Mozambique Island – the highlight of Mozambique

Mozambique Island – the highlight of Mozambique

Mozambique is a large country, 1,430 miles (2300km) from north to south. When I arrived, I thought there was a good chance I’d get all the way from Maputo to the Tanzania border (more than 1,675 miles/ 2700km of roads). Ultimately, I changed routes and headed west to Malawi so Mozambique Island was my northernmost stop. It took me more than 30 hours of overland travel to get there from

10 Things to Love About Melaka

10 Things to Love About Melaka

Every taxi driver in Malaysia to whom I posed the question, “where’s your favorite place in Malaysia?” answered without hesitation, “Melaka.” After the first two I asked gave this answer and so did two people working in or running guesthouses, I knew I had to get there. Not surprisingly, I wish I had taken the suggestion sooner and spent more time there. In no particular order, here are just 10

Mrauk-U: Temples Without Tourists

Mrauk-U: Temples Without Tourists

I’m following a monk through bushes in the middle of nowhere, Myanmar. Seriously? This is my life? I grinned for the zillionth time in Mrauk-U, a place hard to reach in conflict-torn western Rakhine state as the monk led me uphill, branches scratching my already torn-up limbs as they slapped and scraped against me. When the “trail” cleared and we reached the top, he turned and smiled. “Nine stupas. Monastery.