I’ve made some of my favorite travel memories touring agricultural regions, from South Africa’s Cape Winelands to Colombia’s coffee triangle. So, when I touched down on the island formerly known as Ceylon last week, I felt almost obligated to include a visit to its namesake tea plantations in my travel plans.

Sri Lanka’s tea-producing region is not only vastly different from anywhere else in the country, but is one of the most mysterious, awe-inspiring landscapes I’ve ever seen. Perched more than a mile above sea level and dotted with waterfalls and lush floral, its mist-shrouded green fields seem to extend on forever, which says nothing of the legendary tea grown here.

Sri Lanka’s “Up” Country

Although just 69 km from Sri Lanka’s second-largest city, Kandy, on the map, the island’s so-called “up” country seems an entire world away. This is first and foremost because the journey from Kandy, whether you do it by bus or train, takes several hours, on account of the dramatic rise in elevation – more than a kilometer – and, for the bus, roads that are dodgy at best.

The otherworldly feeling that overtakes you en route to Sri Lanka’s up country reaches its climax upon arrival in Nuwara Eliya, a quirky town that serves as a sort of hub for the tea-producing region. That other feeling? Numbness – the average annual temperature in N.E. is a chilly 15.9°C, which says nothing of the nearly 2,000 mm of rain the town receives each year.

Tea Factory Tours

The tea plantations and factories near Nuwara Eliya are, not surprisingly, the largest tourist draw of the region. Most of them offer guided visits, which include walks through the tea fields, tours of the factories themselves and, of course, complimentary tea tastings.

At the advice of a Sri Lankan friend, I chose to visit the Mackwoods Labookellie factory, which is located about 10 km from the Nuwara Eliya town center. The tour of the factory itself was a bit underwhelming, but enjoying a freshly-brewed cup of orange pekoe while looking out over emerald-green fields that have been in use, according to the guide, for over 150 years, more than made up for it.

Other tea factories around Nuwara Eliya include Blue Fields and Pedro, which is the closest to the city center. The fee for a tour, if there is one, is nominal, but you can expect to pay between 500-1,000 (or more!) Sri Lankan rupees for your taxi or tuk-tuk to the factory of your choice.

Please, Go Chasin’ Waterfalls!

Sri Lanka’s up country is all about natural splendor, and not just when it comes to tea factories. The combination of an extremely high altitude and the shit-ton of rain the region receives has led to the formation of a number of waterfalls, many of which are massive.

The most famous of these is Ramboda Falls, located about 30 km from the Nuwara Eliya town center at a particularly tight bend of the windy road that leads to the town. You can walk along the top of the fall toward its source, or enjoy a view from the bottom at a nearby hotel and restaurant.

As is the case with tea factories, Ramboda and other waterfalls don’t cost much (if anything) to enter, but transport to them, on account of distance and poor road conditions, can be expensive. For my day-trip, which includes transport both to Ramboda Falls and the Mackwoods Labookellie tea factory, I paid Rs 2,800, or about $22.

Nuwara Eliya Town

I mentioned earlier that Nuwara Eliya was quirky, and I meant it. The small town, which looks much more charming from a distance than when you’re down in it, is dotted with open-air markets, second-hand clothing sellers and a disproportionate number of “wine stores” that also serve as dive bars from locals, many of whom seem to be borderline alcoholics.

I’m told there are a couple of nice things to see in the vicinity of N.E., such as a lake and a botanical garden, but extremely poor weather during my visit prevented me from doing much exploring, save for walking into one of the aforementioned wine stores and trying to haggle a bottle of Carlo Rossi for less than 15 USD (and failing miserably).

Where to Stay in N.E.

I haven’t had a lot of luck finding good places to stay in Sri Lanka, so although a place called “King Fern Bungalow” had great reviews on TripAdvisor, I was skeptical as I walked up the stairs to reception. (All of my skepticism faded the moment I turned around to see the incredible landscape behind me, FYI.)

What I love about King Fern is that it’s perfect for travelers on a budget – a single room with breakfast costs just 25 USD – but also provides a convenient location, an incredible view and a homestyle hospitality I’ve found sorely lacking elsewhere during my trip.

My only complaint about the property is that they charge (quite a bit) extra if you want to use the in-room heaters, which you will almost certainly need during the cold months.

The first time someone took financial advantage of me during travel was at New Delhi railway station back in 2009. I’ve been wary of history repeating itself on every subsequent trip, but since travel scams vary in their complexity and the havoc they wreak, my paranoia hasn’t been one-size-fits-all.

Scams that result in you being severely inconvenienced and bled dry for hundreds of dollars or more, as was the case with my aforementioned India incident, are intolerable. Others, such as being overcharged for incidentals like food or local transport, are relatively harmless – I usually let these slide.

For example, when a street vendor in Luxor, Egypt charged me £E6 for a falafel sandwich when the local person in front of me paid just £E3, I made peace with the fact that he needed the money more than I needed to argue with him about his business ethics.

But a particularly obnoxious fellow traveler wasn’t so willing to give the poor guy the benefit of the doubt. “It doesn’t matter that you’re only out 50 cents,” he moaned, and starting marching toward the food stall to lecture the vendor on my behalf. “It’s the principle – he cheated you!”

The only thing I love more than making contentious attacks on universally-beloved cities is playing Devil’s advocate, so let’s assume for a moment that my knight in shining perspiration was right, that I had a responsibility to scold the sandwich slinger for his wrongdoing.

I would walk back to the scene of the crime, delicious sandwich becoming soft and greasy in my hand, and one of two things would happen: He would admit to his mistake and give me back my three pounds; or, he would laugh in my face and tell me to fuck off.

In either case, the end outcome would be essentially the same. One of us would be three pounds richer, the other three pounds poorer. One of us would feel self-righteous and justified, the other pissed-off and victimized. The sandwich maker would still overcharge the next foreigner who approached his stall. And I would still look like an asshole.

The problem with thinking of third world pricing scams from this angle is that it assumes prices (and, thus, value) are absolute, which any businessperson will tell you is false. Whether you’re selling artery-clogging snacks or comprehensive Web solutions, the first rule of sales is that you always pitch the highest price you think your client will pay, then negotiate downward from there.

And I mean, have you ever (successfully) tried to make falafel from scratch? It’s nearly impossible! Even if the ingredients this guy used to add a few ounces to my frame only cost him a penny, the effort he put into making unneeded calories taste so incredible was worth at least six Egyptian pounds.

To move on from the overdone (ha!) falafel example, a tuk-tuk driver here in Sri Lanka recently charged me Rs. 200 for a ride I knew, on account of having spoken to a local, should only have cost Rs. 100. In “principle,” this was outrageous – like the guy in Egypt, he’d doubled my price! But I was once again out less than a dollar, and I arrived at my destination swiftly and safely.

A larger-level entity I’ve often heard referred to as a scam is the system of reciprocity fees used by some South American countries. Western travelers are quick to bemoan these fees, which often exceed $100, but are often oblivious to the fact that it is exponentially more expensive and time-consuming for citizens of, say, Argentina, to travel to the United States as tourists than vice-versa.

It seems to me, in these instances and others, that it’s not so much foreigners being charged artificially high prices as it is locals being charged artificially low prices. Sure, there’s an element of unfairness, and maybe of outright dishonesty somewhere in there. But in most cases, everyone gets what they need without being terribly inconvenienced – it is, more or less, a value-for-value exchange.

And to play Devil’s advocate again, this time for the scheming street hustler instead of the preyed-upon tourist, there is a level of market research, premeditation and, in many cases, elbow grease that is nothing short of props-worthy, and is sorely lacking among the workforces of stagnant Western economies.

Which is not to say that I condone the shadiest of these business practices. Logical dissonance notwithstanding, lying to someone about his train being canceled and siphoning $200 from him in exchange for the marginally higher level of comfort and convenience a “VIP Taxi” provides is not the same as, you know, setting up a legitimate VIP Taxi service adjacent to the railway station entrance.

But if you really think, as a rich foreigner traveling in a poor country, that you have gotten the short end of the stick by being cheated out of a few cents, a few dollars or, shit, even 50, you need a serious reality check.

It was hard for me not to draw parallels between Sri Lanka and India, what with the proximity of the two countries, not to mention their common-ish ethnic, linguistic and religious ties. But my comparison was shattered almost immediately upon arrival at Colombo’s Bandaranayake international Airport earlier this week.

“The Japanese test all their technology here,” Leave Your Daily Hell reader Charm, who’s been nice enough to show me around his city and plan out my entire two weeks in Sri Lanka, explained,  when I asked why exactly my mobile Internet was so surprisingly fast. “We’re an island, and we’re small, so we make for a great test market.”

And new technology, it turns out, is not the only groundbreaking thing about Sri Lanka’s largest city.

Indeed, after resting up at my guest house in Colombo 4 – Colombo is divided into 14 numbered districts, not unlike Paris – I set out early to explore the city. I found myself continually amazed by just how progressive Colombo is, given that it is the capital of a country only recently free from the throes of civil war.

Preserving the local environment, for example, is high on the agenda of the Sri Lankan government. Officials have built cages arounds even the smallest of trees that sprout up in the city, and penalties for cutting down trees – even those on your own property – can include imprisonment.

Sri Lankan environmental welfare extends to animals as well: The Colombo city government is in the process of rounding up, fixing and vaccinating stray dogs and cats.

And it’s not just a top-down approach. While en route to the Sri Lanka National Museum, itself home to a tree nearly as wide as the museum building, I came upon a demonstration of local school boys, advocating for a waste-segregation recycling scheme. Contrast this to nearby countries – again, India springs to mind – where even one-size-fits-all trash cans are absent in most places.

Colombo has even constructed dedicated bike lines which, although not currently in very heavy use, provide an alluring alternative to the traditional car, bus and auto-rickshaw tuk-tuk that congests the city’s streets.

This is not to say Colombo is a perfect city, or completely free from the kinds of grit, grime and disorganization that plaque many of the other metropolises in the region.

The sidewalks adjacent to Pettah Market, for example, covered by tin roofs that ring out with unbearable clamor in even the slightest rain, are blanketed in what appears to be hundreds of years of filth, which says nothing of the feces-caked tracks at nearby Colombo Fort Railway Station.

Likewise, the elephant that lives at Colombo’s incredible Gangaramaya Temple is chained, and is made to stomp to and fro in a small area, often on top of an through its own excrement. A large lagoon that sits at the center of the city is tinged an I-think-I-saw-that-on-the-Simpsons green, although not, according to Charm, because of any nuclear waste problem.

I left Colombo Wednesday to begin my exploration of the rest of Sri Lanka humbled, if not a bit taken. Colombo may not be one of my favorite cities I’ve ever visited, but it certainly surprised me in the best possible ways. It’s funny that the friend I’ve made here is called “Charm,” because his city seems to have a lot of it.

I’ve never been particularly afraid of snakes, so when I learned late last year that Sri Lanka was home to nearly three dozen species of venomous snakes, more than half of which are deadly, I was relatively unfazed. (Disclaimer: One of my best friends is a hobby herpetologist, and has been performing anti-snake-fear hypnosis on me for the better part of a decade.)

Unfortunately, my then-boyfriend and travel companion was less confident in the known fact that snakes are generally much more afraid of humans than we are of them. “I’m not going to Sri Lanka,” he insisted, just days before we were to depart.

As luck (from his perspective) would have it, AirAsia cancelled the Bangkok-Colombo route just days before we were to fly, which gave him an easy out and me few options, other than to appease his wishes to take a trip to Bali instead. (Click here if you don’t remember how that went down.)

Well, a year later I’m back in Bangkok and, since I’ve booked my ticket on Sri Lanka’s national airline, nothing is going to prevent me from visiting Sri Lanka, a country that’s been at the top of my bucket list for a very long time. Let’s just hope none of these feisty critters contribute to me kicking the bucket while I’m there!

(Note: The images in this article are not mine, but I am using them legally via Creative Commons licenses from Flickr. Click any image to be taken to the Flick homepage of the person who owns rights to it.) 

