Backpacking adventures

It’s not the kind of place that comes to mind when thinking about Colombia, but a little mountain village called Minca gets my vote for best of honors. A slow 17 kilometers up and out ...

It’s the time of year when kids are graduating, and some of the lucky ones get to travel abroad on their own. The first time I traveled in Europe — with an oversized backpack and ...

Nyein Sanda works in an office not much larger than a closet in the central train station in Yangon, Myanmar. His ticket booth on platform 7 hosts a constant stream of tourists looking to ride ...

“What do you want to do when you come visit?” “I don’t know! You plan it.” Well, let’s just see how this goes: I'm traveling on a shoestring budget through Southeast Asia with my mom. ...

I had been here before. A deep breath of ocean air, a taste of mist, and I was in some beautiful place from my dreams – on the edge of water so still, I forbade ...

We arrived in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), in November. Instantly the heat had us deciding to take a bus to Chaungtha Beach, the most popular beach among Burmese vacationers and the closest to Yangon. Accommodation in ...

There was more than just a luscious countryside of diversified vegetation and smooth, rolling hills, where a clean river ran steady and uninhibited over gardens of round stones. More than just untouched wax palm trees, ...

The Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine occupy the far western part of the country. They are considered moderate – nothing quite as massive or high as the Rockies, nor as rolling or subtle as the Appalachians. ...

There’s only one place to drink in Copalis Beach. The river winds through a short slough to the ocean and, just south (as "just south" as it could be), sits Green Lantern Tavern. The nondescript ...

The coast was stark and abandoned. We'd discovered a natural wonder with no foot traffic – a landscape of vibrant colors and fluid sunsets that belonged in a watercolor. Before my eyes, the Black Sea ...

Z and I arrive by evening ferry at the nondescript dock of Lopez Island. A sign by the terminal advises that “All at large dogs will be detained” – curious, to say the least. We ...