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A trip to Southeast Asia would not be complete without visiting my very special, very grand friends in Northern Thailand. It has been three years since I first traveled to Chiang Mai where I had the pleasure of sharing with the most amazing creatures I’ve ever met and immediately…

For my last stop in Southeast Asia, I was faced with an awfully tough decision, Indonesia or the Philippines?! Oh, the struggle. For most people, it would be a no brainer. Everyone dreams of Bali and if you’re a backpacker in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is probably on your itinerary. The Philippines, on the other hand,…

Hanoi and I may not have gotten off on the right foot but that doesn’t mean that things have to end there. When I first arrived in this chaotic little city, I knew that it had a lot to offer. It’s a shock to the senses, upon first impression. Once again, I was surrounded by…

My first night in Vietnam was a complete nightmare. I spent twenty-eight hours on a bus from Laos to Hanoi and two additional hours roaming around the city, looking for a decently priced hotel until I eventually settled for an over the budget option. By the time I reached my room, I was drenched in…

Three years ago, if someone were to ask me what Laos was, I would have probably guessed it to be a some sort of dish. Even after visiting it’s more popular neighboring country, Thailand, I still had no idea of its existence. It wasn’t until I decided to revisit Southeast Asia that I “discovered” the…

Kalaw was only the beginning of an awe-inspiring three-day journey through the hill tribes of Shan state to get to Inle Lake. There are moments during my travels where I feel like not even a thousand words are enough to express, describe or show something that must also be felt. There are certain things in…

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I landed in Yangon but after two weeks of recovering from a cold and food poisoning in Bangkok, I felt it was necessary to step out into the world again and take on another adventure. For the first time in two years, I would be exploring a country…

It’s been two weeks since I left my beloved India and I’ve finally mustered up the right words, the words to express exactly what it is I feel for the country that has touched the very core of my being, opening worlds inside of me that I never knew existed. I knew I loved you…

Two weeks past my imaginary cutoff for my time spent in India and I’m still here. I’ve been staring at flights to Southeast Asia for days but for some reason, I can’t gather the will to leave. I decided to come to Kolkata for one thing and one thing only, to leave India! I didn’t…

After another long journey, I finally made my way up north to visit some very dear friends. I didn’t originally plan to be in Punjab so soon but that’s part of the travel experience, knowing and accepting that things will not always go as planned. Although, I didn’t forget about Holi, I didn’t realize that…

I first walked through the gates of St. Lourde Mary U.P school nervous as heck, unsure as to whether or not I was qualified enough to take on such a great responsibility, afraid that I might not live up to everyone’s expectations. I wondered if my over-ambitious spirit had taken things a little too far….

It’s already been a week since I started working with my amazing little people. For starters, I’ll say that it’s been both a pleasure and a challenge. It’s been a pleasure to walk through the school gates every morning and see three hundred bright eyed faces completely light up at the sight of you, to…

One of the few things that I set out to do during my travels was to find a place where I can volunteer to work with less privileged children. Make no mistake, I love all children (OK, most) but there is something special about Indian kids. Their big curious eyes that always seem to stare,…

One of my favorite travel memories of all time was walking into a full blown festival in Peru, while trying to get a passport photo taken. It was my first time stepping out in days, after being terribly ill with a stomach virus but like a sick child that looks out her window and sees…

I was trying to escape the tourist trap that is Goa when I migrated south. After some extensive research, I came upon a little place called Varkala. The sun, the heat and a picturesque beach was enough to convince me that this is where I wanted to be. The night that I arrived to my…

I’ll admit. As excited as I was about my journey to the South, I was a little worried. Is this really safe? Am I crazy for taking such a long trip alone? (As if I didn’t already travel 7,000 miles across the world all by myself) What will my cart be like? What if I…

I’ve been in India for three days now. Although, Mumbai was not my ideal destination of choice, it certainly was the wisest. This being my second time visiting India, I know how intense and overwhelming it can be for anyone. In fact, I was freaking out weeks before I even got here. Surprisingly enough, I’ve…

I was 25 years young when I first started traveling. For most Nuyoricans ( a term used for native New Yorkers of Puerto Rican decent) growing up, our travels don’t normally extend any further  than Puerto Rico and possibly the Dominican Republic, if one is ambitious enough to apply for a passport. Traveling to any…