"I spent a lot of time in cars when I was a kid, and you know, there’s something about cars— you’re going somewhere, you’re occupied, which can make people very unguarded in their conversations. I hitchhiked across the country a couple of times when I was a kid, and I used to have the most...

"Most travel, and certainly the rewarding kind, involves depending on the kindness of strangers, putting yourself into the hands of people you don't know and trusting them with your life." --Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2008)

Ko Phangan, Thailand In one of the final pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov , the main character is speaking to a group of boys and encouraging them to harness the present moment in a way that will guide them in the future. He says, “And whether you are absorbed in the most important...

It's a question based on the "walk a mile in someone else's moccasins" premise: To fully understand and experience travel, do you have to spend time on the hospitality side as well? Some might argue that not all travelers are customers of the hospitality industry. True, not too many vagabonds will be booking Club Med...