solo travel

When You Go to the Tatacoa Desert

Colombia
Tatacoa Desert, Colombia

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – When you go to Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert, no one is going to go with you. Among travelers, it’s one of those “Why are you […]

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Photo Essay: The Formidable Beauty of the Valle de Cocora

captured on memory card

It’s 6am when I go to Salento’s main square to catch a jeep to the Valle de Cocora. I’m surprised to see that they’re already full… or so I think. Once all the seats inside the jeeps are taken, there is still space. You can stand on the back ledge and hang on. I’d rather […]

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And Then You Realize Why

Colombia

This cab I’m in sounds like it’s about three putt-putts away from breaking down in the outskirts of Cartagena. It’s dark, I’m by myself, and I have all my luggage with me. I’m freaking out. The driver assures me we’ll make it to my destination as even the slowest buses zoom by us, leaving us […]

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Lives Less Ordinary: The Fascinating People I Met While Traveling in Colombia

Colombia

At the beginning of solo trip, you may feel like Dorothy arriving in Oz — you’re on your own and disoriented, but before long, you’re surrounded by an unlikely cast of characters who help you through your journey. Quite often, these people make the trip just as much as the destination itself. In Colombia, I […]

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Wanderful Words No. 30: Adventure as a Destiny

Colombia

“And how did you get around the country?” my coworker asks me after I’d filled him in on most of my basic Colombia trip details. “Entirely by bus,” I respond, waiting for him to grimace in response. He is a seasoned traveler who tends to seek out a more luxury travel experience. Although he hasn’t […]

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Escape from Cat Ba

d.i.y. travel

I woke up before dawn, unaware that the day would bring definitive moments to my life as a solo traveler. A few of us had decided to leave Cat Ba early to spend a little more time in Hanoi and I had opted to do the journey on my own. I took a walk along […]

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Getting my Solo Traveling Feet Wet in Bangkok

solo travel

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown […]

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Wanderful Words No. 28: The Grandeur of Traveling Slowly

slow travel

Nose pressed against the window, you watch the world go by. Maybe you’re in a train or a bus or a boat. On one side of you, you might have a seatmate who wedges a strange sack of goods where your leg room should be. Or a heavy sleeper whose wobbly head insists on using […]

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