Cobra

The first of the three main classes of venomous Sri Lanka snakes is the cobra. Cobras are not only extremely venomous and potentially deadly snakes, but also one of the most common snakes you’ll find in Sri Lanka. Tip: Stay away from these critters, unless you see one being charmed on the streets of Colombo.

Krait

The good news about the Sri Lankan krait is that they typically only come out at night, which means you aren’t likely to encounter them if you go to sleep at a normal hour. The bad news, for me, is that krait like to hide inside human dwellings at night during the rainy season which, if I’m not mistaken, is right now!

Viper

Several species of Sri Lankan viper are venomous, including the Saw Scale viper, the Hump nose viper and the Green pit viper. Although many Sri Lankan vipers are confined to extremely rural areas, some – namely, Russel’s Viper – live and hunt in urban areas, i.e. places where I am likely to be. Eek!

I’m not gonna lie: Processing and typing out all this information has me a tiny bit scared about snakes in Sri Lanka, even if years of Catholic serpent-hating speak didn’t make me detest the slithery creatures.

I’ve heard through the grapevine, however, that if I am unlucky enough to be bitten by a snake, hospitals in Sri Lanka are good at dealing with snake bites. Let’s just hope I can get to one in time if need be!

Stepping up from the table and getting out of the casino is sometimes easier said than done. However, with all of the fun things to do in Las Vegas for summer 2013, knowing when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em and walk away might not be as difficult as usual. Many Vegas hotels on the Strip are offering new attractions like thrill rides, plus the popular Vegas shows and nightlife spots to keep travelers entertained throughout their entire visit. Here are the best things to do in Las Vegas this summer:

1. Enjoy the thrills

Many hotels offer thrill rides in Vegas for those with an adventurous spirit. The Rio Las Vegas hotel has recently announced that it will be creating a new thrill ride called VooDoo Skyline, which will open late this summer. The ride features views of the Strip from 440 feet in the air for a Vegas zipline ride that will go from the Rio Masquerade tower and launch over 600 feet for 10 seconds. Another popular Vegas attraction is the roller coaster at New York-New York. The roller coaster goes 200 feet high, and if you can keep your eyes open you’ll get an amazing 360-degree view of the Strip! Just make sure you’ve recovered from your hangover before you try any of these rides…unless you’re expecting them to scare the hangover right out of you.

2. See a Las Vegas show

Vegas hotels up and down the Strip offer world famous shows. Whether looking for a stand-up comedy show in Vegas, a Cirque du Soleil production, or a headliner show, any type of entertainment needs can be met. One of the most popular Vegas shows for summe 2013 is Zarkana, a Cirque Du Soleil show at the Aria Las Vegas hotel. The show started in Vegas in 2012 and continues today as a bizarre show that will draw you in with awe and wonder. Even when he’s losing, Casino Boy typically doesn’t leave the table (where else can he get free booze?) but the Zarkana show at Aria is worth stepping away from blackjack, even for Casino Boy.

3. Enjoy the Vegas nightlife and dayclubs

Vegas nightclubs and day parties have never been hotter than in Summer 2013. Several Las Vegas clubs have opened up recently, including 1Oak at Mirage, Hakkasan at MGM Grand, and LIGHT at Mandalay Bay. Each of these venues will feature world renowned artists and DJs for Vega partying like never seen before. Plus, the Vegas hotel pool parties will be going off all summer long. Some of the hotspots for this summer include Wet Republic at MGM Grand, DayLight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay and Sapphire Pool & Dayclub.

This article was written by Ariel Abbott, Editor of CheapoVegas.com

My upcoming trip to Europe will mark my eighth unique visit to the continent, and there’s a very simply reason why: Europe is practically overflowing with amazing sights to see, owing to its long history, huge geographical footprint and diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic makeup.

In particular, I love exploring the cities of Europe, many of which seem like nations unto themselves. (Actually, many of them were, but that’s a topic for another blog post!)

Regardless of whether you book your city break at Co-op Travel, or make your journey independently, here are five can’t-miss European cities to consider for your next short trip.

Rome

The current capital of Italy and former center of one of the largest empires in history, Rome’s streets have an electric energy flowing through them that’s palpable and intoxicating.

Whether you stick to the tourist trail and explore famous attractions like the Colosseum and Vatican City, explore the city’s incredible cuisine on a food tour or meet a sexy local and dance the night away, Rome’s offerings to travelers are as significant and varied as its contributions to Western civilization.

Stockholm

Just as Sweden is sometimes shrugged off for simply being the home of ABBA, H&M and IKEA, Stockholm often gets neglected when people name their favorite European capitals.

And that’s an incredible shame! From old town Gamla Stan, to hipster-filled Södermalm to the archipelago of islands that spirals outward from the city’s center, Stockholm offers a nearly endless array of sights, sounds and activities for visitors. Visit during summer to enjoy the Midnight Sun, Scandinavia’s most alluring natural phenomenon.

Dresden

Dresden is located just an hour from Berlin, but its architecture, vibe and indeed its imperial history make it seem like another world entirely.

The capital of the Kingdom of Saxony long before the unification of Germany, Dresden is defined by the Baroque architecture at its historical center, which was largely constructed during the reign of the flamboyant King Augustus. And largely destroyed during World War II – Dresden was among the most-bombed cities in Germany.

Lisbon

The first thing you notice about Lisbon, arriving by air, is the terracotta roof tiles that unify the aesthetic of what might otherwise be a very chaotic city.

To be sure, the Portuguese capital offers up far more experiences that its seemingly small footprint would suggest. Take an Americano streetcar up the Tagus River to Belém and explore an ancient fort before indulging in delicious pastries, traipse through historical Alfama or dance the night away in cosmopolitan Baixa-Chiado.

Tel Aviv

Israel might not technically be a part of Europe, but cheap air connectivity with the continent makes it – and, in particular, the cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv – a great choice for a European city break.

Tel Aviv has it all, from incredible dining and nightlife, to pristine Mediterranean beaches, to close proximity to nearly everywhere else in Israel, particularly the Holy City of Jerusalem. Whether you spend your city break to Tel Aviv basking in sunshine, eating yourself sick or exploring everything else Israel has to offer, you certainly won’t leave bored.

It’s ironic that I now consider Bangkok my favorite city in the world: I never intended to set foot outside the airport.

I’d planned to travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the second of two destinations on my maiden voyage to Southeast Asia, in early 2010, over the southern expanse of its border with Thailand, bypassing Bangkok entirely. This was in line with the advice most everyone I knew had given me, that Bangkok was a chaotic, polluted mess of a city, to be avoided at all costs.

It was only because my crappy camera busted when I was lazing away on Koh Mak island that I spent a full night in the Thai capital, a known hub for cheap electronics.

But by the time I purchased a replacement camera, my first DSLR, at Bangkok’s MBK Center, I had already fallen in love with everything about the city. I booked a stay at someplace called the Diamond City Hotel, solely based on its purported proximity to Hua Lamphong railway station.

Nothing about the Diamond City was remarkable; it was actually quite far from Hua Lamphong. But it was convenient and affordable enough that I booked another room there when I returned to Bangkok that same August, and then again in December.

When I set foot into the lobby for the fourth time last Friday morning, for the first time in nearly three years, I was shocked not only to see the face of the same friendly woman who’d been there the last time I stayed at the hotel, but that she remembered me.

She looked positively delighted, running out from behind the counter. “You return,” she said, squeezing me with a firm hug. “But you very slim now!” I was so overcome by her sweetness I that I neglected to clarify that I have always been “very slim,” and had in fact lost just three pounds since 2010.

As I waited for her to ready the room I’d booked online, I was shocked by how much nicer the hotel seemed. The lobby was much more immaculately furnished, and its staircase much grander than I had remembered. Although it admittedly had nothing on many of the five-star Bangkok hotels I’d stayed in since then, it had a decidedly boutique feel to it, even by Western standards.

Even if she hadn’t given me a complimentary upgrade to a Deluxe suite – her manager, whom I’d only met on one previous occasion, while complaining about the hotel’s formerly slow WiFi, was apparently as excited as she was to see me return – I still would’ve been completely taken aback by not only the service I received, by the ambiance and general awesomeness of the hotel.

But I soon realized that it was neither the minor renovations the hotel had undergone since my last stay, nor a regressive shift of my hotel-judging equilibrium, that contributed to my changed perspective. No, I concluded, it could only be that I remembered the Diamond City Hotel as being blah, although it had probably always been just as great as it seemed then.

This realization got me to thinking: How many of my travel memories are at odds with my actual travel experiences? More specifically, how often do I remember a hotel, a restaurant or even an entire country as being mediocre or even terrible, when it actually it was just fine or, as is the case with the Diamond City Hotel, fucking amazing?

If I’m honest with myself, pretty often. And that’s pretty sad, not just because of all the shit I’ve talked about places I remember as being somewhere on the scale between “awful” and “whatever.”

The problem with memory, not only when it comes to travel, but in general, is that our memories become our realities, looking back, which influences the course of our realities moving forward. And whether that means we decide not to return to particular destinations, rekindle old flames or reconcile with friends whose betrayals of us may or may not have been severe in nature, it is an incredibly sad problem.

Have you ever succumbed to it?

A few days ago, while waiting for my flight over the Pacific in San Francisco, I noticed a young woman walking into the Japanese restaurant where I was having lunch. She sat down and ordered a drink from the waiting server, and began placing her belongings on the ground.

“Are you from Australia?” Another restaurant patron asked her from across the way.

The girl, whose accent was about as far from Australian as one can get, smiled. “Nope,” she shook her head. “American – from Texas.”

I had no choice but to interrupt, the awkward circumstances of her exchange with the customer who mistook her nationality notwithstanding. “Two Texans in one restaurant. What are the chances?”

Our brief meeting proved serendipitous in more ways than one. Sunaina, as I soon learned her name to be, was on her way to southern India, where she would be spending time at a Sufi temple, so when the topic of travel – and, more specifically, the effect it has on spirituality – came up, she had an interesting perspective.

“My philosophy,” she explained, when I described to her, in as much detail as one can in a rushed airport-meal setting, how I believe my worldview had been partially to blame for the demise of my recent relationship, “is to ‘empty’ yourself completely prior to interacting with someone.

“That way,” she continued, “you can fully accept them and their energy, regardless of the extent to which you might be different. Does that make sense?”

I nodded. What Sunaiana said did make sense to me, inasmuch as that it succinctly encapsulated the approach I’ve been trying to employ when I interact with people for a very long time, even if said approach (or, more likely, my implementation of it) had ultimately failed the last time I attempted to put it into practice.

But what I didn’t realize, as I bid her farewell and made a mad dash to gate G92, where my United Airlines plane was already in the first stages of boarding, was how this idea – that we should “empty” ourselves prior to interacting – might apply to travel itself.

I was headed over the Pacific to Bangkok, which I’m using as a jumping off point for my two-week trip to Sri Lanka next Monday. When I learned that Jason, who runs the Hiatus4Life blog, would be in the Thai capital at the same time as me, I was eager to show him the best of my favorite city in the world.

The challenge was to be able to see a city I’ve seen so many times, and at so many different stages of my life, from a fresh perspective, not only to depict it interestingly through my fifth series of Bangkok travel photos, but to present it in a way that would allow Jason to love it like I do. My  work – to provide Jason with a comprehensive overview of Bangkok in just one day – was cut out for me.

After meeting Jason at the Sala Daeng station of the Bangkok SkyTrain, we headed to Saphan Taksin, where we boarded a Chao Phraya Express boat bound for Memorial Bridge. “We’re going to start,” I explained to Jason, as our boat headed north along the muddy river, “by seeing some less-visited, but no less spectacular Bangkok attractions.”

As we began walking over Memorial Bridge toward Wat Prayun, a “white” temple I’ve visited on my own more than a few times, Sunaina’s words echoed in my mind. Empty yourself completely.

Initially, this proved to be a frustrating pursuit, if not an impossible one. It seemed futile to attempt not replicating shots I’d taken before, even subconsciously. And I didn’t want to impinge upon Jason’s first time in Bangkok by prioritizing photography over tour-guiding.

