I am what is known as a late adopter. (Fine. It’s not strictly one of the technology cycles but much preferable to being called a “laggard“.) I didn’t climb aboard the iPhone bandwagon as much as I was chloroformed-into-a-moving-van onto it by a friend who had an...
I’m trying to think of the exact moment I became the beach equivalent of a vapid, disconnected supermodel. Having traveled to some of the world’s best beaches in Zanzibar, Curacao, Hawaii and countless Thai beaches, I can relate to supermodel Linda Evangelista who famously said: “We don’t...
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,...
I love my parents. Despite growing up in a lower-middle class family when we immigrated from Vietnam in the 70’s, they indulged my every extracurricular whim. I remember walking to the nearby strip mall in my shiny new black tap shoes, hearing the clickety-clack of the taps...
I have a confession. I’m a bit fancy. There. I said it. I just spent $100 on a water cooler just so that I don’t have to drink water from a jug in the fridge like a plebe. People who come over always remark on how many...
Brigitte Bardot in St. Tropez. Beyonce in St. Barth’s. George Clooney on Lake Como. There’s a reason celebrities flock to these destinations. They’re exclusive. They’re gorgeous. They’re either hard or expensive to get to or sometimes even both. They’re an unreal slice of the luxe life where...
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, Luang Prabang is the Brangelina of scenic towns. A gorgeous marriage between traditional Lao architecture, on display in its many wats, unchanged wooden houses and a smattering of royal residences, and the gentility of French colonial buildings and their...
Part of the allure of travel is losing yourself, both literally and figuratively. Who of us hasn’t relished the challenge of driving on the wrong side of the street or getting hopelessly lost in a market with mental directions like, “Turn left at the spice shop with...
I’ve been actively avoiding Laos for the past 10 years. Even though I have friends who used to live there and others who live there now, I never got the “wow” vibe from Laos. (Much like the way I feel about India. I know. Blasphemy.) Instead I...
Thanks to the world financial crisis, the skyrocketing cost of fuel and fluctuating currencies of the late 2000’s, the idea of staycations – a holiday close to home – exploded onto the scene. It was suddenly trendy to stay at a quaint little B&B and visit area attractions...