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Showing posts from July, 2024

That One Time I Went Boxing on Ko Phi Phi

I spent a lot of my first trip around the world partying. I was twenty-five and ready to cut loose after a quarter century of living a fairly sheltered, middle-class life. In my mind, a lot of backpacking was about meeting fellow travelers, partying, and saying yes to anything that came your way. And that often lead to some outrageous experiences. Like getting into a boxing ring in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand . Before I began that trip in 2006, I used the website MySpace to meet travelers in advance, since, as an introvert, I was very worried that I wouldn’t make any friends on the road. MySpace had a lot of travel groups, so I reached out to people in hopes of meeting up with them on the trip. (I was early to using the web as a social tool: I had a blog in 2001, and I met my first girlfriend on Friendster back when meeting people online was taboo.) After landing in Bangkok at the end of that year, I happened to run into Lindsay in the airport, a Brit I was scheduled to meet later that w

The 6 Best Hotels in Tokyo

I love Tokyo . I think it’s one of the most fascinating cities in the world. I love the organized crowds where you would expect chaos. I love how it is a fast-paced, contemporary city that still honors its traditions. It’s also a massive city with an endless array of incredible things to see and do . No matter how many times I visit (and no matter how much sushi I eat), I always leave wanting more. As one of the biggest cities in the world, there are a ton of hotels here. Having visited the city half a dozen times over the years, I’ve stayed at a lot of different places, from cheap capsule hotels to luxurious five-star properties. If you’re planning a trip, these are what I think are the best hotels in Tokyo: 1. Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower Located just a few minutes’ walk from Shinjuku Station, this four-star hotel offers fantastic views of the Shinjuku skyline (tip: request as high a room as possible to take advantage of the view). The hearty breakfast buffet has lots of

What Playing Poker in Amsterdam Taught Me About Making Friends

After I graduated from college, my friends and I got really into poker. Every Sunday night, we would meet at our buddy Joe’s apartment and play for a couple hundred bucks total. It was our weekly ritual. With the HBO show Entourage in the background, we’d order food and, huddled around a small table, catch up before getting ready to go to our boring post-college office jobs the following day. Joe was the most enthusiastic of us all (to this day, he still plays professionally), and his passion for the game spilled over to me (though not his skills). While I was never a top-tier player, I loved the challenge it provided, and trying to figure out the probability of the cards and how to read people’s tells. I read books on poker and did everything I could to get better. Poker was — and still is — an intellectual challenge to me. On the US road trip that started my round-the-world adventure in 2006, I stopped frequently at casinos to play — and won enough to pay for a lot of my trip .

The 5 Best Hotels in Medellín

Medellín is the second-largest city in Colombia and a favorite among the digital nomad crowd. Nestled in the Aburrá Valley, the city has great weather year-round, earning it the nickname: “the City of Eternal Spring.” I spent close to a total of three weeks in Medellín and loved my time there. While the city has a troubled past, today, it’s a vibrant and innovative metropolis. I’d go back in a heartbeat. (Make sure to take a salsa class at least once while you’re here!) That said, there are still some safety issues here, so picking the right place to stay is important. To ensure you have a safe and comfortable visit, here’s my list of the best hotels in Medellin: 1. Nomada Hotel Origen This four-star hotel is located in El Poblado, a centrally located neighborhood packed with restaurants, bars, clubs, cafés, and shops. Though there’s a lot to do in the area, leave some time to spend lounging in the hot tub on the leafy hotel rooftop, enjoying the epic views over the city with a

Vari Yatra or Pilgrimage to Pandharpur

The podcast by Varada Sambhus provides a captivating exploration of the “Vari Pilgrimage,” a sacred journey deeply embedded in the cultural and spiritual heritage of India. As the author of the book “Vari Pilgrimage: Bhakti, Being, and Beyond,” Varada Sambhus brings to light the historical, cultural, and spiritual facets of this remarkable tradition, offering listeners […] The post Vari Yatra or Pilgrimage to Pandharpur appeared first on Inditales .