Yet slowly but surely, as we moved on from Wat Prayun to the Portuguese-colonial Santa Cruz church and then to the epic Wat Kalayanamit, I not only emptied myself of past experiences in Bangkok, but of my typical travel disposition – that is the solo traveler who talks and thinks to himself incessantly, because he is alone.

By the time we crossed back over the Chao Phraya and stopped for lunch, I found myself throughly humbled by what a fascinating, sweet person Jason (who has been my personal friend for quite sometime, in addition to being a reader of this blog) was. Prior to arriving in Asia for the first time, he’d spent more than a month backpacking through Central America.

The tales he told me as we traipsed first through the iconic Wat Pho temple, and then through the Rattanakosin old city up to seedy Khao San Road, were riveting, and not just because they recounted a journey I didn’t take, through a part of the world I’ve never visited. His perspective on the world, on travel and on life was fundamentally different from, and yet in a way totally complementary to, mine.

Not surprisingly, the photos he took of Bangkok were profoundly dissimilar to mine. “It’s kind of surreal,” I gasped while flipping through his camera roll in the tuk-tuk on the way back to where we’d begun our journey earlier in the afternoon, as the moon rose behind us. “It’s as if – and I mean this in the very best way possible – we were in totally different cities on totally different days.”

After Jason and I had dinner and drinks together in Silom, we bid each other farewell, and made tentative plans to meet the next day. Although nearly too exhausted to think, I smiled to myself as I walked through the sleazy Patpong Night Market to my hotel, and reflected on my brief, serendipitous meeting earlier in the week. Thank you, Sunaina.

A few weeks ago, I was Skyping with that non-traveling boy I mentioned several entries back, when he asked me what I would be doing for the rest of the year. “You know,” he clarified, “if you don’t come here.”

“Crying in my room,” I joked, assuming that I would never have to find out. (If you’ve already read the entry I just linked, you obviously know I did. If you haven’t, go read it – here’s the link again!)

To be sure, I’ve spent a fair few nights crying in my room since homeboy and I said goodbye for the last time more than a month ago. But the fact is that before he stumbled into my life one night in early March, I had always mentally reserved the month of June for a return to Southeast Asia, and in particular Bangkok, a city regular readers will know I consider my spiritual home.

My teeth are the primary reason I'm on my way back to Thailand today

Although, as my spiritual home, Bangkok is a city that could draw me back at any time of year, as frequently as I could afford to travel there, my primary reason for wanting to return now is actually quite a boring one: My teeth (One of the many reasons I travel to Thailand as often as I do, you might remember, is because of cheap, high-quality dental care) are still pretty fucked.

My love affair with sweet, delicious Thai iced tea would make my dentist cringe

In fact, a lot of my reasons for returning to Bangkok at this particular moment are practical in nature. I wear contact lenses, for example, and since you can buy contacts dirty-cheap at most SkyTrain stations in central Bangkok, I typically just stock up on a year’s supply whenever I visit.

OMG shoes! I don't love Converse, but the bevy of cheap consumer goods in Thailand is a deciding factor in me heading back right now

Likewise, I need new iPhone accessories, Havaianas flip-flop and sexy underwear, to name just a few items I’ll be stocking up on. I would just as soon buy fakes in Thailand – which are, in many cases, higher quality than the authentic items – than pay full price here in the U.S.

The contrast between ancient and modern in Bangkok is enough to draw me back on its own

But my return to Bangkok is not just about counterfeit consumer goods, cheap massages and all the Thai Iced Tea I can drink. I’ll also be meeting some fellow travel bloggers! The wonderful Jason, aka Hiatus4Life, arrives in Bangkok just a few days before I do. I’m also itching to meet Backpacker Becki, although I may have to take a quick excursion to Chiang Mai to do that.

Another delightful contrast in Bangkok is that between nature and civilization

If all goes as planned at the dentist – I believe I just need a few fillings, and no new root canals – I’ll only be staying in Bangkok for six days, before flying to Sri Lanka for two weeks to take a trip I had booked and paid for last year, but had to cancel on account of AirAsia canceling their Bangkok-Colombo route at the last minute.

Once I’m finished in Sri Lanka, I’ll make a one-day pit stop back in Thailand’s City of Angels, before heading back to the U.S. to see my family in St. Louis, then rest in Austin a few weeks before heading over the other ocean for six weeks in Europe and The Middle East.

I look forward to being on the road again and, of course, to providing you all with awesome stories and images all along the way. Speaking of which, they just called boarding for my flight. See you in Thailand!

I’ve always been a sucker for a great sunset, but it wasn’t until a few years ago, when I came upon an incredible quote, that I began to consider this seemingly ordinary phenomenon as the magnificent gift it is.

All of us saw the sun rise today, but not all of us will see it set

Traveling around the world for the past half-decade has, not surprisingly, afforded me the opportunity to see some amazing sunsets. So, as the sun gets ready to set on this chapter of my being at home – I will depart on my next trip, which will take me to Thailand and Sri Lanka, on Monday – I thought I would be extremely literal, and do a post on the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen.

Which one is your favorite?

Mui Ne, Vietnam

Vietnam was the first country I visited after becoming location-independent back in 2010. In fact, I took this photo, which depicts a strange blue twilight in the even stranger coastal town of Mui Ne, less than a week after I took the biggest leap of my life.

Beirut, Lebanon

I spent my first couple months post-”real life” in Southeast Asia, then fulfilled the first of many big travel goals I had: Visiting the Middle East. Continuing with the theme of firsts, I snapped the beautiful sunset photo my first night in the region, in Beirut, Lebanon.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro is consistently ranked among the most beautiful cities in the world, so I don’t have to say a lot about this sunset photo, which I took on Ipanema Beach when I visited Brazil in April 2011.

Akko, Israel

During my second trip to Israel in late 2011, I reunited with Assaf, an Israeli I’d met in Perú’s Sacred Valley earlier that year. One of the many places he took me was the coastal town of Akko, located in the north of Israel, where this incredible sunset picture was taken.

Nile River, Egypt

From Israel I crossed into Egypt, and fulfilled another major travel goal of mine: Riding a “felucca” up the Nile river. The incredible sunset I enjoyed from the deck of the traditional sailboat is one of my top travel highlights ever.

Yulara, Australia

The star attraction of Australia’s dusty red center is technically Uluru, which is also known as Ayers Rock, but my favorite sunset from the week I spent in the Outback was actually over Kata Tjuta, a lesser-known (but, in my opinion, even more spectacular) geological formation.

Bergen, Norway

My favorite thing about this sunset photo from the incredible city of Bergen, Norway is the fact that it was nearly midnight when I snapped it.

Rome, Italy

While in Italy last summer, I made the acquaintance of a sweet boy named Leonardo, who took me up to Villa Dora Pamphili, the highest point in Rome. This was not only a nice place to enjoy a little bacio, but to watch the sun set over the Vatican.

Koh Mook, Thailand

Last fall, you might remember, I became the proudest big brother in the world, after flying my sister Stephanie to Thailand, which was her first overseas trip. This was the second-to-last sunset was enjoyed together, on Koh Mook island in the Andaman Sea.

Cape Town, South Africa

My first full day in Cape Town, South Africa this past January was crazy. I walked five miles along the coast, did yoga on the beach and scaled Lion’s Head, a massive butte that rises over the city, all before nightfall, which made this incredible sunset from the peak of the mountain all the more satisfying.

Many people associate a holiday with the sun but give me snow any day! A tan might look good but an adventure in the white stuff leaves you feeling exhilarated, and that sense of wellbeing usually lasts a lot longer than your new skin tone. Here I give you my top five winter activity holidays guaranteed to give your endorphin levels a wintery boost.

1. Winter Walking – Ok, let’s start at the easy end of the spectrum with something that might not get the adrenaline pumping but is sure to leave your spirit, mind and lungs cleansed. Simply walking through the mountain scenery of Switzerland (Kandersteg, for instance, is simply stunning), France or Italy is a great way to spend a week of your life.

It gives people without the ability or inclination to ski a chance to experience that pristine Alpine air and sense of freedom that the mountains bring. No specialist training or equipment is needed and yet you can still enjoy that feeling of being amongst the clouds. You can even don some snowshoes and go on more adventurous guided treks if you’re feeling daring. This is a peaceful yet physically demanding holiday that is sure to leave you glowing for weeks.

2. Cross Country Skiing – Stepping it up a little you have cross country skiing, a sport with tremendous physical benefits that is also very easy to get to grips with.

The Swiss Alps is a wonderful place to go cross country skiing and again Kandersteg is a great place to start. The town was first documented back in 1352 and gives access and views to some huge peaks, such as the colossal 4,478m Matterhorn. The brooding majesty of the mountains brings a certain sense of perspective to life whilst the physical exertion gives you plenty of reason to enjoy the odd glass of wine or two in the evening, not to mention a cheese fondue or two.

3. Dog Sledding – Dog sledding is fun, pure and simple. Canine power has helped humankind out for at least 1,000 years and the dogs themselves – usually Siberian Huskies – revel in the task and clearly enjoy the physical workout. The endurance of the animals is astounding and whilst unlikely to be tested during a recreational jaunt, one can’t help but respect these beautiful beasts. Hurtling through snow-covered forests at around 20km per hour surrounded by jagged peaks, skirting round frozen lakes, all under the power of the dogs is a rare thrill and one not to be missed.

4. Snowmobiling – Dogs are good but humanity may have topped nature with the creation of the snowmobile. White knuckles, adrenaline and broad, beaming grins are guaranteed with these powerful machines. The stunning scenery flies by as you ascend and descend seemingly impossibly steep mountains with ease and I challenge anyone not to enjoy this. Snowmobiling can be done in most winter resorts nowadays but Norway’s undiscovered gem Geilo takes some beating.

5. Reindeer Safaris – Going back to animal power and, like the two previous activities, a reindeer safari is a sure fire family pleaser, a certainty to be a hit with children and adults alike. It is another activity for which Geilo caters very well, although it can also be undertaken in Lapland for those who want to try and spot the Northern Lights (or Father Christmas!).

You will learn about the history of how human have used reindeers for transport, as well as a little about herding and preparing the animals. The highlight, of course, is the ride itself. Taken at a more sedate pace than on a snowmobile you get a real sense of tranquillity and the winter wilderness as you explore the snowy expanse. This exquisite adventure comes highly recommended.

In less than a week, I’ll be departing for my next trip, which will take me to Thailand and Sri Lanka for approximately a month. With each trip I take, the usual logistical BS of preparing to head out on the road – namely, packing – stresses me out less and less, to the point where I can usually take care of most of it the night before, if not the day of.

But the more I travel, the more intent I become not just going getting to my destination (and coming back!) alive, but on traveling in my best shape, physically, mentally, spiritually and financially. I’ve even give a name to my method of preparation: “Trip Training.”

Diet and Exercise

The more intense your pre-trip workouts, the better your endurance will be on the road

I like to hike, bike and generally move without the use of gas-powered transport whenever possible, so it is essential for me to be in tip-top shape when I’m on the road. Since I get around exclusively by bicycle here in Austin, to the tune of 5-10 miles per day, I have a pretty sizable advantage from the get-go.

RE: eating, do as I say, not as I do

Active travel requires not only physical strength, but a well-nourished body. That’s why another pillar of my Travel Training is eating a very healthy diet (lean proteins, whole grains, leafy, green veggies and fresh fruit) as far in advance of each trip as I can, usually at least two weeks. I also do my best to limit drinking and consumption of other libations before I head out on the road.

Mind and Spirit

My favorite thing about yoga is that you can take it everywhere – in your town, or in Cape Town!

Staying fit in advance of travel isn’t only great because of the way it makes you feel (and look, which I’ll talk more about in a minute), but because it literally makes you happier – exercise increases levels of serotonin, the brain chemical that controls happiness. Even if you aren’t an active traveler, you might want to think about including a daily jog or bike ride in your pre-travel routine.

