The kindness of strangers

It’s true. Sometimes, you rely on the kindness of strangers when you're in a foreign land and you don’t speak the language. I was a recipient of such kindness on a train during my very first trip to Morocco. We had just landed in Casablanca and armed with my poor version of “Deux billets pour...

A night with a nomadic family in Mongolia

Mongolia was the first stop on our Trans-Siberian journey. A week's stay would have been perfect, but we only had Three days and wanted to make the best of it. Of course, to experience a stay in a Ger with a real nomadic family was a must. We made prior arrangements for a guide and...

My Epic railway journey Part 2 – The illegal passage to Russia

We were on the move again after a brief stay in Mongolia. Our next stop was Irkutsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Excited about what’s in store for us in the next few days, my friend Choi and I were also a little anxious about our passage to Russia. He noticed the night before our departure...

My Epic rail journey – Part 1

After years of pondering and months of preparation, a friend and I finally hopped on the train from Beijing to Moscow and traveled a total of 129 hours, 7,300 kilometers across 3 different time zones. “Why take the train when you can fly?” It puzzled many, even some of the locals we met thought we...

Bukhara a living museum

It got more and more interesting as we traveled west to the smaller but equally historically rich cities in the Silk Route. After Samarkand, our next destination was Bukhara. It is 2000 years old and is a perfect example of a typical medieval Central Asian city that has remained largely intact. Like the other cities,...

Samarkand, Timur’s Turquoise city

After a day in Tashkent, it was on to Samarkand the mysterious and exotic sounding place with grand turquoise domed structures that inspired me to travel all the way to Uzbekistan. Its history dates back to 2700 years ago. It is the oldest in Central Asia and has experienced rule by the Persians, Alexander the...

Tashkent, our doorway to Uzbekistan

I was captivated by Samarkand's majestic azure Registan Square the first time I saw a picture of it as a teenager many years ago. Soon after, I added Uzbekistan to my travel bucket list. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is rich in history. It was there where Alexander the Great conquered Sogdiana...

Enthralling Wadi Rum

“No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry.. the imprint of the desert… and he will have within him the yearning to return…. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match.’” T.E. Lawrence Still ecstatic after my Petra experience, I thought there was no other place in Jordan...

Ignorance is bliss – Sailing the Saronic

I think the boldest travel decision my friends and I have ever made was to charter a yacht, something average budgeted travelers like us wouldn't normally consider as an option. We wanted to enjoy Greece by sailing its islands and originally set to go on a small and intimate cruise on a motorsailer, but the schedules didn't work...

Once upon a drive in beautiful Cagayan

I enjoy road trips up northeast to Cagayan valley even if it means being behind the wheel for long hours. The valley has a wealth of natural and breathtaking landscapes on and around its misty mountains to its dramatic coastlines and unspoiled white beaches. I've  traveled there several times before but have seen only a...

Plaka, Athens – Neighborhood of the Gods

I had to walk a little slow at first. I found it slippery walking on the marble streets of Plaka, the oldest section of Athens and known as the neighborhood of the Gods probably because of its close proximity to the Acropolis. So close, it’s just right below it. Athens was our stopover between trips...