Category: World Wanderings

When I was young, I was bit by the travel bug. Since then, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have the ability to not only travel to numerous countries around the world, but also live in foreign countries. These posts include stories about my travels, cultural differences and travel tips.

A young chimpanzee lies in the grass with an arm stretched out and head rest on its shoulder

Chimpanzee Rescue and Sanctuary in Cameroon

June 12, 2015

When most people think of the African continent, one of the first things that springs to their minds are images of the fauna that inhabit the continent: lions, elephants, hippos, rhinos and monkeys. All of these animals have a home in Cameroon, including a wide variety of apes than many people refer to as “monkeys.” Perhaps most prominent among the apes that live in Cameroon are chimpanzees.

Chimps are classified as an endangered species, with population estimates ranging between 170,000 and 300,000 and some of the biggest threats to their existence are habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade, the latter of which is a particular problem in Cameroon. I had the opportunity to visit a sanctuary for chimps that have been orphaned by poachers and the experience was truly exceptional.

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Two boys sit on a ledge in front of a white wall looking at the camera

5 Favorite Things About Cameroon

June 5, 2015

Things have been quiet here on my blog lately, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been on my mind. I arrived in Cameroon late on May 10th, and 3G arrived only about a month before me, so connectivity is a bit sparse and pricey. I’ve also been going “up and down the country,” as they say here, and along the way I’ve seen and experienced a lot of things. And I still have a week left! For now, here is a list of some of my favorite things about Cameroon.

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Rays of sun shine from behind a mountain with a fish-tail shaped peak at sunrise

Surviving and Thriving through the Nepal Earthquake

May 8, 2015

It was day 10 of 18 on the Annapurna Circuit and the day I began my two and a half day push for the highest point we would reach, Thorong-La Pass (5416 meters). I came down for breakfast and made eye contact with a couple that I had hung out with the night before; they were being ranted at by a guide who just had a falling out with his customers. My food came and halfway through my meal, the slighted guide had vented all he could and huffed off, rattling the tables and glasses of the dining area.

“I know it’s just the poor construction of these buildings, and the predominant use of wood, but whenever someone walks by, I can’t help but think it’s an earthquake,” I said to the couple.

“Is that a big thing around here? Do they get big earthquakes?” the husband asked.

“Yeah, that’s what makes these mountains. The last big one was about 80 years ago.”

“So then they are due for another one then, huh?”

“I don’t know if that’s necessarily how it works,” his wife said.

About four hours later, the ground shook beneath my feet, the windows on a newly build lodge behind me shuttered and the scrub brush swayed for what felt like at least a minute. Kumar, my guide, looked me in the eyes and said, “Oooh, earthquake!” When the earth had stilled beneath us, but still tumbled down the slopes of the mountains across the river from us, he said, “I’ve never felt one like that before.”

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A man standing on the back of a wooden canoe paddles across a river with an orange sunset sky in the background and reflected in the water

Beyond Nepal’s Mountains: Chitwan National Park

April 10, 2015

Say Nepal and what comes to mind for most people are the High Himalayas. Those iconic peaks of Everest and Lhotse, the Annapurna massif and Kangchenjunga, are just a couple of the more popular mountains found in the borders of this small country, which boasts seven of the 10 tallest mountains in the world.

But, when you arrive in Nepal and get your hands on some Nepali rupees, you notice that they are emblazoned with a variety of animals that are not found in the mountains: deer, crocodiles, rhinos, elephants. These animals aren’t on the money just because they are cool animals, but because they are actually found in Nepal, in the jungle-y southern border with India.

There are a couple of national parks along the southern border, but the most easily accessible and most visited is Chitwan National Park, near Sauraha, about six hours by bus from Kathmandu.

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An Interview with “Hannah Goes Fishing”

April 5, 2015

I love how the Internet has not only connected volunteers with life back home more, but also with volunteers in other countries. Hannah is a volunteer in Zambia and is trying to do interviews with volunteers in every Peace Corps country. Of course I volunteered to talk about Thailand. 

On What Thai People are Like

I live in the poorest region of Thailand, the northeast, but in all of my travels I think that the people here are the best. Not many tourists or travelers come to this part of Thailand, and so when they do see me, they are genuinely interested in meeting me, talking to me, and helping me. They are so proud of Thailand and their region and want to show it off to me, and when I bust out the minimal dialect I know (usually I just say “I can’t speak Isaan!” in the Isaan dialect, which always gets a laugh), I have instantly made a new friend.

Read the whole thing on Hannah Goes Fishing.

A young girl wearing red robes and headdress and heavily made up sitting in a palaquin

4 Travel Lessons I Learned in Peace Corps

April 3, 2015

There are all kinds of lessons that you learn in Peace Corps. From your first day, you are learning a new language, to the lessons that are passed down through volunteer lore (top two being: “It’s not if, it’s when,” and “Never trust a fart.”) You learn the cultural norms and celebrations of your host country and how to navigate around.

I’ve been in Nepal for about a week now, and I’m realizing that some of the lessons I’ve learned from my Peace Corps service are showing up in my life traveling here.

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Kumari: the Living Goddesses of Nepal

March 29, 2015

One of the main tourist attractions in Kathmandu is Durbar Square. There are several temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, concentrated in a small area. There are lots of people milling around, selling things and generally living life. However, there is one building that is particularly sacred. It’s the home of Kathmandu’s kumari, a living goddess.

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A arrival and departure board at an airport or train station

6 Friendly Tips for Dealing with a Cancelled Flight

March 27, 2015

About 9 months ago, I was dreaming about where I might travel after I finished my Peace Corps service. I have wanted to go to Nepal for nearly 20 years, and at that point, ticket prices to Kathmandu were great. So I bit the bullet, bought the ticket and waited.

Finally, March 25th arrived and I was on my way. I made it through the first leg of the journey, to New Delhi, without at hitch. However, the second flight ended up being an adventure in its own right.

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See What I Saw: A Photographic Chronicle of 27 Months

March 20, 2015

Today is officially my last day as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Even if I could sum up that last two years in words, it would likely be a novel, or at least a novella. Can you put the last two years of your life in a blog post? Didn’t think so. So, harkening back to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a gallery of picture highlights from the last 27 months. (Click on any picture to enlarge.)

(Apologies to my readers who are in locations with limited data and Internet connectivity. I suggest skipping this post and coming back to it when you have decent Internet.)

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