Even if yoga isn't your thing, devoting time to relaxation is essential to being mentally prepared for your trip

Another great way to marry physical, mental and spiritual fitness is to practice yoga before a trip. Yoga is not only awesome because it’s a great workout, and because you can do it anywhere, but because it teaches you, via meditation and breathing, to live in the moment and experience every place you travel as fully as possible.

Fashion and Beauty

My travel tank top collection

Whether you walk, run, bike or do yoga, and no matter which dietary model you adhere to before you set off on your next trip, the benefits of working out and eating healthily aren’t just health-related. The more you exercise and the better you eat, the better you’re going to look! And the shape your body in is just the beginning of looking your best when you travel.

OMG shoes!

I, for example, like to get a nice haircut before trip, and also to enjoy some time out in the sun, particularly if I’m going someplace where hot weather will have me baring a lot of skin. Which gets me to the next way I prepare: By investing a certain amount in a travel wardrobe, but not too much. I like to keep it simple – sleeveless shirts, tees and plimsoll sneakers are my clothing of choice.

Money, Money, Money!

Get in the habit of saving your pennies before you get on the road

One reason I usually have some cash left over for clothes and shoes in advance of a trip is because of how much I save shopping at the grocery story, not drinking and using free things like outdoor exercise to occupy my time. But the other reason is that I use the weeks and days leading up to my next departure date to practice – again, with the exception of clothing – being frugal.

The ways most travelers waste money, after all, is not on large expenses like plane tickets and lodging, but byfailing to keep their daily spending in check. If you’re traveling for a month, for example, reigning in just $20 per day in spending will save you $600 over the course of your trip, which might just pay for your plane ticket.

But enough about me – how do you prepare prior to going on a trip?

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, which is technically a day that honors the memory of fallen soldiers. In practice, however, it is merely a license for desk jockeys, day laborers and most of the rest of productive society to stuff their stomachs with barbecue, fill their bladders with fermented poison and generally be lazy and worthless.

If I sound spiteful, it’s ironic: This is exactly the sort of hedonism I long for when I’m on the road.

Well, not exactly. I prefer hot baths alone to poolside gatherings with groups of strangers; I’ll take happy hour with a close friend over a free-for-all keg party any day. But the point is that, after a certain number of days, weeks or months of traveling, “normal” becomes novel to me.

This conclusion seems logical and understandable enough, until I place it into the context of a more mainstream one: That travel is an inherently escapist pursuit.

To play devil’s advocate for a moment, I have taken many trips for the explicit purpose of escaping the circumstances of my life. Most notably, I moved to China four years ago as much because I genuinely wanted to pursue a different path in life as I did because I was broke and out of options here.

But the more I travel, the less I see the life I leave behind as my real one.

I mean, as much as I enjoy licking the salt off a sweaty margarita glass, I am much more prone to epiphanies, understanding and moments of pause while running for my life through the South American jungle or dry heaving into a Burmese toilet than I am while bitching abouttraffic, weather or bills at my local not-really-Mexican restaurant.

And yet, whether I’m hiking thousands of feet above the ground, watching the moon rise over a virgin beach or narrowly escaping the camera-crushing fist of an infamous street hustler, my visions of margaritas and chile con queso disrupt my dorm- or tent-bed sleep much more consistently than dreams of wanderlust in my low-riding IKEA platform model in Austin.

Home is, in many ways, a place I escape to rather than from, an augmented reality where overstimulation makes it easy not to listen to my heart and the voice(s) inside my head, where ruminations on the meaning of life take a backseat to shit-talking shit talkers who may or may not actually be talking shit as they stare at me from across a particular bar, pool or city street.

I liken my perspective on travel to my perspective on smoking weed. While the majority of people see marijuana as an opportunity to relax, let go and get stupid, the herb causes me to ascend (descend?) to a level of consciousness that is almost uncomfortable in its realness, a state of being that makes me a bit too aware of the larger truths of the world. Mortality, for example.

The reason I’m writing about this topic now is that, as I’ve mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, I’ll be embarking on my next trip soon. This follows a period of three months spent, with the exception of a romantic excursion to California, entirely in Austin, my longest contiguous stint “at home” in more than two years.

As is usually the case in the run-up to a trip, I’m battling mixed emotions. Although hopping a flight over the Pacific is an in line with my vie quotidienne as drunken holiday cookouts are for my fellow pool-partygoers, there is a dull trepidation lurking just behind my mind, and I know it won’t disappear until the moment I take my seat on the plane.

It’s a worry I know, at this stage in the game, is completely unfounded: That I might somehow “miss” something while I’m gone, the comfort of my jersey pillowcase notwithstanding. It is the fear not that I am trying to escape my life, but that by venturing out into the world in search of greater truths, something about life might escape me.

And yet I feel an equal but opposite sense of relief, knowing that my departure is imminent and that, by the time my four weeks in Thailand and Sri Lanka have passed, I will once again begin fetishizing familiarity. I travel not to flee the heathens clanking Corona bottles around me, but so that I might, the next time the entire country shuts down, clank with them in solidarity.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me San Francisco was his or her favorite city in the United States, I could retire comfortably, like, yesterday. The backdrop to ubiquitous 90′s sitcom Full House, San Francisco’s image in popular culture is just as overwhelmingly positive as its reputation among travelers.

I took my fifth trip to the fabled “City by the Bay” a few weeks ago, and I was shocked, upon arriving to the boarding gate for my flight back to Austin, how relieved I felt to be leaving, the personal circumstances of said trip notwithstanding: I kind of hate San Francisco.

Here’s why!

1. The novelty wears off quickly

Hills, row houses and the Golden Gate Bridge, oh my! Part of why I loved San Francisco so much the first time I visited, back in 2004, is because I felt so excited to see iconic sights such as these in flesh after years of having only experienced them via the ether. After a few trips, however, the charm I feel upon hopping onto a street car is no match for the shade the driver throws on me when I ask him to make change for a $5.

2. San Franciscans are rude and snobby

And in San Francisco, bad attitudes among public employees are just the beginning. Nearly everyone I’ve encountered in San Francisco has had some kind of chip on his or her shoulder, from waitresses, to Airbnb hosts, to random people I’ve met on the streets and asked for information. Remember that South Park episode RE: Prius-driving San Franciscans getting high on their own farts? It basically sums up my feelings on the matter.

3. It’s too cold!

With an average yearly temperature of just 59ºF (15ºC), San Francisco is just too fucking cold for me, which says nothing of the perpetual fog, lack of sunshine and cool breezes that tend to blow through. Yes, I know that San Francisco has “micro-climates,” that Oakland and Berkeley are warmer and that the cold is part of the experience. Whatever. Bite me.

4. It’s too expensive!

Pricing data for San Francisco isn’t as readily available as climate data, so in this instance I’m going to have to rely on anecdote, rather than hard facts. But whether you’re being sassed by a spiky-haired waitress at a pretentious breakfast joint, taking a scummy public bus across town or being levied a surcharge for an extra person in your Airbnb apartment, you’re going to pay significantly more than you would anywhere else in the U.S., a premium that may or may not actually be worth it.

5. San Francisco has a major homeless problem

I am not a classist person, and I don’t have an inherent problem with the homeless. But in many areas of San Francisco (I would actually argue most areas) there are more homeless than non-homeless. Now, I’m not sure if that’s to do with San Francisco’s consistent (if cold) climate, freeloader-catering public policy or some other factor of which I’m not aware. But if I’m going to pay $16 for a half-assed eggs benedict, I don’t wanna watch someone shit in public while eating it.

6. The rest of Northern California is much more pleasant

Whether you cross the Golden Gate to Sausalito, head south to bohemian Santa Cruz or drive inland to the Napa Valley, Northern California is a veritable paradise for travelers, which says nothing for the rest of the Golden State. If San Francisco were located in, say, Oklahoma, or South Carolina, I would probably like it more, because it would be the best thing around by a long shot. But part of why I find myself hating San Francisco, the more I travel there, is that it’s really not all that RE: California.

7. The personal circumstances of my last trip to San Francisco

Remember how I shrugged off the circumstances of my recent trip to San Francisco in the intro to this article? Well yeah, I can’t really shrug them off – San Francisco is where I said goodbye to the Australian boy I fell madly in love with when he was passing through Austin, a relationship whose cosmically-tragic unraveling I lamented in a recent blog post. I will forever associate the cold, expensive, homeless-infested streets of San Francisco with the fact that I may never see him again.

When I first began traveling, one of the things I found most difficult was learning how to compare credit cards for travel rewards, to determine which ones provided the best rates, perks and, of course, potential for earning free travel. This has gotten easier over the years, considering how much I’ve traveled, but it can still be a daunting task.

Choosing the best credit card rewards card for you depends on your travel preferences, your spending habits and several other factors that are specific to you. Continue reading to learn more about how to make the right decision and start earning today, no matter which type of traveler you are.

Airline Credit Cards

Some travel rewards credit cards are issued by a specific airline, while others are issued by banks and may be redeemed for travel on any airline. Deciding which of these types of travel credit cards to get is an important decision, and one you should make early on.

If you tend to fly the same airline or airline alliance, choosing an airline rewards credit card not only allows you to earn miles for travel on that airline, but also some other perks I’ll discuss later. If you fly different airlines each time you travel, it’s best to select a travel rewards credit card from a bank.

Credit Card Rates and Fees

No matter how high or low your credit score, most travel credit cards assess an annual fee for membership, as well as an annual percentage rate (APR) that may be higher than the rest of your credit cards.

Since it is difficult to estimate what your APR might be before you’re approved for a particular travel rewards credit card, it is best to make your decision based on how high or low a given card’s annual fee is. If the fee you’ll have isn’t commensurate with the rewards you expect to reap, the card is probably not best for you.

Perks and Promotions

Generally speaking, airline rewards credit cards accrue miles for every purchase made, to the tune of one mile per dollar, pound or euro. One advantage of choosing an airline credit card is that travel-related purchases may accrue mileage at an accelerated rate, sometimes double or triple.

Other perks may exist for using certain travel credit cards. For example, your airline may offer you priority boarding or security if you carry its credit card. Alternatively, your bank may issue you a dining or hotel coupon for use in conjunction with the travel rewards credit card it’s issued to you.

Last week, I happened upon a delightful blog post called “Date a Boy Who Travels.” The post, which I later learned was in response to a similar one published last year, is a whimsical instruction manual that lays out how – and why – to date boys who travel.

I loved this article for many reasons, but most of all because it provides a perspective on boys who travel I’ve never really gotten, always being the boy who travels, never the one who dates him.

When you see something beautiful, he will hold your hand in silence, in awe of the history of where his feet stand, and the fact that you’re with him. He will live in every moment with you, because this is how he lives his life.

My most recent stint as the traveling-boy-you-date illustrates the poetry and the romance of the passage I’ve quoted above, but also the existential rift that separates those who travel from those who usually don’t. (Although for full disclosure, I met my boy-who-doesn’t-usually-travel when he was passing through Austin as part of a trip, and I was on a break between two of mine.)

There was beauty, silence and awe. We spent one afternoon lying in each other’s arms on a park bench, daydreaming about what a life together might look like, and as the scent of Jacaranda blew over us, I felt oddly more satisfied than I had just weeks before, upon scaling the highest waterfall in Africa.

There was hand-holding and history, too. We strolled down the boulevards, bike lanes and alleys of my city, and as I explained the significance of buildings, intersections and the way he looked at me, I wasn’t just narrating the story of who I was before I left it all to travel – we were writing our own.

There was the fact that I was with him, and living in every moment with him. We marveled at the fuchsia trail the sun left in its wake the evening we said goodbye, and I felt more resolve in a single moment of kissing him than I have circling the globe half a dozen times. By the time we parted just minutes later, it was as if a blissful eternity had passed.

But there was also a fundamental dissonance: His “real life” was constrained by geography, circumstance and the notion of the absolute; the sky was the only limit to mine. When we met again before he left the States, there was enough beauty, hand-holding, silence, awe, and living right in the present moment to write the greatest love story ever told, but there was also an airplane waiting for him.

And although we had agreed, in terms that seemed certain to me, that I would soon follow him over the Pacific, his real life, his real job and his increasingly fixed view of reality itself soon rendered them uncertain. The longer we spent apart, the greater the distance between us seemed to grow, and the more impossible it became for him to believe that we could ever be together again.

