As long as I can remember, I dreamt of traveling. Some fantasies were vast – safaris in Africa, galavanting through Europe, pen in hand. Others were very specific. I distinctly remember being in 6th grade and telling my friends my goal was to go to Italy and meet a hobo on a bus. This strange fantasy probably spouted from a …

Hue I’m a hungry traveler, as you may know. After a restless sleep on the overnight train, we finally pulled in to the Hue train station around 8 am. We were only there for a night so, after settling in, we made our way right to the Imperial City, a walled enclosure within the citadel of Hue, Vietnam’s former capital. In …

It was a heck of a lot colder than Thailand, I noticed as soon as I stepped off the plane. A chilly 15 degrees – and the sun wasn’t in sight. But I didn’t come to Hanoi for the weather. After struggling for about half an hour to find my AirBnb hidden in one of the city’s many tiny alleyways, …

The palm leaves are rustling in the breeze, the sun peaks through cracks in the hut’s walls, and the masseuses chatter quietly here and there as I’m lost in who-knows-how-many minutes (hours?) of bliss. When my masseuse is done, I drearily open my eyes. She thanks me with a smile and a cup of purple morning glory tea. And just …

I always knew traveling alone was an amazing way to grow, learn, and make new connections, but I didn’t expect it to come so quickly and so intensely. I anticipated feeling more loneliness or sense of loss and confusion during the in-between moments – but I have yet to feel that. Of course, it’s still early – it’s only been …

I can see how people get stuck here. I’ve barely been in Chiang Mai for a full week and I’m already plotting my return. Maybe it’s the loss of my Asian country virginity, but this jewel of Northern Thailand had a way of instantly drawing me in. It’s vibrant but peaceful, foreign but comforting, ancient but modern. And delicious. After …

As seen on thenav.ca I recently got back from the city so nice, they named it twice: New York, New York. NYC. The Big Apple. Between this and my roadtrip to Oregon this past summer, I find it a little strange how I’ve visited the States twice in less than a year, given that I hadn’t spent any time down …