First impressions are supposed to be very important, so I wanted to share with you my first impression of Asia, which has been limited so far to an evening ride through Hong Kong from the airport to my friend's apartment. I stepped off the high-speed Airport Express train and into a sultry humid night, where through that surreal haze of jet-lag I saw a taxi door magically open itself for me without driver intervention (I actually had to look a couple of times because I thought I had imagined it). We sped through town, which was a jungle of lights that [View Full Entry]

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Strangely enough, my Asia travel experience has already started, even though I'm still in Seattle. Last night at dinner, I started feeling funny. And no, It was not "ha-ha" funny, but rather an "Oh-my-goodness-I'm-gonna-puke" funny. After horrifying a couple of old ladies in the restaurant bathroom (I'm pretty sure they think I'm bulimic), I rushed back to my friends' apartment where I'm crashing, and proceeded to endure all the usual symptoms of food poisoning (sharp stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, chills, and fever). I was forced to break into my tr [View Full Entry]

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Ok, readers, it's time to get a little more involved. I am giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to send me on wild-goose-chases and/or have me do something just for you; and all for a very reasonable price. And you will get to read about it here. Your Homework: Give Me Assignments Post your assignments as comments on my blog pages. Let your imagination guide you: I've already had three requests: to get a picture of me at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, to get a picture of an elephant, and to shut down any child sex establishments that I see. The below [View Full Entry]

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"Have fun! Relive your youth!" These words came from my mother about a week ago. She was referring to my ten-year college reunion, which took place over this past weekend. Her words come back to haunt me today, on the third anniversary of my 29th birthday. And I wonder: am I really that old? Has my youth come and gone already? I'll let you decide. This past weekend I met back up with the pals of my Georgetown University days, and the experience brought several things home to me: We Still Look Fabulous. Wandering around the Georgetown reunion tent parties amids [View Full Entry]

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Some of the most frequent comments I get when I tell people about my upcoming trip are: "Wow, it must be nice to be able to afford to go on vacation for five months." "I wish I had that kind of money!" "You must be rich." Now, I am most definitely not rich; I am in fact unemployed and living off of savings. But the truth is, anyone can afford to travel as long as they are willing to budget travel. What is budget travel, exactly? I should clear up that I'm not going on a five-month-long "vacation," or guided tour, [View Full Entry]

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You may have noticed that I look a little different. Then again, maybe you've never seen me before in your life, as you've just stumbled upon this blog and wondered who the drop-dead gorgeous woman writing it was. Well, it's like this. I've had long hair for the last 20 years or so (ever since I grew out that horrendous 80s bowl cut in the 5th grade), and I just plain don't like change - with the notable exception of hair color, where I've done everything from bleached-blond to stark black (both the results of home hair-dyeing gone awry, I should [View Full Entry]

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After months of planning (years, really - but most of that was just daydreaming), I think I have finally started to narrow down on a kind of itinerary. So for those of you who are interested in trying to meet up with me; for those of you who are worried about me; for those of you who are just curious, and for those of you who don't really care but are reading this anyway, here's the lowdown: I set out on June 8, 2009 (only 12 days from now!) Hong Kong - June 9 - June 17 My good friend Travis [View Full Entry]

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So what happens when, at your moment of glory atop Mt. Everest, you get a really bad hangnail and can't climb back down? Hopefully you've planned for it and have a sherpa handy to haul you back. But what if you've reached base camp, the nail has become infected, you suddenly develop altitude sickness and need emergency medical care? I doubt the sherpa will be able to help you at that point, unless he/she has their own helicopter and wants to pay your way to Kathmandu. This is where your travel insurance kicks in, and you'd better hope you have it, [View Full Entry]

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Move Over Ultimate Fighting Championships - this is real work! I am giving you the benefit of much trial and error, much research, and much improvisation! Clothing - (see ) _____1 pair lightweight hiking boots _____1 pair sport sandals _____3 pairs of socks _____4 pairs of underwear _____3 sport bras _____1 pair zip-off convertible pants/shorts _____1 pair convertible pants/capris _____1 pair sport shorts (to sleep in) _____1 bikini with dual-use top _____1 nice-ish tank top _____1 t-shirt _____1 convertible short-sleeve/long-sleeve shirt _____1 shor [View Full Entry]

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Ingredients: 1 Internet connection 1 printer paper clips, one small box 1 yellow highlighter (you can substitute pink or blue or green, according to just how fruity you are) 1 box cutter 1 pen or marker 1 glass of wine Envelopes (approximately 1 per country/region) Guidebooks, assorted 1. Using your highlighter, sift your guidebook(s) well, to figure out where you are interested in going. This is a great way to cut down the entire world into more manageable bites. Highlight what interests you, be it a city, an activity, or a tourist sit [View Full Entry]

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