Personal travel stories and narratives
StoriesI skipped the train, walked the railway tracks for 2.5 hours, slept in Aguas Calientes, and arrived at the citadel at dawn. The ruins were secondary to the journey.
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.
StoriesDay 1: I ate gold for the first time. Day 3: I watched a woman beat metal into sheets thinner than breath. Day 5: I didn't want to leave.
StoriesI packed five days of waterproof layers and zero sunshine expectations. Bergen gave me fjords, fish soup, mountain fog, and the best funicular ride of my life.
StoriesJean-Pierre left London to open a specialty coffee shop in Kigali. Seven years later, he has strong opinions about the city's food scene, Umuganda, and why tourists shouldn't just fly over Kigali.
StoriesA retired sommelier who's lived in Bordeaux for 50 years on the canele bakeries tourists miss, why you should never order Bordeaux wine in a Bordeaux restaurant, and the market stall that changed his life.
StoriesBorn and raised in Nassau, Marcus has watched Atlantis transform his island. He shares the spots tourists miss, the Out Islands they should visit, and why conch salad is a competitive sport.
StoriesDa Nang doesn't show its hand right away. It opens with heat, horns, and a packed cable car — then quietly hands you a coastline you won't stop thinking about. Here's how the arc plays out.
Stories900 meters above the valley floor, a monastery clings to a cliff face that shouldn't hold anything. Getting there nearly broke me. I'd do it again tomorrow.
StoriesA solo traveler's day-by-day account of driving across Greece's biggest island — from Chania's harbor to the pink sands of Elafonisi and a village taverna that changed my life.
StoriesSeven days of Powell's Books rabbit holes, food cart discoveries at 11PM, and learning why Portlanders don't use umbrellas.
StoriesFree sake tastings, real Kobe beef certificates, and why the night view from Mount Rokko is worth the cable car.
