Travel should be a time to let go of self-imposed rules that may ordinarily hold you back. Step outside yourself and explore who you really want to be (or who’s…

Our Thailand expenses are a little different, since they were spread out over three separate visits between September 2011 and January 2012. We arrived in Bangkok, and spent about a week there, before heading north by train to Chiang Mai. After another week or so there, we head into Laos. The next time we crossed the Thai border was via the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge into Nong Khai, in northeastern Thailand. A few days there, and we were headed to Phuket for a mid-RTW rest stop at a Marriott timeshare! A few months later, we returned to Bangkok again just in time for Christmas and New Year’s.

Returning home after an extended trip abroad means putting down your backpack one last time and realizing you now have the option to unpack it. Suddenly everyone speaks your language….

South Korea Knowing less about South Korea than either Japan or China made for some wonderful surprises. A rich, colorful culture and curious, helpful people made our visit here one…

Returning to Bangkok after a month in Vietnam (and several more in Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos) was a bit of a shock. Everything seemed so modern and cosmopolitan, fashionable and…

Hanoi is frantic and frenetic, unnerving and uncompromising, but it grows on you quickly. Hassles and scams can surely be found here, but so can unexpected kindness and unbridled energy….

Halong Bay is for many travelers the #1 must-see destination in Vietnam. With jagged limestone peaks that rise from the blue-green waters of Tonkin Bay and countless spiky rock islands…

Sometimes travel is a struggle. Everyone suffers moments of discouragement and frustration, times when everything seems to be working against you. But it’s often these times that turn out to…

With the exception of some chilly nights at high altitude on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau in Western Sichuan Province, we had been sweating since leaving South Korea at the end…

Designated a World Cultural Heritage town, Hoi An thrived in the 16th and 17th centuries as an international trading port.  Chinese, Dutch, Japanese and Indian traders arrived, and in many…