LOST AND FOUND IN MUMBAI By Arti Agarwal I was an oilfield engineer; the kind who wear muddy, greasy coveralls, work with hefty tools in the sun and the rain, have big degrees from an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), work on five computers all at the same time, monitor data from the earth in … Continued
After a grueling six-month search, my boyfriend Zachary had finally landed a great job on the East Coast, about 45 minutes from where I work. That was a welcome change from the three-thousand-mile distance between us during our two years after college, when he attended grad school in California and I started my career in … Continued
Realizing Freedom in Thailand On my first ever trip overseas (other than ferries) I arrived in Bangkok alone, with only the advice of friends and travel books giving me and idea of what to expect. I would spend over a month in Thailand as my stepping stone into the countries of Southeast Asia. Perhaps because … Continued
Freedom: The Place I call Home I used to think that going for a music festival abroad with friends, heading to the countryside for the weekend or even skydiving was the ultimate meaning of being free, of being independent. To be honest, and now looking in retrospective, many things I did were merely brief moments … Continued
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” The first time that I heard Brad Pitt’s quote in the movie Fight Club, I didn’t really put any thought into it but for some reason, the passage stuck with me in my mind. I was hiking in Colombia when this quote randomly … Continued
After a three-hour boat ride from Belém, I arrived on the world’s largest freshwater island, Marajó. Roughly the size of Switzerland, it also boasts a seat directly on the equator and a city, Anajás, with the most cases of malaria in all of Brazil. I didn’t visit Anajás, but Soure, another of Marajo’s sparse towns. … Continued
Mind the Gap: The Transition to Independent Travel There is a restricting uneasiness with terra incognita that ails any traveler venturing abroad for the first time. I was no exception. Before boarding the plane to London, I had a plethora of wrong assumptions, stereotypes and nightmarish fears that plagued me during the turbulent plane ride. … Continued
On the day I left Philadelphia, I was consumed with stress and grief. So many things had happened to me and the children over the past three years. My mind could no longer comprehend and my heart was unwilling to be patient any longer. In fact, it no longer had the ability to withstand the … Continued
Trekking for Milam Glacier and Nanda Devi East Base Camp, India were my dream trek, which now come true. One chilly morning I headed to Pithoragarh, which is a beautiful place where I spent night. Next morning I left to Munsyari. Route was blessed with lots of waterfalls, as the rain season just ended. 4 … Continued
The cold breeze ruffled my hair as we wound our way down into the valley. I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck, grateful for my gloves. Dawn was breaking, the sun turning the morning around me varying shades of gold and pink and, as I shivered in my seat, I thought of how very … Continued