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Tarangire: Bathing With Elephants + Hunting With Lions, Tanzania
Tarangire National Park was one of my favorite places in Tanzania because of the number of wild elephants. Stepping off the plane at Kilimanjaro, we met our safari team. They had everything perfectly preplanned and ready to go. There was the company owner, who had recruited me online who I’d spoken to for a few months. He introduced himself as White. Several days later, after getting to know him a bit, I would chuckle when I read “Wilson” on his business card. White suited him. “We call him White because he is lighter skinned than us”, the driver Hamisi said. White had a beautiful caramel complexion and was from a…
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Birding Uganda’s Lake Victoria
We barreled down a red dirt road in the western countryside of Entebbe. In Uganda, the roadside was an active area where women balanced baskets on the crowns of their head wearing vibrantly patterned wraps. I closed my eyes, jostled, with each large bump, trying not to miss any of the rural farming sights, where middle aged children went to fetch water in the typical yellow jugs which seemed more fitting to hold gasoline than water. Children as young as three held hoes to help in the family gardens. The termination of the road led to a cove where a group of men gathered around empty boats. They’d been out…
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The Egypt Files: Part 1 The Pyramids of Giza, From Dust We Have Risen, and to Dust We Will Return
From dust we have risen and to dust we will return. My recent travel to Egypt is sparking an interest and passion for the past that I never knew I had. Travel with me to Egypt—the land that has inspired writers and travelers for centuries with its cultural legacy. Arriving in Cairo in the middle of the night, I was shocked at how everything was different. I immediately felt that sense of euphoria that I am constantly seeking. The streets were lively. The dress was different. The buildings were different. I looked into the cafes as men in white robes smoked shisha hookahs and sipped coffee. The sense of nervousness…
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Philae Temple: Egypt Files Part 2
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Lake Bled: Angry Fairies & The Best Souvenir That I Never Wanted
Very rarely do places actually live up to their expectation that I have in my head. That’s what I reminded myself as the car door muffled shut. I climbed up a grassy embankment to the main road, and back down the other side. Lake Bled lay before me. Immediately I was hypnotized by the tall white steeple of the Pilgrimage Church. The church sat on the island in the middle of the lake. Visitors rode Pletna boats out to the island and rang the church bells for wishes. The ringing reverently reverberated over the glass-like surface tension up to the peaks above. My imagination was immediately captivated by legends of…
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Ich Liebe Dich: I Love You SWITZERLAND!
I’d just rolled into Switzerland as the sun shared it’s last rays over the most prominent wall of mountains and the greenest valley I’ve ever seen. There’s a reason I saved Switzerland for last in the region. But I figured, with a one night stand, surely a one night love affair in Europe’s most expensive country couldn’t be too expensive. (Disclaimer, Iceland, and Norway also lay claims for being the most expensive). Well, my one night quickly turned into more… because I just loved the Swiss Alps so much! It totally killed my backpacking budget. Fast forward to some of the Alps most amazing passes, which are best done by…
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Grossglockner: Europe’s Most Scenic Drive
Austria wasn’t a new country count for my collection, but with the limited travel these days (Corona Virus 2020) I decided to take the scenic route on a roundabout around the world summer backpacking tour. The decision didn’t make sense logistically as I tried to make my way East. Meeting border closures and dead ends, I detoured and backtracked back West. And man, am I glad I did! Here you’ll find 13 alpine photos of Austria’s most scenic drive: Großglockner Hochalpenstrasse! The park is named after Austria’s largest mountain, Grossglockner, which translates directly to big bell ringer. After taking a look, you’ll definitely want to visit this national park! Insert…
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Taipei, Taiwan
The place where I almost lost my love for seafood? Taiwan. Also the place where I had some of the most awesome street food ever? Also Taiwan. Surprised to see real curved swords reverently wielded around by old men for daily exercise in the form of martial arts? Yep, you guessed the place. Taiwan. Taipei to be exact. What my experience in the world had taught me, after a lifetime of examining “Made in” manufacturing tags, my best guess as to what Taiwan might look like would be a conglomerate of dirty manufacturing warehouses. After all, everything is Made in Taiwan (okay that’s a hyperbole). There may have been a…
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Somaliland
I’d gone into Somaliland with an open heart and an open mind. I’d read so much good news online from the tight knit community of international country collectors. Somaliland wasn’t Somalia; it was supposed to be safe, interesting, and welcoming. Before entering Somaliland, at the gate in Djibouti, I hadn’t covered in my hijab. All of the ladies who had seen my hair now starred a hole through me as I stepped into their country. They were smiling. They were beautiful and mysterious and traveled in women-only-groups. I, on the other hand, even though I was covered, wasn’t mysterious at all. They knew exactly what I looked like without my…
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Ethiopia –Responsible Tourism: Getting Exactly What I Wanted –Then Guiltily Hating It
When I headed to Ethiopia, I really wanted to see wildlife. But sometimes when you get what you want, you find that it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Nevertheless, a good experience that made me all-the-more hardier for future travels. The title of this article seems harsh. I actually had a wonderful time in Ethiopia. But now more than ever, it’s important to make sure that [our] world travel is environmentally friendly and culturally responsible. Although crowded, the country was indeed beautiful. There were many typical interesting sights like pack donkeys and women carrying firewood. There were also tangled ideas to think about, like the Orthodox religion that…
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The Truth that no one will tell you About Belize
It’s the age old story of being completely underwhelmed by what you came to see and leaving with a sense of value in the experiences that were unexpected. Like you, I probably headed to Belize to see the Great Blue Hole. I might have been excited to get some R&R on Caye Caulker. But for the resort loving tourists (that I love to insult) who went to Caulker Village, bought a t-shirt and a puka necklace, and felt like they did something special, I move that they could have gone to Cancun and got the same generic experience. The truth that no one will tell you about Belize is that…
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My favorite Places Around Banff
I’ll give it to you straight– I went to Banff at the wrong time of year. The beginning of June was packed. Lake Louise wasn’t as serene as the Pintrest pictures tried to fool me. I was elbow deep fighting bus tourists for a photo op. But it wasn’t my fault: while researching this trip, I had a difficult time figuring out what to see and do in the area because there wasn’t concise online information available. It was also difficult to figure out what the park boundaries were. See the above map for a clear understanding (map credit to blog Where We Be who had the most comprehensive online…
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Vancouver Island & Telegraph Cove
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Penang: A Food Paradise, Malaysia
The Journey My hips twisted to balance as I focused on keeping my feet planted, surfing with the movement of the train on the tracks. I was too intrigued to sit during the ride from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. I tried not to fumble my camera lenses as I switched them then held my camera up. I felt the tea harvesters pull me in. I gave myself over to the train, letting it have it’s way with me as I fought to stay upright. Giving myself over to the journey felt symbolic. Two Asian water buffalo wallowed in a hole. They chewed as they watched the train hurtle by. The…
