The places
I can't leave behind.

Treasure Hunting in the Kingdom of Angkor

How could I not come to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat on my first trip to Southeast Asia? Of course, it’s a checklist destination, but it’s a rather big, fat, and heavy box in any bucket list.

Pura Vida Land Travel Journal

I haven’t lived in the travel writing world long enough, but I have seen titles like “How traveling to that place changed me” so many times that I eventually started rolling my eyes every time I see one.

Maybe one day I’ll want to write it too, but now I only think that living in a place long enough can really change you. Visiting multiple places can just show you many things and teach you something if you are willing to learn. Every place has stories to tell, kind people to be grateful for, and memories you want to keep or you don’t.

The End of the World In Heaven

If any of my American friends who have never traveled abroad want a softer landing on foreign soil, I’d suggest starting with an English-speaking country, especially another former British colony.

Take Your Mom to Paris

I never really wanted to go to Paris. For me, it was a place full of common clichés, overrun by tourists, and most likely very overrated and overpriced, one the biggest tourist traps in the world a lot of people trying to avoid.

There is no Escape

We see a girl with a Russian passport in an airport passport control queue. Her nails are painted yellow and blue. An old Italian hangs a Ukrainian flag on the balcony in glamorous Positano. There is an inscription on a wall with graffiti that the local punks think about Putin in dirty Naples.