This is the true tale of my first few hours in Cambodia. I have never seen anything so brutal in my life. May I never again. The journey from Phnom Penh to the little town of Kampot near the southern border of Cambodia takes me down a long, straight dirt road. Heading away from the [...]

Traveling with limited funds typically does not land you in premium class airport lounges. While on a recent layover at the Muscat Airport, though, spending over 10 hours in the Premium Class Lounge actually saved me approximately $78.00. During previous flights out of the Muscat Airport, I’ve noticed a sign at the bottom of the [...]

As I now inexplicably suffer through a cold here in the tropical heat of Malaysia, I have discovered that I literally cannot find a pharmacy in this town, and they don’t sell medication at grocery stores. This leaves me feeling really happy that I brought along a few basic non-prescription medications before I left the [...]

I’m not one to enjoy looking back at the last dregs of the preceding year. I do like clicking through old photographs, though. In going through photos I have stored on my computer from the two years preceding 2010, I realized there’s been many firsts in my life in the past few years. Here’s my [...]

The past few years I’ve spent so much time in the Middle East one would think I should have multiple notebooks stuffed with thousands of pieces of advice and ever-multiplying safety tips about travel for solo females in this region of the world. This is my advice for traveling in the Mid East: I don’t [...]

In my culture skin darkened by the sun is considered far more desirable than pale complexions. So popular is tanned skin that many of us will not wait until summer sun is available to taint us with its rays, so we shell out significant amounts of money to lie in cancer-causing tanning beds that paint [...]

Shifting from the cushy comfort of Connecticut to the gritty solemnity that is the Middle East has brought eye opening newness to my life. Though I’ve been settled down here for three months, still I am not entirely accustomed to the sights that greet me every day. Each time I look out the window or [...]

I would rather travel every step destitute and desperate than luxuriate for one moment in swanky surroundings with a swollen bank account to support and comfort me. Not really. I’d like to have plenty of money for myself and my travels, but I don’t. This leads to problems. With every dark, threatening storm cloud, though, [...]