This is not to say there weren’t real difficulties that might’ve eventually led to the destruction of our relationship, had we decided to pursue one. But the arguments we had, the differences in our perspectives and the thousands of miles that may separate us for the rest of our lives weren’t causes – they were symptoms.

A corporate sector employee, he was more paranoid that his privacy would be compromised when I blogged about him than he was flattered by the fact that I had taken the time to immortalize our story. I live in a world where the line between “public” and “private” is blurred, so I couldn’t empathize with him, even if I did write about him without using his name or any identifying details.

Flying over the ocean is just as within the realm of “normal” for me as going to happy hour or buying groceries is for him, so I couldn’t fathom there being anything to lose in test-driving life together – if it didn’t work out, I would simply leave. But it was easier for him to indulge fear than to entertain hope, so he pulled the plug, and that was that.

So please, date a boy who travels. Trust him to lead you down the right road when you take his hand. Know that when he speaks of your beauty, he’s comparing you to continents, seas and civilizations, not to other boys or girls. Believe him if he tells you you’re everything he’s been searching for.

But understand that conventional wisdom is not conventional or wise to him. Realize that although he disappears behind the boundaries of what you consider to be real when you fly home, the mountains, oceans and political borders between you are no match for his heart and his will. He can’t comprehend letting logistics get in the way of love, because this is not how he lives his life.

Like many travelers, I was shocked and amazed – in the worst possible way – upon arriving to Bali for the first time last year. Where were the picturesque beaches, the relics of migratory Hinduism and the laid-back vibe that drew millions of annual tourists here in the first place?

And, more importantly, where the fuck was Julia Roberts’ cute villa? (I was in search of her sexy Brazilian man, too, but let’s be realistic here.)

The Bali you encounter when you first arrive at Denpasar International Airport couldn’t be further from the one depicted in “Eat, Pray, Love,” from steel-grey waters and trash-covered beaches in Kuta, to the disproportionate numbers of foreigners in could-be-charming places like Seminyak, to the blatant commercialism that has nearly wiped out the semblance of anything local around the island.

The good news is that bits and pieces of Julia Roberts’ Bali are within your reach. Today I’m going to talk about my favorite of them, the Ubud region, which is home to the lush rice terraces, hindu temples and the gives you the opportunity to get up-close and personal with monkeys.

Many Hindu temples sit between the tourist areas of Bali and Ubud, although they are wracked by the influence of modern civilization

The Tegalagang Rice Terraces are a good balance of accessible and picturesque, although more and less scenic rice terraces do exist in Ubud

Friendly locals will try and hustle money out of you in exchange for tours

But it's perfectly easy to walk through the terraces on your own

Once you finished exploring the terraces, sit down for a nice drink or meal – but be prepared to pay for it

After you leave the terraces, visit the Sacred Monkey temple – you'll be in good company

If you're patient and pay attention, you can get a glimpse at more intimate moments the crowds may miss

The Sacred Monkey forest is also home to trees of a pretty sacred variety

If you’ve ever traveled to a country in Southeast Asia, I imagine you’ve seen the phrase “Death for Drugs” (or some variation of it) on an arrival card. I also imagine you have never actually visualized how this situation might play out, in real life.

A fellow passenger on a flight back to US last October made sure that I did. We’d just finished discussing our mutual love for Singapore, when the conversation took a sinister turn.

“If the dogs smell something on you,” he said, with an odd half-smile on his face, “you’re as good as dead. The police won’t even take you to jail – it’s a representative from the casket company, who will make you pick out your final resting place on the way.

“My friend who lives in Singapore has an apartment near the jail,” he continued, “and the sobs of people on death row every Thursday night – they execute you the first Friday after you’re jailed – is almost unbearable.”

Although I would never considering bringing illegal substances into any foreign country, the idea that simply having enough residue of something-or-other on your person or luggage to be sniffed out by a drug dog could result in your execution sent shivers through me. (You no doubt remember my incident with marijuana in Switzerland.)

I fell asleep – and, as you might imagine, had nightmares – soon after he finished his tale, which has left me with more than half a year to ponder the extent to which it is true. Today, it finally dawned on me that I should stop pondering, and start researching, so without further ado, here’s the lowdown on drug laws in Southeast Asia.

The Truth About “Death for Drugs” in Southeast Asia

The man, as it turns out, had been exaggerating a bit: You won’t get executed for having traces of drugs on your luggage upon entering Singapore. The 400 people who’ve been hanged in Singapore on drug charges in the past two decades were trafficking drugs – in other words, transporting large quantities of drugs over the border with the purpose of disseminating them.

The death penalty is also imposed on drug traffickers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, while Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines favor fines, prison time or a combination thereof.

Drug users are punished in most instances as well, and although penalties are generally less severe, it is unlikely to be involved in drugs in Southeast Asia without spending some time in prison and paying a hefty fine.

Learn more about drug laws in Southeast Asia here.

“Happy” Food and Drinks in Southeast Asia

By now, you probably get that you shouldn’t smuggle drugs into Southeast Asian countries, but it also isn’t a good idea to buy and consume them there. And you will have plenty of opportunities to do so: If someone offers you “happy” pizza, a happy milkshake or any other sort of emotive food or drink, politely decline it.

Likewise, and this should go without saying, but you should avoid purchasing raw drugs on the streets while traveling in Asia. More than the vendors of happy food and drinks, “drug dealers” in Asia often work in close proximity with local law enforcement, or in the best case unwittingly under their surveillance.

For many people, Cartagena, Colombia first appeared on the radar at the 2012 Summit of the Americas, when then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made headlines for dancing and drinking at a local bar called Cafe Havana.

Although I traveled to Cartagena just weeks after the event – and although I am, for what it’s worth, a huge fan of Hillary – I didn’t make a point of visiting Cafe Havana and retracing Clinton’s footsteps.

I did have just as great a time as Hillary did in Cartagena, however, and that’s what this article is all about – how to see the best Cartagena, Colombia has to offer in just three days.

Day 1: The Walled City and the Castle

Looking down one of Cartagena's picturesque streets

Although the Cartagena metro area is huge, both in population and in land area, the portion of the city with which most travelers are concerned – a walled portion of the city, dating back to the 16th century – is very small.

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas

The good news, if you’re a backpacker, is that all of Cartagena’s popular hostels are located within this part of the city, which makes exploring it extremely easy, whether you do it by day, strolling down bougainvillea-line streets and dining at charming cevicherías, or walk up onto the wall itself in the evening, and use it as a vantage point for watching sunset.

Night sets in from Cartagena's old city walls

The old city is chock full of history – tip: hire one of the official tourist guides near Cartagena’s Clock Tower gate for a half-day walk that feels like a documentary – which is why I recommend capping off the day you devote to exploring it with a visit to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which was commissioned by the Spanish crown and took over 100 years to build.

Day 2: Totumo Volcano and Evening Entertainment

The top of Totumo Volcano

Take in an evening dance performance

Whether you hire a car to get to the volcano, or go on an organized tour with your hotel and hostel, make sure and get back to the city before sunset so you can enjoy a local song and dance performance by the Clock Tower gate. Then, if you’re not too tired from a long day in the sun, head to Cafe del Mar at the northwestern corner of the old city walls to enjoy sunset drinks.

Day 3: Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca – the inspiration for Leave Your Daily Hell's current design!

Enjoy some delicious fresh fruit as you stroll through old Cartagena

An alternative beach option if you have more time – and money – is to head to San Andrés island, which is accessible by plane or a very long boat ride. Because of the distance and cost associated in getting there, however, you should set aside at least a few days if you plan to visit the island.

It’s almost summer in Las Vegas, and luckily for us cheap travelers, some of the summer Vegas discounts have already started. With the world famous Las Vegas pool parties and nightlife venues, summer is by far the best time of year for visiting Sin City.

By now, people have had time to work on those swim trunk and bikini bodies, and since pool parties have started for this year, an inside source says the crowds have never looked hotter. Many of the Vegas hotels have already begun offering Las Vegas discounts for summer 2013, and it’s time to get on them before they’re gone.

We hope you’ve been working on that bikini body (or swim trunks fellas, because no matter what the ladies say, it does matter), because these deals will leave you poolside in Vegas. Here are the top Las Vegas Deals of summer 2013:

1. Escape into Summer Savings at the Mirage with this Vegas deal:

Some May showers may have been putting off travel plans around the country, but Las Vegas is as hot as ever and Vegas deals and hotel discounts only seem to be getting better! The Las Vegas Mirage is offering rooms from $75 per night for a summer escape which includes 25% off at the Cravings Buffet, Buy 1 get 1 free for the Private Oasis Sun, and $3 savings on entry to the Dolphin Habitat and Secret Garden!

2. MGM Grand VIP Suite Promo Offers:

With 20% savings on the MGM Grand hotel suites, rooms start at $80 per night using this Las Vegas promo code. With all of these savings, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to afford to party at Wet Republic at MGM Grand, one of the hottest Las Vegas pool parties around.

Here are some of the can’t miss Vegas pool party events at MGM Grand Wet Republic this summer:

• Calvin Harris on June 22nd at Wet Republic
• Vegas pool party with Tiesto at Wet Republic on June 23rd
• R3Hab at the MGM Grand Las Vegas summer pool party on June 29th
• Aoki at Wet Republic Vegas pool party on Sunday June 30th

3. Two Free Buffets at the Aria Hotel in Vegas plus 20% Off Rooms:

While this Vegas deal may not be best for those trying to fit into that mini dress before a night out or are going to be rocking a bikini by the pool, at least all of the money you save on food means you can afford one of the pool parties! With this Vegas promo code, stay at the Aria and get 20% off rooms plus two complimentary buffets if you book by June 24th! Don’t miss social Sundays at Liquid Pool & Lounge with DJ E-Rock for a Las Vegas pool party that puts the sun into Sunday.

4. Book 3 nights and Stay 4 at the Palms Las Vegas Hotel:

With the Las Vegas deal at the Palms, get one night free if you book three nights through 2013! Book before this offer expires on May 31st, 2013! With the money you save on that 4th night, have no regrets about partying at the Palms pool! Here are some can’t miss Vegas summer pool parties at the Palms pool:

• Ditch Friday featuring Jazzy Jeff with Mark Stylz on June 21st, 2013
• Ditch Saturday featuring DHG with PResto One on June 22nd, 2013
• Palms Pool Sunday featuring Presto One on June 23rd, 2013

5. All Inclusive Vegas Package at the Luxor:

Stay at the Luxor through October, 2013 using this Vegas deal and get rooms, show tickets, buffet passes, nightlife entry and more for $249.99 per night! With the all inclusive deal at the Luxor Las Vegas hotel, save big this summer in Vegas.

Take a look at the Las Vegas discounts page on WeDoItAllVegas.com to access these and other Las Vegas deals and promo codes.

This article was written by Ariel Abbott, Editor of WeDoItAllVegas.com.

So, I talked some shit and named some names yesterday. It was a bit of a low blow, to be sure, and I apologize for broadcasting my message from such a judgmental, self-righteous soapbox.

One of the less put-off commenters noted that I should’ve focused more on the issues at hand in the article with which I took exception, and less on how obnoxious its author was in articulating his perspective, so that’s what I’m going to do today.

To me, the true problem with Ash Clark’s article, “Travel in Egypt – Go Fuck Yourself” was not the sensational way in which it was written, or even how it illustrates, as I argued yesterday, that public trust in travel bloggers is often misplaced. It’s Clark’s assumption: That foreigners who travel to Egypt have a right to be treated a certain way.

Do I believe that Western women who visit Egypt, regardless of their perceived sex appeal, deserve to be harassed, groped or even assaulted? Absolutely not.  But if you’re female, and you travel to a Muslim country whose rate of violence against women is among the highest in the world, a country that may or may not be on the brink of civil war, what else do you expect?

