Personal travel stories and narratives
StoriesDay-by-day journal from Oman's capital — including the canyon swim that terrified me and the OMR 3 biryani that redeemed everything.
StoriesI turned left at the blue wall. Then right at the blue wall. Then left at another blue wall. Three hours later, I was hopelessly, wonderfully lost in Morocco's most photogenic city.
StoriesAsk anyone who's lived on the Gilis for years and the same advice comes up again and again — where to snorkel at dawn, which shakes to refuse, and why the channel currents deserve respect.
StoriesI soaked in glacier-view hot springs, slept in a yurt during a thunderstorm, and watched Kyrgyz herders sell horses at 6AM. Karakol was the highlight of my Central Asia trip.
StoriesI came for a week of beginner surf and cheap tacos. I left with a mezcal problem, a sunburn that'll take months to fade, and a genuine understanding of why people never leave this town.
StoriesA Palermo local of 32 years on why you should skip Taormina at lunch, why riposo isn't laziness, and the street food order that separates tourists from everyone else.
StoriesFrom a helicopter at 500 meters, the Indian Ocean looked like it was swallowing itself. Then I landed, ate 30-cent flatbread, and hiked a mountain where slaves once found freedom.
StoriesA medieval walled city, flame-shaped skyscrapers, a mountain that's been burning for decades, and the moment I realized Azerbaijan wasn't what I expected.
StoriesMount Yasur erupts every few minutes. The ground shakes. Molten rock flies overhead. And they let you stand right there on the edge. This is what it's like.
StoriesI came for a weekend. The tam-tam drum circle, the 2AM bagels, and a city that dances in the street made me wish I'd booked a month.
StoriesA Penang native on the dishes tourists always get wrong, the neighborhoods they never find, and why the street art is the least interesting thing about George Town.
StoriesTwo days of sand dunes, pisco sours, and a sunrise that made me understand why people trek into deserts on purpose. A no-filter account from Peru's most surreal backpacker stop.
