “yellow dust”. You might draw the curtains in the morning and find the jaundiced haze thick over the city, or leave for work in the morning to find your bike, scooter, car covered in a thin grainy layer of the stuff.

What it is exactly is a question that yields several returns. Some say … Read more »

If you’re on the road in Asia it is definitely worth checking out a few of the treatments that Oriental Medicine has to offer that are perhaps too expensive to try out at home. Here in Korea I recently tried acupuncture for the first time. Acupuncture aims to release energy that is perhaps not flowing properly … Read more »

If you’re in Korea, or traveling through the region, one thing you should be sure to experience is the Korean jjimjilbang. A jjimjilbang is a Korean sauna, though referring to them as such is perhaps a little lacking, as they offer so much more. For around 5,00won, about US$4, travelers can take advantage of many of the great features the spas offer.

Most jjimjilbangs work the same. You enter, place your shoes in one … Read more »

Southeast Asia draws travelers for many reasons; for the experience of a foreign culture quite unlike one’s own, for the lush scenery, or the life experience. However, like most other areas of the world, there is an undeniable amount of party culture associated with this region that draws a certain traveler. I’ve seen photos and read the same number of accounts of Thailand’s breathtaking scenery as of its epic parties. Living in Asia, I’ve met … Read more »

I’ve always been of the opinion that having a food allergy is a heinous lot to have drawn in life. I approach this largely from a food-lover’s standpoint, but also because seeing a food allergy being triggered is quite frightening. Seeing it happen just once is enough to make me want to carry an epipen just for safe measure.

A few years ago, I was surprised to find myself traveling with a companion … Read more »

Going to the doctors in another country is always an interesting experience. We can find great similarities and parallels between visiting cafés or riding public transportation in America and Europe, or between grocery stores in the US and Japan, but going to the doctor always seems to remind you that you are in a foreign country and … Read more »

Sometimes we feel like we don’t need as much sleep when we’re traveling, because the excitement and energy we get from our new surroundings and adventures is enough to keep us going. I’ve heard travelers romantically recount exhausting stories about traveling and, due to situation, not sleeping for days at a time. I’ve even told a … Read more »

On a recent trip to Japan, I had the opportunity to experience the country’s Shinkansen train service. The Shinkansen, sometimes called the bullet train, is a network of high-speed trains that carry passengers across the country at speeds up to around 450km/h. Japan is notorious for its vast and efficient transportation system. True, tickets can be dauntingly expensive, but transportation in the country is nearly flawlessly reliable and easy to use.

As a … Read more »