Categories
Airlines Travel Stories

Is There a Pilot Onboard?

What would you do if you were sitting on a plane, the door was closed, the flight attendants had announced to turn off your cell phones and then you hear, “Ummm….we have no pilot?” That is precisely what my fellow passengers on United Airlines flight 779 heard on June 19th, shortly before they were asked […]

Categories
Blogging Canada Washington State

Talking Travel and Seattle Love at TBEX

Seattle is a depressing city, my fingers typed as I lay in a firm, yet thin hostel bed in the center of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was 3:00am and this was not bound to be a piece about hating Seattle, but rather a homework assignment. Wait…homework? Haven’t I been done with school for  a while […]

Categories
Canada Travel Stories

Vancouver Riots–The Untold Story

“Vancouver Canucks fans riot in the streets after Stanley Cup loss” screamed the headlines, as a mob of fans smashed and burned cars and looted stores. To myself and others who had recently been in Vancouver for the TBEX conference of Travel Bloggers, this was quite a shock. After all, we had all witnessed the […]

Categories
Travel Gear

The 32 Liter Packing Challenge!

Packing is like Zen to me. It’s an activity that brings me great calm, as I work to perfect what I would consider to be an art form. But this time was different. This was the time I truly put my new “ultralight backpacking” mentality to test! You see, in December I drastically downsized from a […]

Categories
China Travel Tips

How to Experience Tibet Without the Red Tape

Ah, Tibet. Full of mystique and intrigue, Tibet holds a special place in the minds of many travelers. The ancient rituals and traditions. Potala Palace. Everest Base Camp. What’s not to like? Sadly, actually seeing Tibet first hand can be an exercise in frustration. Given its rather tumultuous history under Chinese rule, the government doesn’t […]

Categories
NYC Photos

Photo Essay: Spring in Central Park

Spring is in the air as the natural world awakens from its winter slumber! After a long winter that was full of gloom (and far too much snow), trees are finally in bloom in New York City, painting the full spectrum of colors among these mean streets. And there is perhaps no better place to […]

Categories
Canada

Help Me Plan a Canadian Adventure!

Ah, Canada. Our great neighbor to the north that I have paid far, far, too little attention to, having visited on a mere two occasions…once on a road trip through southern Ontario and on a quick jaunt to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Yes, I’ve been to Canada, but I really haven’t seen all that much of the wonders that […]

Categories
Personal Stories Travel Stories

Celebrating Life and Travel Heroism

It was a crisp, clear morning. A cool breeze was blowing as the piercing blue of the sky was punctuated by fluffy white clouds. An elder man in red and saffron robes led us down a rocky riverbed to a spot where the river water circulated in an unusual counter-clockwise motion, a significant direction thought […]