Long story short: I almost didn’t make it to the Panmunjom tour. Short story long… Ahhh, the unknown perils of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway on an early Tuesday morning. I checked the time. 7:42 AM. What am I missing here?! I (all sweaty from anxiety) — stripped down to a single layer of white shirt…
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16 Snaps of 2016 (Yes, This Is A Yearend Post)
Star Cruises’ Superstar Gemini Review (Or, Dear Robin Leach, Cruise Ship Traveling Isn’t Just for the Rich and Groovy Retirees)
Notwithstanding sans a honeymoon mate, I walked towards the gigantic ship bootlegging the swag of Mark Renton at the end of Trainspotting. Only this time, I am Ship-spotting. Unflappably sliding my feet over the smooth carpet of the hallway of Harbour Front in Singapore, I silently declaimed my own version of the film’s famous quote….
“Live Like A Local”, They Said. (My Top 10 Fave AirBnb Homes)
The call to prayer echoed through Fez’s donkey dung-smelling alleys and towards the nearby hills. Booming as it was, the noise from the tumultuous crowd of campaigners (election in Morocco was to take place in a few days) three levels below was still very audible. We were on the rooftop of a dar we hired…
Borobudur And Ratu Boko, Indonesia: The Sun We Chased. The Day We Seized.
“Dua orang domestik.”, I remember it so vividly. Our Javanese Couchsurfing host paid the ticket price for Indonesians for him and me. The lone person manning the booth looked up, met my gaze, and I nervously pretended to be busy with my iPod. A couple of minutes later, I was successfully (sorta) smuggled into the…
NuArt Sculpture Park, Bandung, Indonesia: Molten Metal Marvels
Under the shade of towering trees, whose branches swayed to the haunting Sigur Ros-esque music played by a duo in the middle of NuArt Sculpture Park, we strolled in packs. We clung on to what was familiar: Spoke mainly our native language, and shared our thoughts within our respective groups. Our interaction with people outside…
Video: Microlight Flight Over Victoria Falls (Mosi-Oa-Tunya)
Shakira’s Waka-Waka played on a bamboo xylophone, sung by a Zambian (which made it sound more like Cameroonian band Golden Sounds’ Zangaléwa — the song it was adapted from), was suddenly muffled. A Batoka Sky ground staff had just plonked a headset on me skull and was making sure ’twas sitting tight. Over his shoulder,…
Into The Gobi (Part I)
“Mongolians drive their vehicles in the same way as they ride their horses.” I read somewhere, prior our Mongolia trip. As we threaded our way through and out of Ulaanbaatar’s autumn morning rush hour traffic — one of the worst I’ve ever been stuck in — this quote came to mind. Road rules seemed nonexistent….
Hulhumalé, Maldives: A Newborn Artificial Island
Our low-cost airline flight provided an on-board entertainment that surpassed all others we’ve experienced… The spectacle of Maldives’ islands, strung together like a jewel necklace, sitting oh so pretty in the middle-ish of Indian Ocean nowhere. It was one of those travel moments filled with imaginative swear words, muttered under the breath. Hulhumalé’s public beach….
Photo Essay: Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nepal
Gray clouds swiftly drifted athwart the celestial blue sky. As we strolled our way from Planet Bhaktapur Hotel to Durbar Square, I silently prayed to the universe not to let them hang around. Why we were traveling Nepal during the monsoon season, well, it was the most practical home-bound route stopover (from Caucasus to Southeast…