Even if you never plan to travel to Egypt, regardless of your gender, there is a more universal matter at hand here – the attitude with which foreigners, particularly Western ones, travel the world. It is an entitled attitude, and it is an ignorant one. The laws of your home country don’t apply when you cross the border into another, so why do you assume that any of your other preconceived notions should?

I make this characterization of Westerner travelers having repeatedly exemplified it. I mentioned my article about Bali yesterday, but there was also that one about the first time I visited Israel. As rational as my reasons for expecting to be treated well may have been, it was foolish of me to expect a carpet rolled out for me when I had recently visited a country with which Israel is officially at war.

I shouldn’t have been on such a high horse when I posted what I did yesterday because as dozens, or maybe even hundreds of my articles prove, I am ultimately just as guilty of everything substantive I disliked about Ash Clark’s post as he is – and, as I’ve seen time and time again, the vast majority of we travelers-from-first-world countries are.

The real question, apologies once again to you Mr. Clark for having been such an asshole, is not who has the authority to articulate his opinions, and how he should do so.

It’s more fundamental than that: How can we travel with as few expectations as possible and articulating our disappointments without entitlement or ignorance, in a way that actually has the potential to change the reasons underlying them?

Lately, I’ve been through some difficult emotional times. I was embroiled in an intense long-distance relationship, which has consumed most of my resources for the past couple months. Notice I said “was” – it’s over, and I’ll be writing about that at greater length in just a couple weeks.

I’ve been down in the dumps and down on myself, but I’m finally getting back to where I was before I met this person – which, oh yeah, was traveling the world for a living!

Today’s photo essay doesn’t have an underlying narrative or intent. It’s simply a celebration of travel, using eight of my favorite travel photos to illustrate how incredible and diverse our planet is. Enjoy!

Rome, Italy

Sharm el-Shiekh, Egypt

Medellín, Colombia

Yanque, Perú

Bangkok, Thailand

Hogsback, South Africa

Sydney, Australia

Vang Vieng, Laos

I’m a bit of snob when it comes to travel photography. Not because I believe my travel photography is objectively better than anyone else’s, mind you, but because I believe that travel photographers should always prioritize detail, nuance and quality in the images they capture.

Enter the iPhone. On the surface, it’s a travel photographer’s dream – small, lightweight and point-and-shoot. Sure, it’s low quality, but it’s got a bevy of filters, editors and other features that kind manipulate its photos into looking like they’ve been professionally shot. Well, kind of professional.

And that’s the thing about the iPhone when it comes to travel photography: It’s kind of awesome. But it also kind of sucks! Unless something groundbreaking changes RE: iPhone design, you will never see an iPhone photograph on Leave Your Daily Hell, and here’s why.

Technical Limits of the iPhone Camera

Although the iPhone 5 has the most sophisticated iPhone camera thus far – the cameras on the iPhones 4S, 4, 3Gs and (shudder) 3G  are much, much less capable – I’m going to analyze the tech specs of the iPhone 5 camera, for argument’s sake.

The iPhone’s camera resolution is a mere 8 megapixels, which is less than that of the $200 point-and-shoot I was using circa 2007. The clearness of the iPhone’s shots suffers even more when you attempt to zoom, which results in hugely pixellated captures.

Another major disadvantage of the iPhone camera – which also, to be fair, applies to non-smartphone point-and-shoot cameras – is that it isn’t particularly tactile. Every element of control you have over a shot relates to a button on the screen or, worse, a post-processing technique. Your physical connectedness to the act of photography is several hampered when you use an iPhone as a camera.

Advantages of iPhoneography

The obvious main advantage of using the iPhone as a travel camera is how convenient it is. Not only is the iPhone small and lightweight, it’s discreet and always at the ready – it’s easy to sneak an iPhone into places where you “can’t” take photos.

Another advantage of using the iPhone is that what the phone lacks in root technical capabilities, it makes up for with some pretty cool bells and whistles, such as the ability to take panoramas. The iPhone is also capable of HDR, or “high dynamic range” shots, wherein it digitally combines underexposed and overexposed versions of the same picture, to create very dramatic effects.

The iPhone also makes post-processing, from cropping, and correction, to “filters”, a matter of tapping the screen, with apps like Instagram, Hipstamatic and even Photoshop Express for iPhone. The iPhone might not take great travel photos, but you can definitely make its crappy photos look great!

iPhoneography and Travel Blogs

No one knows this better than the Russian tourist who used an iPhone to photograph his stripper-looking girlfriend in exotic locales around the world. But this example notwithstanding, is the iPhone really appropriate as a means of documenting round-the-world journeys followed by thousands or even millions of readers?

When I see fellow travel bloggers posting iPhone photos to their personal photos or fan pages, it kind of makes me cringe. With the continuing death of print media, after all, we’re the “professionals” in this arena. Why would you fly all the way to a remote island, then photograph your amazing seafood dinner with your phone as if you were grabbing pizza down the street?

And that’s another thing: Travel bloggers who practice iPhoneography tends to photograph things that are superfluous. There’s definitely something to be said about the amount of work it takes to haul around a DSLR camera, and to have it at the ready, but each photo that comes from putting in this work is worth 1,000 iPhone photos.

Do You Use the iPhone as a Travel Camera?

I’m an opinionated person, but I’m also a person who loves to be proven wrong. Do you use the iPhone as a camera when you travel? And if so, have you ever taken amazing snaps with it? Leave a comment and put your two cents into this debate.

I’m practically a broken record at this point RE: my love for Thailand, so I apologize to those of you who are already as in love with the Land of Smiles as I am. I’m headed back in just a few weeks, however, so I’ve got Thailand on the mind right now.

One of my only problems with Thailand, as I often mention, is that there are simply too many awesome things to do and places to see in Thailand. So, my goal whenever I write about the kingdom is to make it easier for you to find the truly awesome experiences there.

What follows is a list of my seven favorite things to do in Thailand, which may or may not be the “best” things to do there. Do you have any additions or substitutions to make?

1. Play with tigers

Play with tigers of all shapes and sizes

2. Go island hopping

Hop between islands a long tail boat

3. Get your teeth done

Get your teeth done

4. Explore Bangkok

Explore Bangkok, where ancient Siam meets modern Thailand

5. See a ladyboy show

See a ladyboy show

6. Visit Buddhist temples

Visit Buddhist temples, such as Wat Pho in Bangkok

7. Revel in the kitsch

Travel through Thai cities and towns on a tuk tuk

It should go without saying that people who live in a particular area probably know what they’re talking about, but when myself and two Scandinavian travelers were hiking in Colombia’s Parque Tayrona around this time last year, we wanted to hear nothing of the sort.

“They’re just trying to scare us,” Charlotte, a spunky Dane, exclaimed as she led us back behind the campground at Playa San Juan. “We’ll head out over the other side of the mountain.”

I nodded. “Yeah, they probably think we’re fools, like half the other tourists here.”

“Wait a minute,” said Christian, from Sweden, as we began scaling the first of the boulders at the base of the mountain. “What exactly did they say?”

Charlotte was nonchalant. “Well, they just said it would be a bad idea to go this way, but when I asked them to elaborate, they said no.”

“Maybe there’s a scary jungle monster up there,” I laughed, as we continued on our way up the mountain.

None of us wanted to hear the news the locals were giving us – that it wouldn’t be a good idea to take the “back way” out of Tayrona Park – because (a) The back way was much more direct, as least on the map and (b) The mountain was apparently crowned by a charming old pueblito that dated back to precolonial times.

To be sure, although much of the first half of the hike was strenuous – it entailed scaling boulders of various shapes, sizes and slipperiness – it never seemed, for even an instant, that continuing on would be hazardous to our safety, let alone particularly harrowing.

Within just a few hours, in fact, we had reached what we assumed to be the top of the mountain, and were walking through the pueblito ruins we’d been so excited about seeing.

We were also enjoying a much needed rest: Three hours of not-extremely-tiring hiking and climbing had added up to a relatively high level of fatigue.

“The great news,” Charlotte said confidently, as she placed her water bottle back into her backpack, “is that it’s all downhill from here.”

Just then, a thundering crash rang out, seemingly from all corners of the sky at once. Christian and I exchanged worried glances, but our enthusiastic ringleader would have nothing of it.

“We knew it was going to rain today,” she said, and donned her poncho. “And we came prepared!”

The problem was not that it started to rain; it’s that the rain was so torrential that within just a few minutes, it was affecting our visibility.

This would’ve been fine, had it not been for the fact that the rain also soon washed away the distinction between what was actually a hiking path and what was just dirt. The laneways that had previously been trails quickly became flowing rivers of mud, which were as difficult to make sense of as they were to step in and out of.

And so you see, just moments after confidently reaching the peak of the mountain we’d been warned sternly – but, to our credit, nonspecifically – not to ascend, we were quite literally running for our lives through a seemingly endless jungle, without anything but the occasional “## km remaining” sign to guide our way.

As if we weren’t screwed enough, sprinting toward a destination that may or may not have been located in the direction we were moving, we then heard a loud roar coming from somewhere up ahead of us – it seemed, for a moment at least, that my concerns RE: the jungle monster had been well-founded.

The good news? We ran into some friendly jungle children soon after we heard the second roar. The terrible news? They didn’t seem to speak or understand Spanish, at least not our frenzied, gringo Spanish.

Of course, frenzied gringos trapped in the Colombian rainforest during a monsoon downpour can only be in search of one thing – the exit – so they led us for a few minutes until the path-turned-river began a sharp descent we assumed could only have led to the way out.

Obviously, since I am typing this from the safety of my developed-country home now, you know that these children weren’t leading us to the lair of the monster that may or may not have actually existed and that we did eventually reach the exit. (By “eventually,” I mean after nearly three hours of running, at full speed, down the other side of the mountain.)

The kicker is that when we finally got to within .1 km of the exit, we had to literally wade across an actual river, which was nearly waist high and moving extremely fast. I am frankly shocked that none of us got sucked into it.

I’ve never quite felt a sense of relief like the one that came over me when the fifth or sixth collectivo that passed through the shithole town where Parque Tayrona spit us out had space enough to accommodate us all the way back to Santa Marta, the city where the majority of travelers who visit the park stay.

And I will never again ignore the advice of a local person, no matter how vague or veiled in superstition it seems to be.

A couple weeks ago, I felt a burning desire to reconnect with my past, so I headed to the one place that embodies my past life more than anywhere else in the world: Austin’s SoCo on the Lake apartments, which were known as “Riverside Place” when I lived there during prehistoric times.

The RPA, as I fondly grew to call the complex over the course of the three years I lived there, is a conurbation of rotting roach motels that just happens to sit along the most beautiful stretch of Lady Bird Lake: Half the view is the Austin skyline, the other half a sparkling, rippling surface that seems to extend on forever, all shaded by an impossibly lush canopy of trees.

It was the first place I ever called home as an adult; it’s a huge part of the reason my initial apathy toward America’s current “It” city blossomed into a profound love; it’s where I gave my aging childhood dog the best last years I possibly could; it was the backdrop to my early professional experiments, which led me to the conclusion that “real life” was not for me.

And, consequently, it’s where I made the decision to abandon said real life, although I was kicking and screaming all the while.

As I sat on “the” picnic table (there is only one picnic table at Riverside Place, and it is iconic), I looked up onto my former balcony, and the scene replayed.

“How can I leave this behind?” I whimpered to my friend Grace, as I digitally signed the document that would seal my fate RE: moving to China to teach English for a year. “The tree line, the sunrise over the lake, the memories, this fucking view?”

“And the roaches?” she laughed, and rolled her eyes. “The roaches, Robert!

“I mean, and even if they go away – and they won’t,” she continued, without giving me a chance to object, “are you really gonna give up the whole world for this place? It’s beautiful, but you’re gonna miss so much if you stay here.”

As a warm spring breeze blew through my hair, down there on the picnic table nearly four years later, I wondered what the inside of my former one-bedroom looked like – surely, the new tenant hadn’t thought to create a color scheme of neon primary colors.

I then directed my attention toward a pair of trees that had always been the focal point of my attention whenever I sat out on by the lake. They were intertwined; it appeared they’d been growing together for most of their lives.

