Personal travel stories and narratives
StoriesThe Kalka-Shimla railway takes 5 hours to cover 96 kilometers. Every minute of it is worth more than the destination itself.
StoriesI expected palm trees and reggae. I got wind-sculpted divi-divi trees, a desert national park, and flamingos on a private beach. Aruba breaks every Caribbean stereotype.
StoriesAt 5:30 AM, the mud-brick fortress belongs to the cats, the call to prayer, and one person standing on a wall watching the desert turn gold.
StoriesMarcus has poured drinks in Denver for 12 years. He knows which breweries are overrated, why you should eat at Santiago's, and the real reason tourists get altitude sick.
StoriesA week of red dunes, dead trees, a self-drive that nearly broke me, and one apple pie in the middle of nowhere. Honest notes from the Namib.
StoriesBarbara has lived near Uluru her entire life. She guides visitors, paints Tjukurpa stories, and has strong feelings about people who ask whether climbing should still be allowed.
StoriesMaria runs a food tour company in Binondo and has strong opinions about your Manila itinerary. She's probably right.
StoriesFrom the thunderous crack of Perito Moreno calving to the sunrise over Fitz Roy that made me cry in public — an honest week in Patagonia.
StoriesI came for the gorillas. I stayed for the rolex wraps, the view from the mosque, and a boda-boda driver named Moses who drove like the road was optional.
StoriesElena has lived in Madrid for 15 years. She has opinions about tourist restaurants, the correct tortilla debate, and why you should never eat dinner before 9:30PM.
StoriesA 32-year-old Baku native reveals the tea houses, backstreet kebab joints, and Caspian sunset spots that tourists walk right past.
StoriesThe bus ride nearly broke me. The pools at the bottom of the trail healed me. And the cave — swimming through an underground river by candlelight — was the wildest thing I've done in Central America.
