Last updated Mar 22, 2021 | First published on Mar 19, 2021 | Travel Stories
The first of the sharks appeared around 9 a.m. Or perhaps they had been there all along, circling in the cloudy water around us. Who knows. The safety of the beach, the only dry, horizontal surface for a long distance in any direction, suddenly seemed that much...
Last updated Apr 15, 2019 | First published on Apr 1, 2019 | Travel Stories
On the ground in Bangkok for less than an hour and I was hopelessly lost. I stumbled along wearily through a midnight forest of neon. Khao San Road was flicking its forked tongue for the Friday night circus. Masses of vespertine clowns were in top form. The party was...
Last updated Jan 24, 2019 | First published on Jan 23, 2019 | Travel Stories, Vagabonding Anniversaries
I am happy to report, that after 13 years since leaving for my first vagabonding trip abroad, still alive! Today marks the 13th trip around the sun for my odd, travel-centered, low-paying, high-reward lifestyle of choice. I left the despair of my IBM cubicle in...
Last updated Mar 3, 2019 | First published on Nov 16, 2018 | Philippines, Travel Stories
You learn a lot of useful things while traveling, particularly in a place such as Siquijor Island in the Philippines. For instance, I didn’t know that a manananaggal is a hideous, blood-sucking witch capable of detaching her upper torso and sprouting wings to...
Last updated Nov 13, 2018 | First published on Mar 8, 2015 | Travel Stories
Drastic times require drastic measures. With the fate of my trip to Thailand in just a few days resting on some bureaucrat’s desk, I decided to take matters into my own hands — where they belong. I made an appointment for 8 a.m., hired a sleek Nissan, and...
Last updated Jan 18, 2021 | First published on Apr 1, 2014 | Travel Stories
Somehow, by hook or crook, my tale of adventure with Komodo dragons on Rinca Island in Indonesia managed to win a silver prize for animal encounter in the Solas Best Travel Writing of 2014. I’ve been wanting to win won of these and make it into the annual book...
