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Like a treasure hunt, travel is all about puzzle solving. What is the best way to get to that castle? How do I ask for a napkin in French? Who do I talk to about replacing my lost international driver’s license? But there are some puzzles that defy explanation or solution. Like the whistling squirrels. […]

I love passively taking pictures as much as the next guy. And these days, who needs to carry a bag full of fancy lenses, right? Cell phones have made it so easy to just snap and shoot. However, there are times when taking a photo just isn’t enough, when you can no longer be passive, […]

To travel is to be constantly surprised. My wife and I are traveling from Bangkok down to the Gulf of Thailand in search of a tropical beach. As the light fades, we decide to stop in a little town along the way. According to the guide books, Phetchaburi means “city of diamonds,” but don’t let […]

To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, we travelers often choose our travel locations “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” It’s 1988 and in Turkey, making my way cross-country from west to east. My final destination will eventually be Mount Ararat, another Wow place, the speculative location of Noah’s Ark. But today, I’m […]

To be sure, travel is wonderful. But more than occasionally, it’s hard. That’s why it’s so important to find “havens” on your trips — safe harbors – places where you can take a moment to recover and recharge before throwing yourself back into the fray. One such Wow place I stumbled into was the tiny […]

You might be surprised to learn that even after visiting over 35 countries, across the globe, I still get nervous before every one of my trips. “Will there be an atm at the airport? Will it be hard to figure out how the subway works? What does the hotel look like – perhaps I better […]

When I think about “me-at-my-best”, the way I like to be when I’m traveling, one of the qualities that comes to mind is “resilience”. Because things happen on trips, don’t they? You get sick. You lose your passport. You get into a fender bender. How you respond to travel adversity is a true sign of […]

When traveling, there are “wow!” places, and then there are “whoa!” places. In the former, you’re astonished and delighted that this place exists. In the latter, you’re astonished but also slightly discomfited. Why does this place exist? Nagoro Village, Japan, deep in the heart of Shikoku’s Iya Valley, is definitely a Whoa Place. At first […]

Here’s another chart I like from Neil Pasricha’s “The Happiness Equation”: The chart above speaks to the “flow” state made famous by social scientist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is essentially that deep enjoyment you get when you are totally involved in life, such that time slows down for you. Flow happens when the challenge level of […]

In his excellent book, “The Happiness Equation,” Neil Pasricha includes this nifty graphic: His point is that some activities require more thinking, and others need more doing. If the activity requires neither thinking nor doing, then you’re just in space – you’re pretty much lounging on the beach. The upper left box suggests your main […]