Traveling with Friends: How to Avoid Disaster

A few years ago, one night over dinner with some friends with whom I shared a love of gourmet food, sushi, great cocktails, politics, and movies, we realized that in all the years we’d known each other, we had never taken a trip together. As we all had lots of points and miles saved , we thought about how fun it would be to go somewhere spontaneously. “Let’s do it,” we all declared. So we found award tickets to Hong Kong for the following week. Halfway around the world, we arrived at our hotel late in the evening. After a late dinner, we went back to the hotel, where I decided to go to sleep. As fun as Hong Kong is at night (and it is very wild), I wanted to try to adjust to the local time zone, so I could make the most of the rest of our trip. My friends had other ideas: they were going to party. So I said good night and off they went. When I woke up, it was still dark out. I looked at the time. It was 5:30am. I found two of my friends asleep; the third was apparently still out

The 7 Best Hotels in Berlin

Berlin is a cool city. Multicultural and artsy, Germany’s capital city is home to artists and creatives from all over the world. A hub for freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs, the city also boasts excellent museums, a boisterous nightlife, and every type of cuisine imaginable. You could spend weeks (months!) in this city and not get bored. While I didn’t love the city when I first visited, after returning a few times, Berlin began to grow on me. I love the city now. As the biggest tourist draw in the country, Berlin has a lot of hotels to choose from. And they really run the gamut. I’ve stayed in some fantastic ones and some that I definitely wouldn’t recommend. So, to help you in planning your trip, these are what I think are the best hotels in Berlin: 1. Hotel Oderberger Formerly a 19th-century public swimming pool building, Hotel Oderberger is a lovely retro-chic hotel that could be described as “accidentally Wes Anderson” (its whimsical, symmetrical, and has a vi

Life Update: On the Road in 2024

Hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve written a real blog. Sure, there have been lots of how-to posts, itineraries, where-to-stay suggestions, and old-post updates to keep helping you travel on a budget . But it’s been over a year since I wrote anything personal — and it’s been even longer since I shared a story from the road. In the beginning of 2022, I wrote that I felt I didn’t really have much to say anymore . Sure, there are always new destinations to write about, but in terms of thoughts and advice, after over 14 years writing about travel, I was tapped out. There are only so many posts you can write about “how to find a cheap flight” or on how to make friends or how to overcome your fears. Which is why, in the past 2.5 years, I’ve only posted three articles that weren’t “the best hostels in London” or something like that. But I always left the door open to coming back if the desire hit me. And the desire has finally hit me. A lot has happened in the last year. Business

A Tourist’s Guide To Antarctica

This article is a Tourist’s Guide To Antarctica, the fifth-largest continent in the world. If you are an adventure tourist do read. Introduction However, the majority of cruises and tour guides will focus on the Antarctic Peninsula (the pointy bit). This is a far safer option than venturing too far inland. The Peninsula is home […] The post A Tourist’s Guide To Antarctica appeared first on Inditales .

Where to Stay in Istanbul: The Best Neighborhoods for Your Visit

Straddling both Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a bustling, sprawling metropolis of over 15 million people. Formerly known as Constantinople, the ancient center of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires was one of the most important in the world for centuries. As such, there’s an eye-watering amount of history here, with tons to see and do. I love roaming the (somewhat chaotic) streets just taking it all in. It’s a beautiful city to explore on foot. But, because the city is so huge, it’s important to pick the right area to stay in. The traffic here is infamous, and while the public transportation system is decent (and cheap), you don’t want to spend all your time getting from place to place either. To help you make the most out of your visit, here are my top recommendations for where to stay in Istanbul: Area Best for Best Hotel Sultanahmet First-Time Visitors Celine Hotel Ottoman Mansion See More hotels Beyoglu Dining, Nightlife, and Art The Halich Hotel Istanbul Karaköy