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The Mirihi Island Resort that I never got to visit I was supposed to be at the start of the trip of a lifetime. Instead, I was sitting on a metal bench, sobbing, having just been rejected by Maldives’ airport customs officers…for the second time. Let’s back up to before I was put on the…
Inside Tuol Sleng Prison; image courtesy of Kyle Valenta. This guy calls himself “G” and that stands for garnet, but we see none of those blood-red stones anywhere on his body. Instead, there are long stretches of tanned white skin over sharp bones, a silk shirt billowing open in the breeze. It’s hot and we’re…
The little Alaskan town of Tenakee Springs. There it was: a wall of pure Alaskan wilderness. Evergreen trees rising up, up, up like a never-ending IMAX screen. My little six-seat plane felt like it was barely edging over this tableau as it chugged above the treetops. The motor roared at maximum effort, pulling me farther…
New Delhi Railway Station image courtesy Kyle Valenta. The lights have a yellow glow — no, it’s not a glow, it’s a halo — and here we are hurtling across empty roads through this low, wide city in a tiny hatchback without seatbelts. The windows are down and it’s hot; the air is so thick…
Viña del Mar, Chile. Photo Credit: Hector Garcia, Flickr I experienced my first earthquake when I was 11 years old. I was spending the night at my best friend’s house, and in the early hours of dawn I woke up to the nonstop screams of her older sister, who had been sleeping in the next…
Photo courtesy of Star Clippers Last month, I had the distinct pleasure of leading a series of meditations and wellness talks on a cruise ship. This wasn’t your typical mega ship — it was a clipper sailing ship meant for 100 passengers or so. Not a big cruise person myself, I wasn’t exactly sure what…
Photo Credit: Alex Webster Booking an all-inclusive stay in Mexico or the Dominican Republic may seem like the best option for budget-minded travelers, but road trips across America can be far cheaper. In my case, I traveled from Seattle to Denver over 11 days in June/July 2015 and spent only $115 on accommodations the entire…
Milan is a great place to visit — just try not to leave anything behind (Photo courtesy of Melissa Kravitz)
Photo courtesy of Flickr/NIH Image Gallery From the moment I decided to embark on a three-month journey around the Caribbean and Central America, I knew Zika was a possibility. It was impossible not to ignore the headlines. Caused by a bite from the Aedes mosquito, Zika is affecting dozens of countries and territories in Asia,…
Flickr/oscarhermawan People go to Vietnam for a few reasons—the culture, the beaches, and the food among them. But there’s also a certain something else to it. Maybe it’s the lush landscape of the country that, not too long ago, was torn apart by war. Or maybe it’s the open-armed hospitality of people who, again not…