(Riding past the Guadalupe Mountains) I was planning to write about learning to throw axes during my last trip to Toronto. About how it reminded me to get out of my head and flow in the moment. That the moment I started laughing, that's exactly what would happen and my throws became more accurate. I'll...

(Working on this article in Austin - Vintage Heart Cafe) My last couple of articles have been a bit higher-level ( How lessons I learned while traveling have helped me through family tragedy and Becoming a better person via the kindness of strangers ). Today, though, I've decided to post something much more tactical -...

Out there in the world of the Internet, there’s a community of people. Whatever your focus in life, you can find a twitter chat, blog post, Facebook page or Instagram feed to showcase your interests and connect with others who have a similar concentration. Today’s online world has pros and cons just like everything else....

(The family we met in Siberia - one of the most memorable nights of the entire trip.) Last week, I heard that a friend of mine had been in a serious motorcycle accident in Bali. A serious accident - broken ribs, fractured pelvis, collapsed lung. He wrote about the experience - about his injuries, about...

While this is my story, I'm sharing it because we all have family and those that we love. When we least expect it, tragedies happen and the skills that we hone while traveling can be invaluable in getting us through. Camping in Siberia en route to the Arctic Circle (-43C) Truth is - this year...

The never-ending road (Namibia) Boarding that last flight of a particular journey is often bittersweet. The excitement and amazement that comes with the planning, preparation and execution of travel may be ending but the thousands of moments experienced, memories created, lessons learned and new perspectives gained remain. More often than not, it is in the...

We travel a lot, you might have noticed that. Wherever we go we meet people and we’ve always had a family habit of inviting those people to eat a meal with us, even if it’s off foldable plates on a ground tarp because we’re cycling. I love listening to people’s stories, learning about their journeys...

Last week I shared five things that life and travel are teaching me. This week, I’d like to share five more... 1. To figure it out There is nothing like having everything go to perdition on a far off continent when you don’t speak the language. In epic ways: like the stock market crashing and...

One of the great things about Europe is its magnificent Christmases, when the frosty air is infused with a spirit of joy and celebration. From Scotland to Slovakia, a smorgasbord of culture is on display as each country celebrates with its own unique traditions. This is the second in a series about the Continent’s various...

One of the many great things about Europe is the magnificent way it celebrates the Christmas season. Throughout the continent, a spirit of festivity can be felt in the wintertime air. The traditions of the season are still strong in this thoroughly modern part of the world, where bustling Christmas markets fill the main square...

Holidays for me have always been about tradition, but I decided this year that I wanted to experience the holidays abroad, so my family and I are spending a few months in Monte Verde, Costa Rica. I thought it would be magical to be in the mountains for Christmas and celebrate the holidays Tico-style. But...

A journey is made of milestones. It has to. Without milestones, we would not be able to ponder our experiences, to stop and wonder about what we have accomplished during all this while. One of the most shiny accomplishments of my 6 years stint on the road – on many roads, in many countries, with...

Pic credit:Flickr/Chloester " Marrying into a culture is a strange pinnacle of interaction. All of these travelers and travel writers think they’re so “extreme” because they visited this place or that place or ate this or bungee jumped off that, but — in my experience — there is nothing more challenging than truly learning language...

Recently I was asked by a magazine to look at possibilities for a travel article. Specifically about some Western European locale that featured prominently in World War II, but hadn’t been covered too widely. Turns out it was not an easy task. While scouring my map of Western Europe looking for places that hadn't been...

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a first-timer, a travel newbie; everyone has a first time and there is a sweetness in that first trip that you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to recapture. The lessons you learn and the experiences you have will shape your life and your adventures to come and...

Let’s face it: It’s summer and you’re broke. If you’ve somehow managed to make it to Europe and have some money for food and shelter, you might not have cash for much else. Trust me, I’ve been there. Everyone knows activities in places like London, for example, is pricey. But it’s important to know that...

Dealing with money on the road can be a real pain in the ass. You want to have enough on hand at all times, but not too much, because then you worry about it being stolen out of your bag or back pocket. If your journey is taking you along the trail well traveled, from...

I sat down and tried to calculate how much money I spent visiting India last year, my way: the balance is ridiculously low. India is a cheap country, yes, but this would not have been possible without a few tricks. Here is a lowdown on how I managed to spend 110$ for 6 weeks travelling...

Picture credit: Flickr/ shenamt Compared to most of my unemployed – or struggling to keep that one job that keeps them floating –friends back home, I have to feel privileged. This was the bottom line of a phone conversation I recently had with my parents. As more and more people struggle to make ends meet...

The subject of my life as a minimalist keeps coming up in conversations lately. I’m always a bit taken aback when someone suggests it, because I don’t think of myself as a minimalist at all. It’s true, I’ve lived out of a backpack, essentially, for over five years now. My whole life fits into one...