The juxtaposition of the trees – they were different species, one of which had white bark and the other black – was thought-provoking to say the least. Was it nature’s endorsement of interracial marriage? A metaphor for the necessary, complementary co-existence of light and dark within relationships? Or just a beautiful accident?

I pondered these questions – and, indeed, the person I had been when I lived at a place where I was technically now trespassing – as I meditated there, in a spot where I’d previously sat on no less than a thousand prior occasions. My location wasn’t all that connected that particular moment in my life to the night I signed my teaching contract with the school in China.

A few weeks ago, you might remember, I made the acquaintance of a magical young man from Australia, when he was passing through my city during the SXSW festival. (You might also remember that I flew out to Las Vegas to spend more time with him, and to explore if we might have more than a holiday fling in our future.)

As I sat on the lake taking in the breeze a couple weeks ago, I was under the impression that I would soon be headed to Australia to see this man. It was just as uncertain that anything would come of our rendezvous as it had been that my move to China would launch me into a life of location-independence, but the anticipation, the potential and the tension of both situations seemed similar.

I was practically smug as I stood up from the picnic table and walked back toward my bike, so convinced by the parallels I had drawn with the past – among other seeming certainties I’d deduced – that I didn’t so much as entertain an alternative future for myself. The continuity of tomorrow with yesterday and today was written in the dust of the footprints I’d left behind.

Only when I learned, just a few days ago, that I would not be traveling to Australia to meet this magical young man, did I understand that I’d completely missed the message the water, the tree canopy and the echoes of my long-dead dog’s barks oscillating between blades of grass had been trying to send me.

Having traveled to nearly 50 countries at just 28 years of age, I’m obviously a proponent of traveling young. Perhaps surprisingly (or perhaps not, depending on who you are), I’m the child of parents who have always highly discouraged me from “wasting” my money on travel.

To me, the benefits of traveling in your 20s hugely outweigh the potential disadvantages, although certain risks do exist. But if you’re in your 20s and want to travel – and particularly, if your parents or other loved ones are as discouraging as mine were during my early 20s – this post should prove inspirational to you.

Travel vs. School/Work

The leading factor that dissuades most young people from traveling is a feeling of commitment to school and/or work. This is due as much to underlying assumptions – that shirking “responsibility” (school or work) in favor of “leisure” (travel) is frivolous – as it is to economics: Students and young people who haven’t worked a lot often lack the financial resources to travel!

Some young people, on the other hand, feel the need to “start their careers” before traveling, which gives them a feeling of security, be it illusory of real. There are two problems, generally speaking, with this outlook. The first is that the further into your career you get, the harder it will be to take the time needed to travel extensively. I’ll get to the second in just a moment.

My advice for young people who want to travel is this. Get a job in an industry or sector that is lucrative, but doesn’t require a long-term time commitment. Service industry jobs in restaurants and cafés are great for this, as are classroom jobs teaching English overseas. Or, you could do like I did, and become location-independent!

The Travel Thirst

The second reason “waiting” to travel can be problematic is that, simply put, the more “settled” into your life you get, the less motivated you will be to step outside your comfort zone, including to travel. The so-called “travel thirst” is generally more pronounced among younger people, although exceptions obviously do exist.

Practically speaking, traveling while you most want to travel has many implications. You’ll go to more off-the-beaten-path destinations that you would visit otherwise (say, Myanmar instead of Vietnam or Thailand), do more outlandish things when you get there (how does hiking up the world’s second-highest waterfall sound?) and devote more time to travel than you might do later in life.

Another advantage of traveling while you’re young, and when your travel thirst is strong, has to do with economics – the more you want to travel, the harder you’ll work to finance your travels!

Travel and Physical Fitness

Yet another advantage to traveling in your 20s is that the younger you are, the more fit and energetic you tend to be. Again, I realized that there are exceptions to this rule (as much because of fit older people as because of extremely unfit younger people), but the fact remains that you’re only young once, and young bodies generally travel better than their older counterparts.

Building on what I mentioned in the last section, traveling while fit and energetic will motivate you to complete more physically-demanding activities while traveling, whether you hike, bike, rock climb or even jump off cliffs.

Being fit also affords you more travel stamina, allowing you to travel for longer periods at a time, and also to fit more activities into each day, thus getting the most out of each trip.

Travel as a Child-Free Person

Much has been made of “solo travel” in recent years, particularly on this blog. Of course, I would never knock travel with a friend or romantic partner!

I would also never knock traveling with a child – some of my fellow travel bloggers have practically made this an art – but I do think that traveling before you have children, whether you have a partner or not, is easier than after you have them.

Since people in the 20s are, generally speaking, more likely to be child-free, this is just one of the many advantages that exist to traveling while in your 20s.

Starting in the 13th century, the city of Cusco, in modern-day Perú, was the capital of the Inca Empire. Although Spanish conquistadors erased much of the Inca influence on Cusco when they arrived in 1533, the city nonetheless remains an important regional hub, most notably for foreign tourists who want to visit Machu Picchu, the fabled “Lost City of the Incas.”

Whether you trek the iconic “Inca Trail” to the lost city, or use Cusco as a base for exploring other attractions in the region, Cusco is an absolutely must-visit if you plan to spend any time in Perú – if only for the ceviche on offer at its central market!

Cusco and Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is popular for a reason

Cusco’s main claim to fame is that it sits in close proximity to Machu Picchu, the so-called “Lost City” of the Incas which was actually built more recently than Cusco itself. One of the most popular sights in all of South America, Machu Picchu attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists per year.

When I visited Cusco in March 2011, I traveled to Machu Picchu independently, using a combination of buses, taxis and hiking on foot. This option is the most affordable option for visiting Machu Picchu, but it’s definitely not the most popular one.

The Inca Trail

Take time to greet some of Machu Picchu's permanent residents

Due to concerns over damage or even destruction to the trail, the Peruvian government has limited the number of people who can access the trail each day, which causes it to book up quickly. If you are interested in trekking the Inca trail, you should book as far in advance as possible.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Sacred Valley isn't called that for no reason

The most popular attraction of the Sacred Valley is, without a doubt, the Moray Inca Ruins, which can best be described as a descending ring of concentric circles built into the ground. Its origins are unknown – I assumed, upon walking down into it, that it was some sort of amphitheater – but it’s an absolute marvel to behold.

The Moray Inca Ruins

If you’ve got a whole day to devote to the Sacred Valley (and, for your sake, I hope you do) I recommend taking a bus to the town of Maras, and making the 8-mile trek through the valley to Moray. It’s more than worth it!

Exploring Cusco City

Much of today's Cusco is achingly modern, but it's still a great place to base yourself

You're sure to encounter some friendly faces during a walk through Cusco

Enjoy some delicious ceviche in Cusco's central market

A word of advice, however: Take it easy! Like Machu Picchu itself, Cusco sits at a high enough elevation that it’s very easy to succumb to altitude sickness.

With friendly people, great food, a diverse range of destinations and an extremely low price-point, Thailand is my favorite place in the world to travel. I’ve visited the kingdom on five separate occasions so far, and have plans to return again in a few months (albeit, mostly, for dental work).

If you’re pondering a trip to Thailand, but don’t know where to start – or, end, for that matter – this sample Thailand itinerary is a great place to begin, particularly if you can devote at least two weeks to your trip.

Bangkok

Chaotic Bangkok mixes ancient and modern in the most colorful ways

The Thai capital Bangkok is where you’re almost certain to arrive in Thailand – it’s home to Suvarnabhumi, the country’s largest international airport – and although conventional tourist wisdom says to avoid spending too much time in this huge, congested city, I urge you to consider otherwise.

The Grand Palace is one of Bangkok's top tourist destinations

Cumulatively, I’ve spent over four months in the Thai capital, but you can see the best of Bangkok in just three days if you’ve got time constraints. Experience temples like Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, to vibrant districts like Khao San and Silom, to Bangkok’s glitzy, glamorous shopping malls. And, of course, Bangkok’s trademark urban chaos!

Got a little more time? Check out my article on alternative Bangkok destinations.

Suggested time in Bangkok: 3-5 days

Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand

Chill at at Doi Suthep Temple, in Chiang Mai

Tiger Kingdom near Chiang Mai lets get you get up-close and personal with tigers

Like temples? Doi Suthep sits quite literally in the clouds. Want to get your picture taken with a tiger? You can get up-close and personal with big cats of all sizes in the vicinity of Chiang Mai. What’s best is that you can squeeze all your Chiang Mai activities into a day.

Stark-white Wat Rong Khun temple is located in Chiang Rai

Chiang Mai is the principal city of northern Thailand, but it’s by no means the only place to go. You could head to Chiang Rai, for example, the second-largest city in northern Thailand, or, to scenic Pai, which is nearby a huge national park.

Suggested time in Chiang Mai/Northern Thailand: 3-7 days

The Islands

Enjoy a relaxing swim in the islands

Or, just watch an incredible sunset

Aside from Phuket, popular Thai islands include Koh Samui, Koh Chang and Koh Phagnan, where the famous “Full Moon” parties are held each month. Looking for more idyllic, less crowded beaches? Head to Koh Mak (which is near Koh Chang, of the southeastern coast of Thailand), or Koh Kradan, located a couple hours south of Phuket in the warm, tropical Andaman Sea.

If you have a short amount of time, I suggest you find an island that’s right for you, and camp out there for the duration of your trip. If you’ve got more time and a sense of adventure – long-tail boats are not for the faint of heart! – you might want to spend a few days island hopping.

Suggested time in the islands: 3-7 days

Other Thai Destinations

See an amazing ladyboy show at Tiffany's Show, in Pattaya

You can go west of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi province, for example, and see the iconic River Kwai, huge Buddhas and yes, more tigers! Alternatively, you could head to sex tourism capital Pattaya, even if it’s just to see the ladyboy performance at Tiffany’s Show.

Cambodia and Laos

Have even more time? Travel to a neighboring country! You can travel to Cambodia, for example, by a combination of train and private taxi, and to Laos by train all the way. (And you can use Leave Your Daily Hell’s Cambodia and Laos travel guides to help you once you’re there!)

Have you ever planned a trip to someplace fabulous far in advance and spent months fantasizing about how wonderful it will be once you get there, only to find that even days or weeks seem to pass like grains of sand through an hourglass? If you answered “yes,” I have good news and I have better news.

The good news is that you’re not alone – the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun” wasn’t coined for no reason! But the better news is that even if time does fly when you’re on the road, you don’t have to sit idly by while it does: Simply choose to be “mindful” when you travel.

So, what is mindfulness?

Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of becoming actively aware of both yourself and your surroundings, with the ultimate goal of being totally present in every moment and completely attune with reality at any moment. When you are mindful, greed, hatred – and, most importantly, delusion – evade you.

Mindfulness is an important concept in many Eastern religions, such as in Buddhism, where is it the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path, which leads to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awareness. The goal of mindfulness is to become so aware of your perception of reality that you can actually control it.

Mindfulness is a sort of mental fitness, and like physical fitness activities, it requires constant, disciplined practice. I came upon this YouTube video last week, which not only provides more information about mindfulness and its benefits, but includes a simple exercise to get you started on the path toward mindfulness.

“So wait a minute,” you’re probably asking. “How, again, does this relate to travel?”

I’m glad you asked! Imagine, for example, that you have been planning a long hike through, say, Colombia’s Tayrona National Park, for the past few months. You know each day’s itinerary so well that you don’t even have to consult your notes when you arrive, which causes you to barrel through the hike on auto-pilot, almost passively.

When you are mindful of your actions, you are actively aware of everything you’re thinking and doing. This can be as simple as saying “left, right, left, right” to yourself, silently, as you hike through the jungle, focusing on your in and out breaths and their frequency as you work up more of a sweat, or even on making mental notes on all the flora and fauna you observe.

Time might still seem to pass rather quickly, as it tends to do when you’re having fun. When you are mindful, you don’t let any moment simply pass you by – you see, feel, hear, smell and taste each moment before it leaves you!

