All Posts

It’s midnight. I’m on the bottom of a bunk bed made of plastic pods, and I’ve never been more afraid. There is a man sleeping above me who I wouldn’t call overweight, but I would call “too big for the top bunk in a plastic bunk bed.” Every time he moves, the plastic groans. We sway like a card tower about to collapse, and I start to think this is how I’ll go — squashed in the night by a middle-aged man in a bunk bed. I tell myself there are worse ways to die, but I have to ad

The word of the week is powerless. There’s no preamble to that. Most backpackers and travel bloggers have one thing in common: we love to share our mountaintop moments. We chase the experience that makes every wrong bus, mosquito bite, and tuk-tuk scam worth it. We climb a mountain (figuratively or literally), and it’s only from the top that we share the view and some of the vulnerabilities along the way. The Backpackers’ Greatest Hits Album includes “Loneliness,” “Who am I?

It takes 10 hours, 3 vans, and 2 banana and peanut butter sandwiches to travel from Krabi to Malaysia on a budget. Two weeks ago, I wasn’t planning to travel to Malaysia at all. I didn’t know anything about the country and couldn’t have named a single city there. (My public school education is really getting exposed out here.) However, I heard one comment from travelers across Thailand that quickly put it on my radar: Malaysia has the best food in Asia. George Town, an island

The night bus seems like a great idea at the start: cheap ticket, travel while you sleep, and you don’t have to pay for a hostel. In theory, it’s the budget backpacker’s dream. In practice, Thai buses make frequent, squeaky stops and aren’t afraid to take the pothole paths all through the night. I also had a seatmate who wasn’t afraid to watch game show reruns on his phone with the volume on full. This week’s blog is brought to you by noise-canceling headphones and kind frien

When I booked a 13-hour budget train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, I had one naive thought: How bad could it be? I’ve ridden in a public school bus before, so I’ve basically been through the trenches. There were some pros and cons to weigh. Cons: No air conditioning in 90-degree southeast Asia Seats that make the public school bus feel like a treat Brushing sweaty arms and knees with 3 strangers for 13 hours Air pollution that will cover your hair, clothes, laptop, and bags i

This week marks the start of an adventure on the other side of the world. I left my job, sold my furniture, and carried a pink backpack through 30 hours of planes and airports to reach our first destination. We're starting 13 hours ahead of Texas in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Here are a few video snippets from the week! Thank you Google Photos for mashing them together with a cute little tune. I don't know how to change it, so you're probably going to hear this tune a lot on this