It always feels good to be home. This time, I’d come back for the holidays — less than a six week stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas (why yes, I am a tad behind in chronological blogging time, why do you ask?). I didn’t leave the East Coast the entire time, making it my longest stretch of…

My recent week in Cambodia was all too short. However, I did manage to sneak a lot in. In addition to playing house in Phnom Penh, I was lucky enough to get a truly behind-the-scenes look at two organizations making a big difference in the lives of the Cambodian people. Kampong Trach Middle School Betsy is…

Leaving El Cuco, I made a beeline for yet another popular stretch of El Salvador sand — the colorful surf town of El Tunco. Here, I encountered a string of ridiculous bad travel luck, including losing my bank card, breaking my favorite pair of flip flops (kind of tragic when you wear them every single day)…

“What’s your favorite country?” Every long-term traveler dreads the question. How could one possibly pick definitively? Yet I must admit, whenever someone asks, Cambodia does bubble to the front of my brain. So I’ve been disheartened that lately I’ve been hearing the opposite when both online peers and real life friends make the journey there. My…

As a Bangkok veteran who has made almost twenty trips to the city, I love that I never seem to run out of new things to do. This round, though, I was showing around a first timer — and I felt very responsible for making sure he saw the traditional highlights of the city in addition…

Time was up. My visa was running out and my departure from Thailand was fast approaching. As usual, there was only one way to say goodbye — a blowout weekend in Bangkok. As are all great trips to the Big Mango, the weekend was a blend of favorite old haunts, and exciting new discoveries. And I…