WE WERE BROKE when we stepped off the bus in Savannakhet. Not broke like we didn’t have cash–we had a few hundred bucks for the coming week of travel, but it was in all the wrong currencies. A few thousand Vietnamese dong, a hundred-ish Philippine pesos, 22 American dollars. It was downright sloppy time management. We arrived in Savannakhet a few hours after sundown on … Continue reading Hospitality in Savannakhet: The Lovely Ladies of Laos
THE FIRST TIME I SHAT in Singapore’s airport, I was awe-struck. It was clean. It was spacious. It smelled pleasantly floral. The experience was so wholly enrapturing that I literally did not want to leave, so I didn’t–not for at least 10 excessive minutes, leaving V. to wait outside, possibly confused and worried, while I jotted down the following notes: I have pooed in Ben … Continue reading Notes From a Singaporean Toilet: The Greatest Airport Bathroom in the World
IN MAY 2011, I was sitting across from four editors in the startlingly modern private boardroom of the Chronicle Herald newspaper in west end Halifax, Nova Scotia. I’d prepared for this job interview all week. The Herald isn’t an especially well-regarded publication (it’s locally nicknamed “The Chronically Horrid”), but holds the distinction of being one of Canada’s oldest daily papers, and the largest of the … Continue reading A Postgrad’s Travel Tale: The Aimless Twenty-Something Life
FUCK THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. I have never, and will never, desire a from-California-to-California road trip while flowing my hand in that silly sea-wave gesture out a car window to the tune of “Road Trippin’”. If this sounds harsh, I apologize. I just meant to weed out anyone who might be offended at the fact that the proceeding list happily omits the RHCP, not to … Continue reading My Travel Playlist: Top 10 Songs for Journeys, Ranked in Descending Order of Obscurity
1. No cartoon dogs. There are no cutesy animal cartoons on the walls or windows, a staple of many meat restaurants. Round-eyed pigs? Adorable! Cows in aprons? ^^ 귀엽다~~~!!! Now, wide-grinning dogs? None of those, at least at particular bosintang restaurant near Gaegeum in Busan. Not many pictures at all, actually, except for ones of the meat itself, which is a mysteriously brown sort of thing, rife with … Continue reading The Three Things You Notice When Eating Dog Soup in Korea
THE THEATRE IS A SAUSAGE FEST. Practically nobody’s on a date, which means practically nobody’s a girl, and not a soul looks over 30. V. and I opted to pay a little extra for front-row balcony seats, near five boys in dark clothes devouring beer and chips. We take our seats—surprisingly comfortable—and wait for the show to start. At midnight, the house lights and V. … Continue reading George Town, Malaysia: Notes From a Midnight Movie Screening
HO CHI MINH CITY is aggressively hedonistic—drive fast, drink lots, eat cheap. Nowhere is this more evident than Bui Vien. It is Vietnam’s own Khao San Road, a wild and colourful stretch where ragged dreadlocked travelers constantly laugh at touts for foot massages and happy hours. I wanted to stay out and drink but I didn’t want to stay out or drink there; the same … Continue reading Postcard: The Hedonism of Bui Vien, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
THERE IS A MOMENT on Seorak Mountain, over two hours in and 1,000 meters above sea level, that is dauntingly unfair to novice hikers. You have to squint real hard and crane your neck so far back that your head hits your backpack just to glimpse the three-kilometer signpost, tauntingly perched atop this sleet-covered, 70-degree-steep, God-knows-how-tall hill. It is a profoundly ridiculous slope. We witnessed a … Continue reading Seoraksan, Korea: Frozen Tears, Crystal Snot
RIDING THE SLEEPER TRAIN is a meditative experience. You’re stuck in one place for perhaps a very long time, and come to realize that to simply sleep or read it all away is a waste of good travel. So you look out the window. What’s there? Green leaves, rice paddies, farmers in straw hats, decrepit brick homes, brown rivers, other trains, pink and yellow. It’s … Continue reading Notes From a Vietnam Train: Is Authentic Travel Possible When Gazing Out a Train Window for 16 Straight Hours?
THE MAN SITTING NEXT TO ME is trying to swindle a bracelet for free. The woman in front of him holds out a few colours, and he chooses black. He is muscular and hasn’t shaved in a few days, with green cargo shorts and a loose, sweaty v-neck. She looks like a rainbow of Thai kitsch, from goofy hat to floor-length skirt. He changes his … Continue reading Notes From a Thai Cafe: Watching the Man Who Won’t Have Sex with this Waitress
A Long Way Back 