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Kuching: The White Rajas of Sarawak and a Floating Mosque
My first thought, as my Grab car speeds through the night, is that Kuching is a sharp city. Sharp, clean lines. Paved roads and sidewalks. Even washed in night, it looks clean. The lighting is like what I see at home: bright and white or blue or red. Crisp. It doesn’t flash, like cheap attention grabbers.
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My Love for Laos Restored by Looms and Rice
A month ago, I read about Living Land Farm in a Lonely Planet Guidebook and immediately clocked it as something I wanted to do. I’d been looking forward to it for several weeks and it lived up to my expectations. At Living Land Farm I learned how to... Grow, harvest, and prepare RICE.
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Solo Travel Snapshots in Vietnam: Street Food in Nha Trang
The smoke draws me first. And the crowds. Only after I get closer do I realize this is exactly the little restaurant I am seeking; the big red 51s on the plastic banner above the shop give it away.
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Death by Starfruit & Other Things I Never Considered
June 22 I’m laying in my hostel dorm bed. I’m on the bottom bunk. My shower towel is draped over the bar by my face like a curtain closing me off from the rest of the room. This is good, because I feel like I’m unraveling. I feel like I can’t relax my limbs. My neck is tight. My heart…
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High Heat and Home Visits in Hanoi, Vietnam
In Hanoi, I walked. And I sweated. Walking at all meant wiping my upper lip, wiping my forehead, feeling water prickle at my hairline, feeling sweat stick my shirt to my back, running down my neck and into the collar of my shirt.
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Singapore Kaleidoscope
May 20-22
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: Spiced-Up Store-Bought Indian Curry
I invented this because I tried a store-bought Indian curry all by itself (just add veggies) and found it too thick for my preferences and not spiced in my preferred way. Maybe you like store-bought curry just the way it is, in which case, your dinner is going to be even easier!
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: Elevated Pesto Pasta
I love pesto. Enough said. Also, so much pasta is left behind at hostels. I always search the free food shelf before deciding what I'm going to eat and there is almost always pasta of some kind.
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: Tuna Couscous Bowl
This is super easy to make and I love the sourness of the capers with the tuna.
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Cooking in Communal Kitchens: Cheap, Yummy Hostel Dinners
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically like college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy!
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A Backpacker’s Life, Introvert Style
How, you might wonder, does someone who loves spending weeks at home just reading and writing, deal with the constant change of location? How does an introverted, large-group adverse, anti-heavy-drinking, control-loving, homebody juggle her dichotomous desire to cheaply travel and explore the rest of the world? I'm here to give you the answer: small routines and big organization skills.
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: One Pot Veggie Risotto
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy! After six months these are my go-to hostel dinners. This One Pot Veggie Risotto…
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Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: Almost Instant Pizza
When I arrived in New Zealand, my observations of the people around me led me to understand that hostel cooking is basically college cooking: ramen, pesto pasta, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. But I didn't just want cheap and easy. The most important factor is yummy! Pizza isn't usually my go to, but since so many people around me were…
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The North of the South: Picton to Golden Bay
Crossing the Cook Strait between the North Island and the South Island felt like embarking on a completely new adventure. Perhaps it was the high expectations. Afterall, nearly every person I've spoken to, kiwi and traveler alike, told me the South Island was the best island, that it would blow my mind, that it was far more beautiful. All of…
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The Lone Mussel: My Moana Moment
I'm wandering along the beach in Whiritoa. There's no particular hurry and I feel the sand shift beneath my feet. The soft sound of the waves, sussurating in a steady rhythm, creeping up the sand and retreating with gentle movement...and leaving something behind... Disney-princess style.
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4 Days in New York City During Covid
Day 1: All the Busy, Bustling(?) Tourist Spots Covid is good a for a few things. One of them being LESS PEOPLE. Even on the streets of New York City. Masks were required on the subway and in a few buildings, but we mostly enjoyed the perks of the Covid rather than the downsides. We started out our first afternoon…
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Covid Catastrophe in the Czech Republic
I can't say that I didn't know any better. But we thought we were untouchable. We thought the chaos wending it's way through the world was ridiculous. There was no precedent for everything shutting down. Surely in a week or two everything would be back to normal. Do you remember when we all thought that?
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Barcelona Basics: Food, Friends, and Gaudi
Barcelona was a non-stop adventure. I arrived at midnight on Friday night and made my way to Don Moustache Hostel via the Aerobus. My friends, Kate and Sarah, had arrived Thursday night. After a good night’s sleep (despite all the snoring–good thing I always travel with ear plugs!) we started off Saturday morning with some Gaudi. Antoni Gaudi is Barcelona’s…
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