10 Years of Vagabonding: A New Adventure

Mar 18, 2016 | Vagabonding Anniversaries

In five days I will board a plane. I’ll watch as altitude dissolves Kentucky’s green landscape beneath me; wispy clouds and a brown, checkered patchwork will appear. Four shuddering engines will conspire to turn loved ones from flesh and blood into contacts on an...

10 People Who Put Me on the Road

Jul 24, 2012 | Vagabonding Anniversaries

Today, a break from the travel norm. Something personal. I’m not a fan of the ubiquitous top-10 lists that spring up like weeds on every travel blog, but this one — long overdue — needs to be written. A handful of people in this world made me the person I am,...

Full Moon Burns

Jul 5, 2012 | Thailand

Thunder. Fire. Primal drums. Sweat and body paint. The moon. Half-naked people probably did the same thousands of years ago on some pagan beach under a full moon. Only unlike us, they weren’t drinking from plastic buckets. At least I hope not. Somehow, I still...

Chiang Mai Meetings

Aug 16, 2009 | Thailand

What could be worse than staggering off a sleepless night bus in the middle of a rainy city square with no idea where to go next? Sitting in a cubicle? Probably. Either way, I found myself rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, holding 2 bags (one of which has $4K worth of...

Thank You, Whoever You Are

Oct 12, 2007 | China

I was running down a narrow alley, chasing a crazed Chinese woman in her 40s. She had my bus ticket to Dali in her hand and she had no intentions of stopping. We were literally pushing street vendors out of the way and my heart was pounding. I could barely keep up...