Deep in the heart of a Jurassic Park-like jungle, you will find the 2,250 foot ‘Iao Needle, famous for gracing postcards all over Maui. On Mondays, you will also find a roaming pack of Banana Bungalow travelers enjoying their free hiking tour to the valley. Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out for me to join the…

I have a heavy heart today, as in less than twenty-four hours I’ll be saying goodbye to Koh Tao once again. My mind is clear and I know that it was the right decision to make this just a short stop on, rather than the final destination of, my five month trip, but my heart is…

When I saw that my time at the Banana Bungalow would include a Saturday, the day of their famous Haleakala hiking trip, I briefly considered changing my dates. Yes, it’s true, I’ve become somewhat of a hiker lately, but this was another beast entirely. And while obviously the free tours aren’t mandatory, there’s no way I…

My stomach flipped a few rounds as I dragged myself out of bed and towards the tour vans, regretting my last few drinks the night before. “There is no way I can do this trip unless I’m in the front seat,” I said to the guide Isaac, partially hoping for a swift return to my bed…

When I began planning my trip to Hawaii, it was entirely based around the generous hospitality of family and friends who live there. Frankly, I didn’t know there was any other way — I pictured nothing but endless rows of high-end hotels, far out of reach of my teeny tiny budget. And then, in my research…

Wow, publishing this Photo of the Week post means that a week and a half has gone by since I left New York for my Southeast Asia 4.0 adventure! If this is any indication of how time is going to fly by, these five months will be over in a blink. I’m glad that I have…