As our ferry puttered toward the island of Camiguin, Philippines, it felt as if we were sailing toward a lost world. Set amid the cobalt sea, the untamed oasis felt worlds away from the crowded beaches of Boracay and Bohol. Fringed with lush palms, lime green rice paddies, and pebbled beaches, its appearance was deceptively tranquil. Also…
It’s no big secret that I have a thing for tropical islands and beautiful beaches. I guess it’s a good thing I’ve spent the majority of the past four years based in the tropics! And in that time, I’ve had the chance to visit quite a few of what I think are some of the best islands in…
Renting a scooter in Southeast Asia is never something I thought I would do. In fact, I never thought I would ever muster the courage to ride a scooter. The thought of it freaked me out. I’m not sure if I was more nervous about crashing and burning or making a fool out of myself…
A little over a year ago I was sitting on my bed in a beach bungalow on the island of Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. With my laptop balanced on my legs I started tinkering around on Wordpress.com and began scrawling a list of possible blog names in my notebook. After mulling it over I finally settled on The…
It’s safe to say that this year has been the craziest of my life. Last year at this time I was living the dream as a backpacker, doing things like island hopping around the Philippines, exploring ancient temples in Indonesia and eating my way through the culinary wonderland that is Malaysia. It sounds perfect, but the reality is that…
Is it bad that I almost forgot it was Christmas? I suppose that’s what happens when you live across the world from home. This is actually the second consecutive year I’ll be spending the holidays abroad, and being away from my family for a second year in a row is a little bit of a bummer….
Now that I’m back in Southeast Asia it’s becoming increasingly clear to me why I just can’t stay away from this part of the world. I spent a large chunk of the past year backpacking around the region. I visited six amazing countries and relished my time in each and every one of them. Now that I’ve…
The first time I rode a motorbike I was terrified. I was vacationing in Hawaii when my family peer pressured me into renting a scooter. Though my family views me as both a laid-back hippie and an adventurous traveler, I am actually a pretty anxious person. So I was petrified as I swerved my scooter onto the highway and…