A dirt path snakes discretely through the manicured farmland of Ywa Thit village in Myanmar. Barely a speck on Google Maps, this quaint village is home to exactly seventy-eight inhabitants. Perched at the end of the path, a teak monastery looms hauntingly over decayed wooden pilings. A spring breeze rustles nearby trees, carrying the, Read More

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling that legalizes same-sex marriage across the country, the full weight of this ground-breaking decision was felt on the streets of New York City during the 2015 NYC Pride Parade. Well over 2 million people participated in this year’s festivities, making it the largest and one of, Read More

Coney Island’s 33rd annual Mermaid Parade, held this Saturday, featured tons of glitter, shells, colorful wigs, body paint, and a festive sea of individuality. Poor weather loomed over Coney Island for most of the day, but failed to dampen the spirits of countless lobster princesses, King Neptunes, Poseidons, mermaids, mer-men, and tens of thousands, Read More

Girls posing in front of the Temple of Literature, Hanoi, Vietnam.

How do you pick your travel destinations? This is the most frequent question we get, just behind, How much underwear do you pack? Running a travel blog, we get our share of comments on lodging, destinations and food. However, there’s always an omnipresent buzz-kill of not just readers, but some friends and family, who, Read More

Across the street from Corinne Hotel’s quaint Parisian-style bar, posters promoting an upcoming performance by Goran Bregovic and a circus venue plaster a wall. With a bottle of wine in hand, this was a great backdrop for people watching and photography on Turnacıbaşı Cadessi in Istanbul, Turkey. We wondered how many locals would notice, Read More

Exterior of Las Perlas 7 as it rests in front of Hotel Contadora Resort on Playa Largo.

Thirty miles south of Panama’s coast lies the Pearl Islands archipelago, a network of Panamanian Gulf islands so postcard perfect, they were the featured backdrop for three seasons of Survivor. In the midst of these emerald green waters and pristine beaches, you’ll find an unlikely sliver of eeriness wedged into paradise. Hotel Contadora Resort,, Read More

I descended several stories into the heart of ground zero, along with friends, throngs of tourists, and somber-faced locals, as the 9/11 National Memorial Museum officially opened its doors today. The museum, nestled next to memorials that mark the base of the original twin towers, completes the memorial complex with an underground hall that, Read More

The relationship between nature and our fellow beings continues to astound me.  My cat, Tofu, arises from a deep slumber at 5p.m. daily without fail.  A yawn and a stretch, followed by the inevitable meow that roughly translates to, “It’s time.  Where is my dinner, human?”  It’s this ebb and flow between creatures and, Read More

In the dead of winter, the temperature is 115°F.  Sweat dripping from my brow, I duck under a parched dobera glabra evergreen for some respite from the hot Ethiopian sun. Traveling to the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia’s Afar Region, an unforgiving region nestled against an inhospitable border with Eritrea, was not at the top, Read More

Strolling around New York City after dinner and a vintage crozes hermitage is high up on my list of fun things to do. The tidal ebb and flow of pedestrians, zig-zagging yellow cabs, bright city lights and rolling pastures with grazing sheep morph into a tapestry of colors, sounds and smells that are uniquely, Read More