One woman's journey through the world
Like seeing the glow worms of Waitomo Cave, riding one of Australia’s great trains has long been on my list of things to do. The romance of traveling across a continent by train, watching the landscape change as the miles tick by, enjoying meals in a dining car, and hopping off for brief stops in the middle of nowhere, what could be better? Australia has two well-known rail journeys: the
When I decided to visit the Philippines, I planned to stay one month and I made a list of places I wanted to dive and a few, like El Nido, that I wanted to see and maybe dive if people on the ground vouched for their awesomeness. I did no research into anything other than diving, trusting that people would tell me about other places I should visit. I stayed
The Bacuit Archipelago is considered one of the highlights of any visit to the Philippines: limestone cliffs jutting out of the sea as in HaLong Bay but without much litter and with great snorkeling. El Nido, at the northern end of Palawan, is the best base for exploring the area and the tour industry is booming. There are four standard island hopping tours with tours A and C reputed
Getting to and from Port Barton on the island of Palawan requires time on a terrible road or forking over a fair amount of cash for a boat. The road into town is under construction and will, almost certainly, increase tourist numbers when complete. But for now, Port Barton is a tranquil respite from the crowds of Puerto Princesa’s Underground River and El Nido. For me, it was nothing short
Having sped through Kong Lor cave in a longtail boat in Laos and wandered on foot through countless caves in New Zealand and multiple SE Asian countries, I wasn’t entirely convinced that the Underground River in Palawan would live up to its hype. But to be in Puerto Princesa and not check out this place, voted one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, would have been a wasted opportunity
The world’s largest flowers are not particularly pretty. At least, not after their first two days in bloom. And some of them smell like decaying flesh. Yet people pay guides to lead them through jungles to see them. Last week, in the Cameron Highlands of peninsular Malaysia, I was one such person. Squeezing as much as I could into one day, I joined a tour that covered most of the
We rode elephants. We fed them; inspected the area between their toenails for sweat; assessed the dirt they’d collected overnight in different sleeping positions; counted the number of coconut-sized turds in their most recent dumps then inspected one for color, hydration, and smell; we washed them – the elephants, not the turds. But most importantly, we rode elephants. With my 65-year-old parents. There are numerous places in Southeast Asia to
We recently finished 30 days in Vietnam and while we had some good times and met some wonderful people – both Vietnamese and travelers – I can’t say I love the country. If I’m honest, I spent most of those 30 days (1) wishing we hadn’t booked a departing flight in advance so we could get the hell out, and (2) trying to keep my anger and stress to a
I don’t recall when I first read about Hoi An but when I learned that the town is full of tailors and new clothes can be had for cheap, it made my list of must-go places in Vietnam. Not only are the tailoring options plentiful, there’s an old town with buildings that weren’t destroyed in the American-Vietnam War, a full moon festival that has nothing to do with partying, excellent