Incomprehensible neon lights whizz past as I speed through the crowded streets of Tokyo, narrowly avoiding obstacles. A gust of wind tugs at the edge of my mustache. I briefly take my hand off the steering wheel to save my mustache from becoming roadkill. That’s all it takes for my brother, Mario, to overtake me […]
Read more "Life Lesson #55 – Real Mario Kart Exists"Habitual travellers are all-too familiar with the joyful challenge of planning a long weekend jaunt. The perfect destination has to be close enough that you won’t spend the whole time on the plane, interesting enough to warrant exploration, inexpensive enough to justify the extravagance of a short trip, – and ideally somewhere you haven’t been […]
Read more "A Tale of Two Cities in Latin America"They were lyrics I’d heard a thousand times. The first verse of one of my favourite songs from beloved kiwi songbird Brooke Fraser. “And on a thousandth hill…” She was speaking of meeting a young girl named Albertine in Rwanda, who had touched her. My whole life, I thought the line was gorgeously poetic. But […]
Read more "GorillasJust the concept of safari in Kenya can make anyone’s eyes glaze over as their imagination conjures extraordinary adventures. It’s near the top of every traveller’s list. So with stakes so high, I was a little nervous it would be a letdown. Perhaps I would find it tedious staking out animals. Perhaps I wouldn’t see […]
Read more "Top 10 Highlights of Kenyan Safari"For Thanksgiving 2017, I visited my 58th country: Colombia. A week in mountainous Medellín and coastal Cartagena. This is my #1 recommendation from each city, in photos…
Read more "Highlights of Mountainous Medellín & Coastal Cartagena"When I decided to get my New York State Driver’s License, I knew that I would have to endure a 5-hour driving class. I expected it to be boring… but I never expected it to become one of my most insane stories of all time.
Read more "Life Lesson #54 – Drive Me Crazy"Power lines tangled into impossible webs. Thin staircases between five-story buildings stacked like pastel boxes in an attic. The smell of concrete dust and curing meat. 1 in 5 Rio de Janeiro inhabitants call a favela home. Yet, the only time I’d ever heard of these urban hillside shantytowns was in a story from a […]
Read more "Inside a Favela"