There’s a point in the Confessions of a Shopaholic series when Rebecca Bloomwood finds herself in the luggage section of a department store. “Luggage!” she exclaims. “Why have I never thought about luggage?” Don’t ask me why I’ve read those books. (Sigh. If you must know, I...
When exactly is that moment where you realize that you’ve been traveling or living abroad for so long that what you’ve always called home is no longer home? Is it when you’re more excited to get back on the plane than you were to get off it?...
I kind of like to imagine myself as a photographer.But I’m not. Yeah, I did make it to the top 25 finalists in last year’s Conde Naste Traveler Photo contest, so close to the $25,000 grand prize I could almost taste it. And NBC News may have...
Three times a week I make the five minute drive over a singular, newly constructed bridge on the way to my tennis club. The wide four-laned road lined with restaurants (including duck rice porridge for which Thanh Da is known), apartment buildings and one lonely KFC quickly...
I’ve never been a big fan of ballet. Surprising, I know, considering I’m such a huge snob supporter of the arts. But when I got a chance to sit in on the final rehearsal of Cinderella at the Saigon Opera House, I didn’t refuse (mostly because I...
I’ve always wanted to live on an island. It seems my whole adult life has been a series of trips trying to find that most perfect of beaches accompanied by a carefree existence perennially lived in flip flops and a faded t-shirt. And coconuts. In my dreams,...
“Mung bean”, I whisper to the boy in square hipster glasses dressed all in black and hugging an iPad. “This way”, he says as he checks me off the guest list and leads me to the elevator and an upstairs apartment in a non-descript corporate-looking building in...
Not long ago, I wrote a post about how I felt caught between two worlds – the Western world I was brought up in, and the Eastern one I was born to and now call home. If that weren’t enough, I’m a product of bilocation in my...
Why do I spend irresponsibly on travel when I’m so responsible in every other facet of my life? One week only sale to Nepal? Book it! Last minute 14-day cruise for $499? I’m there! Go camping for two months straight? Sure! Why do I love getting lost...
A few months ago, I wrote a post about what Star Trek has taught me about travel. It remains one of my favorite posts to date. I love the way the crew of the Enterprise sought to interact with the indigenous population (especially when they were either...