Asia
The Long Way Around Everest: My Three Passes Trek in Nepal
The first test of my Three Passes trek happened before I took a step. We spent a day waiting for a flight…
Topic
Adventure
Africa
From Morocco to Senegal Without Getting on a Plane
I crossed from Morocco into Mauritania and eventually into Senegal without taking a flight. The whole trip took about six weeks. On…
Africa
Twenty Hours on an Iron-Ore Train in Mauritania
The ski goggles were the first clue that this wasn’t going to be a comfortable train ride. My host in Nouakchott helped…
Bucket List Ideas
The Northern Lights Do Not Take Reservations
The northern lights are one of the few famous travel experiences that can still refuse to appear. You can fly north, buy…
Become
Walking the Spine of Corsica
Corsica is usually sold through blue water, stone villages and long lunches near the sea. The GR20 introduces the island from the…
Asia
Seeing Orangutans Without Making It About Us
Wildlife travel becomes strange when the animal has to behave a certain way for the visitor to feel the trip was worth…
Bucket List Ideas
One Day in Jerusalem, Without Pretending It Is Simple
Jerusalem is one of those places people describe with superlatives because ordinary language feels inadequate. The problem is that the grand words…
Asia
Varanasi Does Not Need to Be Explained Away
Varanasi is often described with the kind of language travel writing reaches for when the writer has run out of nerve: mystical,…
Asia
The Taj Mahal Is Better Without the Sales Pitch
You do not need help understanding that the Taj Mahal is beautiful. The building has had centuries of practice, millions of photographs…
Bucket List Ideas
How to Arrive at Machu Picchu With Some Context
Machu Picchu does not need help being dramatic. It sits at 2,430 meters in the Peruvian Andes, stone terraces folding into green…