A month in Ubud has given us a delightful case of Bali brain. Relaxed, rhythmic, flowing. There’s a long Typical Tourist list of retreats and temples and waterfalls that we never bother to visit, opting instead for a life of good food, workouts, swims, easy outings. We work out at our fancy gym every day.…

Sarah’s left me for a solo 2-night work retreat, so I go to my happy place – wandering. Ubud is like a giant Edward Scissorshands hand with parallel fingers shooting up North and South out of the town, each separated by deep river canyons. I’ve already travelled down our finger to town several times, so…

Our little baby done grow’d up and graduated. With a B.A. in city planning and urban design from Haverford College, and now a summer internship with the City of Philadelphia’s bike-share program, he’s well on his way to realizing his incredible potential. But thanks to a clever 3+2 partnership with UPenn, he’s also already halfway…

I’m not hallucinating – not quite – but in this steamy 180 degrees Russian “Banya,” memories of old friends I’ve shared saunas with are blurring my eyes as much as the sweat pouring off my forehead. We’ve lucked out on an Aufgussing ceremony at our fancy gym/spa here in Ubud, Bali. In preparation, the leader…

Our host mother sits against the wall of the open-air living space in the middle of the compound. Legs straight on the floor, bamboo and flowers and leaves at the ready, she cuts and staples a different type of offering every morning. A set of several dozen each day that will be placed on the…

At age 22 I backpacked around the world for 18 months on $7,000. A key to doing this was thinking in local currency – a fancy dessert might sound cheap at $2, but an inexcusable excess at 1,000 Costa Rican colones. Ordering in a restaurant was easy because I always chose whatever’s cheapest (no drinks…

With only one day in Hanoi – a sprawling city of 8.6 million people – we have to prioritize. First priority is getting to my language school for the refund of 45 million dong I overpaid. My trust in humanity remains strong – the owner is there and happy to see me. The other reward…

While we prefer long stays in one place to truly settle in, after two months in Central Vietnam (Hoi An) what a shame it would be to not broaden our understanding of this beautiful country with a week in Northern Vietnam. Thanks to a sooner-than-expected expiring tourist visa, we pack it all into a scant…

Broken rice – those discard, misshapen bits after the milling and cleaning process – has come a long way. From animal feed, to poor-man’s food during times of starvation, to the iconic Cơm tấm dish with fried egg and pork. Today it stands proudly as a cultural symbol of the hardships, poverty, and resilience of…

We immigrants, we foreigners, we digital nomads and wealthy tourists and entitled expats – too often we’re loud, intrusive, whatever is the opposite of subtle. Our unnecessarily big bodies take up a lot of space. Our voluminous chatter in Babel tongues clogs the airways. Our tentative driving clogs up intersections. We do not blend. And…