Ibn Battuta once said, “Travel- it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a story teller.” When my feet first touched the ground in Peru, I instantly felt changed. Every single step was culturally enriching, from hiking Machu Picchu, to trekking through the Amazon Forest, to running through the markets of Cusco in the … Continued
Dear Batanes, Kapian capa nu dios Batanes! (Hello Batanes!). First, I write to you as a hopeless romantic. No! Not the kind of I am looking for a happy ever after, waiting for my prince charming. I am in love with your beauty. You are a piece of heaven on Earth. My fascination about you … Continued
Sitting beside the River Ganga, I like to watch, with awe, the continuous flow of this holy river that kisses the banks of the adjoining town of Rishikesh. I have often traveled to this Hindu-dominated, spiritual town, which is located at the base of the largest mountain range in the world i.e. the Himalayas. The … Continued
I remember vividly the first time I heard Avicii’s song “Wake Me Up.” I was riding from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Red River Gorge, Kentucky (The Red) with a bunch of fellow in-coming college students. The song created a new atmosphere in the van, everyone smiled a bit more and happiness seemed more alive. At … Continued
Regrets are a funny thing. The people that I have surrounded myself with influenced the decisions I have made and have caused me the inexplicable pain of making an important choice. Life altering choices. This is how I find myself sitting in the proverbial heart of the United Kingdom. I sit in a glass orb, … Continued
Secret Beach My dreams spread across the sheet, each fragment captured in its own little box: Moraine Lake; the Saskatchewan River Crossing; The Athabasca Glacier; Sunwapta Falls; Maligne Canyon; Tofino; Clayoquot Sound; Ucluelet; Vancouver. I savoured each name on my tongue – some smooth as New World silk, others rough as the cedar bark cloth … Continued
Leaning forward, holding tightly to the roof beams, we poked our heads out of an 800-year-old stone tower in the country of Georgia. From our vantage point some 25 meters above the ground, we saw scores of other ancient stone towers scattered throughout the village of Mestia, Svaneti’s regional capital. The gently sloping valley, carpeted … Continued
Undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of my five week trip to Australia last summer was in Melbourne where on a free walking tour we heard about Ned Kelly- one of the most famous figures in Australian history and a national hero. He is best described as the ‘Australian Robin Hood,’ who caused much … Continued
Make No Small Plans – or How I Learned to Love Home I was chatting late with a boyfriend one night. We were up in the balcony of the Improv Comedy Club in Chicago. Yup – that’s the one – with the red brick wall and a microphone. I worked in the box office there … Continued
The ground is packed down hard yet dusty from many wheels, hooves, paws, and bare feet like mine as I absentmindedly careen around piles of dung, sleeping dogs, and empty banana leaf bowls once filled with sweet rice. These bowls of sweet rice are given out free by street vendors to those going on this … Continued