We’ve acquired some pretty handy travel skills in the last year, the most well-honed and particularly important ones being: 1) packing; 2) bartering; 3) getting along with each other on travel days (the most fight-worthy day of them all). A close fourth would be our ability to find cheap(er) flights. It was a cheaper flight that led us through South Africa (rather than Australia) on the way to Argentina, and it was also the reason we spent four days in Bogota, Colombia - simply a cheaper option than flying directly from Lima to Cancun. But really, our little layover in Bogota [View Full Entry]

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When my brother Tyler told me about his trip to Machu Picchu with his girlfriend Jolene last year, my mind wondered Matchoo what? Where? Peru(!) Who goes to Peru? Almost one year later, we went to Peru, hitting Cuzco and the capital Lima, with the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in between. Machu Picchu is probably the most recognizable symbol of the once mighty Inca Empire, which, for all its glory, was only on top for about 100 years. Though not the biggest, baddest or most significant Inca ruins, they’re the most heavily marketed, attracting throngs of tourists to Peru [View Full Entry]

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Due mostly to my back-to-back bout with a chest cold and then traveler’s diarrhea, we didn't do much during the rest of our travels through Bolivia and into Peru. We spent time in the cities of Potosi, La Paz, Copacabana, and Puno (see pictures), leaving the hostels rarely. These circumstances left us with little to talk about but home and the activities of the other people living in the rooms surrounding ours. Obviously there are people like us from all over the world coming together in these traveler havens, each with their own story and their own reasons for being there. [View Full Entry]

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At first, crossing from Argentina into the dusty Bolivian border town of Villazon was largely uneventful. There were the usual line crashers and moments of confusion when we can’t read the signs. There was a bit of a stir among the tourist contingent when news spread that Americans, and only Americans, were being charged $135 to enter Bolivia while the rest of the world had free admittance. And as we marched uphill toward the bus station, my breath was shortening and my head began throbbing just slightly from the alititude (3400m). I took in my new surroundings and considered what a [View Full Entry]

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We spent 18 days in Argentina, getting a healthy dose of urban Argentine life by stopping in Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Cordoba and finally Salta on our way north to Bolivia. We were surprised to learn that 90 per cent of Argentina’s population is European (only three per cent of which is half European, half indigenous). If we were dressed appropriately, we could pretty much blend in with the locals as we walked the busy pedestrian area on Florida Ave in downtown Buenos Aires. As we moved to the smaller cities, though, we stuck out like sore thumbs. More than our casual [View Full Entry]

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Sometimes, a lack of planning lands us in a money pit of a situation (like arriving at Koh Samui with no hotel reservation). Other times, planning too far ahead is the most expensive mistake (like purchasing Baz Bus tickets in South Africa). We've suffered the consequences of both, and striking that delicate balance between them is really starting to become an art. Our trip to South Africa was by far the least researched leg of our travels. We didn't have a Lonely Planet (gasp) or any other kind of guidebook. We had a budget, a set timeline and a solemn oath [View Full Entry]

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Africa is famous for it’s diversity in animals, plants and landscapes. One of the main reasons we extended our layover here to 20 days was so that we could go and see these things. Only 3 days after we arrived, we packed up and went on a four-day camping safari in Kruger National Park. The goal was to see the “Big 5” (elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo). We slept in tents within the park boundaries. We spent all day, every day (and some nights) in safari trucks crawling around the park, straining our eyes out into the bush. Finding animals [View Full Entry]

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“I’m from the United States,” said the Black youth, surveying our reactions. I flinch at this introduction, considering our surroundings. I’m standing in Kliptown, a shantytown of sorts - a miniscule corner of Soweto just outside Johannesburg. I’m confused as to how an American teenager of any creed or culture could end up as one of the four million people living here. “I’m from the United States of Africa,” he clarifies, and I smile at his clever turn of phrase. “South Africa is all of Africa - every country, every person, we all live i [View Full Entry]

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We have been in South East Asia now for over a year, and it has had a huge influence on our lives and identities. We will soon depart, maybe forever, and Bangkok is the last city we will see. In the spirit of reflection, we asked our friends to give us a series of questions about the differences between where we come from and where we are, and how our experiences have affected us as individuals. We responded in separate soundproof rooms, then combined our reactions to create this posting. The questions and answers are as follows: Q: What is the [View Full Entry]

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“Turtle tattoo on right foot” is now something to add to the list of Marc’s distinguishable features. If our raving review of Chiang Mai didn’t sell you on our love of Thailand, the fact that we permanently branded ourselves with bamboo tattoos should thoroughly convince. While the decision was largely spontaneous, I admit we have talked about getting these very tattoos for several years. When we stumbled into a small bamboo tattoo shop run by a peculiar and memorable man named Charlie it just seemed like the right place and the right time. We wanted to commemora [View Full Entry]

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