I’ve been meaning to publish this post for a while now but kept putting it off thinking that as soon as I posted it saying I had been riding a motorbike in Thailand for years without any problems that I would get in an accident. Well, I got hit by another motorbike a couple weeks ago (nothing […]

When I first lived abroad after college then when I first backpacked around Southeast Asia, my budget was tight. I wanted to squeeze everything I could out of every dollar, pound, euro, baht, rupee, whatever, and make my money stretch as far as possible. I did a pretty good job at it. I also skipped […]

Sometimes you start a journey with the best of intentions and expectations. Sometimes it all falls a bit flat. You have dreams of a fun little road trip – two motorbikes, three people, more than enough cameras, and the promise of tea tasting and charming hilltop villages. It will be great, you think. Just think of […]

Sometimes, in moments of sweet synchronicity, you get invited to stay at a beautiful boutique resort in a destination you were already making plans to visit. So you say yes and the property is even more beautiful than you expected. Tucked away down a small, unassuming red dirt road in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Navutu Dreams […]

Normally I only half heartedly make some New Year resolutions. I’ll spend a few minutes thinking about what I want to work on or toward, write them down, then…forget about them. Last year I couldn’t think of any. Sure, there were plenty of things I could work on, but I didn’t feel any desire or […]

Let me first say that I wear Thai fisherman’s pants on a daily basis. I always have a nice sheen going because I’m always sweating to some degree, I never try and fix my hair because I’m just going to put a helmet over it anyway, my clothes now often have white dog hair clinging […]

The overcast skies and cool mistiness of the mountains were a welcome change from the hellishly hot temperatures – 113 degrees! – of Bagan. After being dropped off near the famous Inle Lake in the Shan Hills of Burma around 3:30 in the morning (we were glad to already have accommodation booked) we didn’t really know […]

One thing you’ll quickly notice after spending some time in Chiang Mai is that there is a thriving yoga and wellness community here. There’s something about the combination of the laid-back lifestyle, sun everyday, gorgeous natural surroundings, a Buddhist culture where even the wildest high school students will sit still in silent meditation, and abundance of […]

In 1999 National League for Democracy leader and Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, called for a tourism boycott in Burma believing that money spent by visitors would be supporting the military regime and show international support for its practices. In November 2010, right before I first moved to Thailand, she called for a lifting of the […]

There’s something about water that’s recharging for the soul. Even more so when it’s the bright, crystal clear waters of the Andaman Sea. After weeks of searing heat, smoky skies and Songkran splashing, escaping to Koh Lanta on the west coast of Thailand for five days was a welcome change. In this funny time between the […]