Perhaps surprisingly, hostels are still somewhat of an exotic concept to me — prior to this trip, I’d probably stayed in less than fifteen. My travels have predominantly been in Southeast Asia, where hostels are still a rare choice compared to cheap guesthouses and bungalows — though they are gaining popularity. In Europe, where the hostel…

I don’t usually set off for a country with a developed itinerary. Sometimes, things are scheduled more or less to the minute, like my eight days in Iceland. Sometime, my plans for five months in Southeast Asia can be summarized as — and I don’t want to overwhelm you here with how detailed this is —…

Once upon a time, I wrote a Budget Breakdown post for my trip to Honduras — one I cobbled together from data diligently recorded on the back of an envelope containing my lempiras. I intended to do so frequently along my travels, but it didn’t really work out. Most of my trips just aren’t suited to…

I’ve come to love announcing my travel plans far ahead of time — the advice I get from you guys is more valuable than anything I could find in a guidebook! I loved getting your feedback on my Hawaii trip, and hearing your thoughts on my most recent Southeast Asia jaunt. So I’ve basically been sitting…

You all have the song Miami stuck in your head now, right? Good, because that’s how I felt for weeks after Visit Florida and iHeartRadio invited me to Miami to be a part of the Ultimate Summer Pool Party. I literally could not have jumped up out of my seat fast enough to accept that invitation…

When I made plans to come home for my sister’s college graduation, I was elated to see that TBEX was taking place the next week in Toronto. Last year’s TBEX in Colorado was one of the highlights of my year, and I vowed to make it part of my 2013 travel schedule as well. To be…

In my never-ending exploration of hostels in Southeast Asia, I stumbled across a recently opened hotspot in my next destination of the Philippines — Pink Manila. My first week in the Philippines I was flying solo, and so I was eager to meet other travelers to explore what I considered a somewhat intimidating city. I had…