As I established in a previous post, Kuta Beach is not for everyone. But if you’re traveling to Bali, chances are you’ll end up spending at least a night or two in this wild and crazy party town. Some people might be put off by Kuta’s spring break-like atmosphere, but in my opinion it’s not the worst place to…
When most travelers think of Penang, the first thing that comes to mind is street food. In fact, many travelers visit the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ solely to sample the island’s world-famous cuisine. But I have to admit, I was less than enthused about the prospect of being a vegetarian in Penang. I seriously questioned…
Some say that the nine-hour ferry ride from Coron to El Nido is a hellish one. I’ve read stories of seasickness, overcrowded boats and even shipwrecks. But I experienced none of these things. Our ferry – which was actually more like a large boat – had only a handful of passengers. It was a flawless…
There are two things that almost deterred me from traveling to Boracay. The first was Super Typhoon Haiyan and the second was the cost. After getting downright spoiled backpacking through budget-friendly Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, I was a little nervous that a visit to the world-class beaches of Boracay was going to be way out…
By now I think I’ve expressed my disillusionment with organized tours, so when it came to visiting the Hindu temples of Prambanan on Java, Indonesia, I decided to heed my own advice and travel there independently. For those who don’t know, Prambanan is a cluster of ancient Hindu temples that were constructed in Central Java around…
When I arrived in Colombia I was pretty nervous that I wouldn’t be able to live quite as frugally as I had in Southeast Asia. My goal was to travel on $40 a day. But I had major doubts that I would be able to float myself on a backpacker’s budget. After spending a couple weeks in Bogotá…
I remember the exact moment I booked a ticket to Colombia. After traveling through Southeast Asia for seven months – traversing the region from Laos to Indonesia – my boyfriend and I felt like we’d reached the end of the line. Aaron and I were sitting in our bungalow on the tiny island of Gili…
As we were mapping out the next phase of our Colombia travels, the host at our guesthouse in Bogotá told us that Río Claro was one of his top three favorite destinations in the country. Since David had lived in Colombia for 13 years, this guy most definitely knew what he was talking about. Set in the…
I was woken up by the blaring sound of vuvuzelas and car horns. Typically this would have annoyed me to no end. But this was the day of the big World Cup match – Colombia versus Brazil. It also happened to be the 4th of July holiday back home in the US. And while I…
Colombia has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to crime. And I’ve heard all sorts of stories about travelers getting robbed while visiting Bogotá. So as I was walking back to my hotel in the middle of the night, I was a little on edge. The streets were deserted, it was dimly lit and…