"The freedom of being a stranger in a strange place, knowing no one, needing to know no one, with no obligations, elicits deep feelings of liberation. The farther from the beaten path I go, the quicker my attachment to any idea of how I should be treated is discarded -- I'm grateful merely that my...

"As is often the case when I travel, my vulnerability -- like not knowing what the hell I'm supposed to do upon arrival -- makes me more open to outside interactions than I might otherwise be when I'm at home and think I know best what needs to be done. On the road, serendipity is...

"Travel -- especially by people who rarely do it -- is often dismissed as a luxury and an indulgence, not a practical or useful way to spend one's time. People complain, "I wish I could afford to go away." Even when I did the math and showed that I often spent less money while on...

A few nights ago, I sat in the audience at the Book Passage Travel and Food Writing & Photography Conference , listening to Andrew McCarthy talk about his transition from actor to travel writer. One of his comments about travel stood out in particular: “I love that feeling of going, it makes me feel a...