Mindfulness is, again, a practice, so it’s best to start while you’re at home, so that you can be “fit” enough to put it to the test during the spectacular experiences you’re certain to have. The video I posted above is a great starting point. You can also visit a local Buddhist temple, yoga center or meditation hall for more information – mindfulness is becoming more popular by the day!

There are even places in the world where you can go on mindfulness retreats! One place I went and highly recommend is the New Life Foundation, located near Chiang Rai, Thailand. You can click here to learn more about the great work New Life does.

Have you ever practiced mindfulness during travel?

Aruba is a very small but very picturesque island located just north of Venezuela. It is a highly popular tourist destination thanks to the always-gorgeous weather, cool turquoise water and white sand beaches located on the southwest side of the island. The northeast coast is a bit harsher, featuring rough water and rocky beaches.

It is always sunny and hardly ever rains, but cool ocean breezes keep things pleasant. The economy thrives on tourism, so there are plenty of fabulous hotels and attractions to keep you entertained on your holiday.

Aruba is perfect for a holiday whether that’s an all inclusive holiday to Aruba or a self-catering holiday, be sure that you’ll have one of the best holidays of your life.

What to bring

Going to Aruba is like taking any other trip to the Caribbean- due to the weather, you are going to want to pack lightweight clothing that breathes well. Sun cream, sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats are also essential to protect your skin and keep you comfortable.

Swim trunks are necessary, as well, because you will probably be spending most of your time either on the beach or by the pool. Beach wear should only be worn at the beach or the pool, though- many restaurants require semi-formal attire for dinner, so pack accordingly.

What to do

Aruba is an island paradise, so you are probably going to spend most of your time in or around the water. Baby Beach is perfect for a relaxing swim because the water does not get any deeper than five feet, perfect for learning how to snorkel or playing with children. Out in the deeper water there are multiple shipwrecks that make for excellent scuba excursions.

Back on land, there are plenty of great historical sites to be visited, including ancient churches and lighthouses and plenty of incredible rock formations. Since the island is so small, most of these activities can be done in a single day.

Getting around Aruba

The only two methods of getting to Aruba are by plane or boat. There is only one airport on the island, called the Reina Beatrix International Airport, from which a taxi or rental car will be able to take you straight to your hotel.

Cruise ships dock at a convenient location which puts travellers right into downtown Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. Since the island is so small, the best way to get around is by taxi or bus, the latter of which is the cheapest option for getting around the island.

Safety

Aruba, unlike certain other Caribbean destinations, is a very safe place both during the day and night. The only place that should be avoided is the Valero Refinery, but since this is not a tourist destination anyway, it should never be an issue.

All of the food on the island, both from chain and local restaurants, is safe to eat, not to mention delicious. Local water is also safe to drink, so you don’t have to worry about packing your own bottled water. If something does happen to you on your stay, don’t worry- the state of the art local hospital will take great care of you with their modern equipment and highly-trained staff.

William Butler Yeats once said, “In Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.” Ireland has certainly seen its share of tragedy, from famines to wars to strife between Catholics and Protestants.

Since death was historically such a part of life in Ireland, consider spending part of your domestic holiday visiting two prehistoric cemeteries. Carrowmore in County Sligo and Loughcrew in County Meath are two of Ireland’s oldest resting places for the dead. Enjoy the hospitable accommodations at Sligo hotels before setting off on your journey to the tombs of old.

The Megalithic Cemeteries of Ireland

The grand stone megalithic cemeteries of Ireland number into the thousands and date back to as early as 4000 B.C. Megalithic grave chambers, commonly called “cairns,” are artificial and freestanding caves created from slabs of stone. The chambers are then covered by heaps of stones serving three purposes: to stabilise the structure, to visually define the monument and to provide a step from which to gaze at the horizon.

The chambers were oriented to heavenly bodies, particularly the sun and the moon. Some cemeteries hold very few bones, suggesting prehistoric Irish utilised cremation to dispose of remains. Still other experts, like archaeologist Richard Bradley, suggest the cairns had a ceremonial significance as well as a purpose as interment chambers.

Carrowmore, County Sligo

Carrowmore is Ireland’s largest megalithic cemetery. Once consisting of over 200 stone mounds, the ravages of the elements as well as academic looting have reduced the number of identifiable tombs to around 50. According to legend, Carrowmore was created after the Battle of Moytirra, where the Tuatha De Danann defeated the Fir Bolgs. Listoghill, the central monument, dates back to 3600 B.C.

Carrowmore lies southeast of Knocknarea, which is thought to contain the largest unopened Neolithic tomb in Ireland. According to historians, Knocknarea was a place for rituals and also served as a meeting ground. Knocknarea has several nicknames including, “Meave’s Cairn” and “Hill of the Executioners.” In Primrose Grange on Knockarea’s slopes, scientists have carbon-dated material back to 7490 B.C.

The remaining tombs in Carrowmore consist of small-passage tombs and dolmens. Passage tombs are passageways surrounded by stones consisting of one or more graves while dolmens are two large stones capped with another large stone usually housing only one grave. One of Carrowmore’s largest tombs is also one of the earliest versions of the passage tomb, created in a cruciform shape.

A restored cottage on the grounds serves as a visitor’s centre and a 45-minute tour of the cairns costs three euros. Take Bus Eireann from Sligo town to Carrowmore every day except Sunday. You can also follow R292 toward Strandhill from the town centre.

Loughcrew, County Meath

The Loughcrew Cairns have another name: the Hill of the Witch. According to legends, the witch jumped from hill to hill, dropping stones from her apron that formed the cairns. After she jumped to three hills she started to jump to the fourth where dropping a final group of cairns would give her great power. Instead, she fell and was killed. Supposedly, she was buried on Patrickstown Hill where she died.

Loughcrew was built around 4000 B.C. and some speculate the cairns, in addition to serving as tombs, may also comprise the world’s oldest calendar. Some archaeologists even believe Loughcrew may hold the world’s oldest existing dwellings.

Visitors to Loughcrew will find two groups of cairns. The first group, Carnbane West, contains about 15 cairns. One of these, Cairn L, is roofed and covered with symbolic carvings. Carnbane East contains another roofed cairn, Cairn T, featuring beautiful Neolithic carvings. On both the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, locals gather in Cairn T to see the sunlight illuminate the chamber and the carvings. Unfortunately, Loughcrew’s exposed cairns have been eroded by acid rain — which has destroyed many of the carvings.

To get to Loughcrew, contact Bus Eireann or take R163 to find Loughcrew about 3 kilometres (8 miles) east of Oldcastle.

About the Author: Owen Mallon hunts ghosts, visits cemeteries and goes to great lengths to commune with the dead. He is working on a book about megalithic cemeteries in the British Isles.

Although they are officially part of Spain and thus, the E.U., the Canary Islands’ location off the coast of Africa makes them feel much more remote and exotic than they might otherwise seem. This is particularly the case for Lanzarote, the closest of the islands to the European mainland.

Don’t let how easy it is to find flights to Lanzarote on fly.co.uk fool you: Lanzarote is an entirely different world, from its idyllic beaches, volcanic landscapes and warm hospitality. The best part? With a mean annual temperature of 22° C, this “Island of Eternal Spring” makes a perfect escape 365 days per year.

Lanzarote Beaches

Lanzarote is an island, so it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that it’s home to amazing beaches. What’s unique about Lanzarote’s beaches is their sheer diversity.

Some Lanzarote beaches, for example, have sugar-white sand, such as  San Bartolomé, while others like Haría have a black, volcanic sand. Likewise, while beaches like Playa Blanca and La Graciosa boast tranquil waters that are great from swimming, Tenajo and Teguise beaches are surfers’ paradises.

Volcanoes in Lanzarote

Like the rest of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote is originally of volcanic origin. But don’t be afraid of an impending blast: This simply makes for a more exciting holiday in Lanzarote.

The centerpiece of Lanzarote’s volcanic tourism is Timanfaya Natural Park, which you can literally walk among the volcanoes. Although these volcanoes are technically “active,” they haven’t erupted since the 18th century – you’re safe!

Lanzarote Weather

Known in Spanish as La Isla de la Eterna Primarvera, or “Island of Eternal Spring,” Lanzarote’s volcanic sand is a pleasant place to plant your toes all-year round: The average annual temperature is a balmy 22°C.

Lanzarote winters almost never see freezing temperatures, although you should pack a jacket in the event of the occasional cool night. Summer temperature can extend well into the 40s, perfect for basking on beach during the day, and partying throughout the warm, sultry night.

Train travel has always allured me, in spite of the fact that I grew up in one of the countries in the world with the lowest rail ridership –or maybe because of it. There’s an ease, a sophistication and a romance to the railways you simply can’t find traveling any other way.

I’ve made a point of traveling by train whenever possible the past several years, even when it is of significant inconvenience: A 13-hour trip from the Lao border  to Bangkok, Thailand back in 2010 springs to mind. During this period, I’ve been struck by particular railway stations around the world.

Some are downright beautiful, perfectly representing important periods of art and architecture, while others are simply perfectly suited to the cities and countries where they’re built. They’re all quite different, however: I can’t claim that this is a list of the best or best-looking railway stations in the world – they’re just my favorites!

Victoria Terminus in Mumbai, India

Victoria Terminus

Oriente Station in Lisbon, Portugal

Oriente Station

Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok, Thailand

Hua Lamphong Station

The Train Graveyard in Uyuni, Bolivia

The Train Graveyard

Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia

Flinders Street Station

Ramses Station in Cairo, Egypt

Ramses Station

There aren’t many April showers in Las Vegas, unless you count getting splashed at the pool parties, but May flowers will definitely be in bloom if you mean all the chicks with floral bikinis laying poolside in Las Vegas. Spring and summer are the best times to visit Sin City as the Las Vegas pool season is in full swing.

As a budget Vegas traveler, however, pool season can do some damage to the bank account. Luckily, we’ve got the scoop on the hottest Las Vegas deals for summer 2013 so any Vegas traveler can enjoy the Las Vegas summertime without breaking the bank. Here are our top picks for Las Vegas promo codes and deals this summer:

Visit www.earlyvegas.com/promo_codes.html to access the following summer Las Vegas promo codes:

1. Mandalay Bay Beach is Open – Cabana Credit & Discounts!

Book using the Mandalay Bay promo code for Mandalay Bay Beach and not only access the lazy river, sand beach, Beachside Casino, and wave pool, but you’ll also get a $50 credit for a cabana! On top of experiencing Las Vegas poolside luxury in the cabana, vegas vacationers with this promo code also get $25 in Sand Dollars (credit at the beach) and $4 savings on a specialty drink with souvenir glass at Crossroads at House of Blues in Las Vegas. This Vegas special expires on September 1st, 2013…so book your Vegas summer deal before it’s too late!

2. Rates just Slashed for July in Vegas at the Monte Carlo Hotel Las Vegas

Stay in Las Vegas during July at the Monte Carlo and get 20% off rates! WIth this Vegas promo code, rooms start at $48/night…so even cheap travelers can afford Las Vegas. Plus, since a Las Vegas summer trip isn’t complete without some action by the pool, those who use this Vegas deal also get a Pool Resort Credit of $50! This promotion is valid for rooms from July 1st to July 30th, 2013 on available dates.

3. Cabana Package at the Palms Las Vegas

Stay at the Palms in their one bedroom suite for 2 nights in Vegas this summer and get a Cabana reservation! Rooms start at just $69/night using this Palms Las Vegas promo code, and the offer runs until July 31st, so book soon before Vegas summer is up!

4. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Rehab Pool and Room Package

This Las Vegas hotel promo code is for all those vegas pool party people out there. With rooms starting at $55/night, this Hard Rock Hotel & Casino package includes 2 wristbands for entry to the Rehab Pool Party this summer until September 1st, 2013.

5. Caesars Palace Package – Go Get Wet

With the Go Get Wet Caesars Palace promo code, Las Vegas visitors get a food and drink credit by the pool for $25 with their 2 nights stay! There’s no better way to enjoy Sin City than by enjoying the sun with a nice cold beverage in hand…and some grub to soak up the booze! This offer expires April 30th, 2013 so book ASAP!

This article was written by Ariel Abbott, Editor of EarlyVegas.com