The Language of Honks: Understanding India’s Traffic Sounds
n the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, or Jaipur, traffic doesn’t just move—it negotiates.
Embracing Travel Chaos: Thriving on Arrival Challenges
Am I alone in this ritual of controlled chaos? Does anyone else actually like that scramble to figure it all out?
And do you have any spectacular stories of arrival—the kind that felt like a disaster, but now live in your memory with a strange kind of affection?
What Should You Pack for 3 Months in Asia?
Friend: 3 monthes!!!!! 3 Countries! Are you bringing the whole closet? When I packed for 75 days in Southeast Asia—with plans for an Indian and Thai summer plus trekking in Nepal—my goal was to bring a solid foundation of quality items I could build on with local purchases. The idea was to stay adaptable across …
One Month in India: How Much will Basic Needs Cost you?
Before heading to India, I struggled to find clear, reliable numbers on daily travel costs—so I’m sharing my full expense breakdown to help you plan with confidence. I spent 28 days exploring India with a planned budget of $2,250 and ended up spending just $1,452, including accommodation, food, transportation, activities, visa, and insurance. Daily basics …
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India: It’s Not Relief from Suffering, Just Better Reasons for It.
“In the West, we build apps to avoid discomfort. In India, they build temples to bear it beautifully.” -N.E.U.H India Trip Report India is in the rearview mirror. As that frenetic chapter of this Noble Expedition to Understand Humanity (and eat more than one kind of curry) closes, I’m struck by the brilliance of a society …
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Crossroads in Agra: Heat, Horizons, and the Art of Choosing
My Internal Critic: Yea, this article is Sh*t. Yes. Welcome to Notes from the Road: India Unfiltered. My goal in this series is to not try so hard. Expect more stream of conscious blogging, and less editing. I may lose you and I will cringe before hitting Publish, but writing helps me clarify the experiences. …
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Notes from the Road – Delhi, India
My Internal Critic: Yeah… this article is sh*t.” Yea. Okay. That’s Fair. Welcome to Notes from the Road—a travel series where I try not to try so hard. This will be more stream-of-consciousness than crafted narrative. Less editing, more honesty. I’ll definitely lose most of you, and I’ll probably cringe before hitting publish, but I’m …
First Time in India? Here’s What Delhi Teaches You Immediately
There’s no easing into Delhi.You leave the airport, and the city grabs you by the collar, yells something in Hindi, and throws you into traffic. After a 12-hour flight from New York City, I landed at 11 a.m., buzzing with adrenaline. The thrill of arriving in a new country gave me just enough energy to …
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My First Ride on an Uber Moto in India
The gap is tight. Too tight. I’d never go for it. He won’t.—Oh $^@#! He will. I’m clenching the rear of the motorcycle with white knuckles as the poor thing labors to carry us along the shoulder and the rough edge of the road fights to push the bike off the road. The driver keeps …
India Food Journal: Paneer at 37,000 Feet and Other Choices I Regret
The Indian food tour began somewhere above Greenland at 37,000 feet.My tray table became the first stage of a culinary adventure—one that began not in Delhi’s crowded markets, but in a metal tube hurtling across the Atlantic. With three meals spaced over the flight, each one brought its own take on India’s regional flavors, and …
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Will Travel Make You More Adaptable?
On Friday, I flew to LAX Airport in California, where, after scraping a morsel of sleep off the Airport floor, I could not board my flight to Hong Kong due to an incomplete Visa for India. OUCH. Rather than remaining a vagrant of LAX Airport, I caught a bus south to San Diego to stay …
Emojies Can’t Handle My Stoke (Send a Photo, Or Wait, Take Me With You.)
Posted on January 5, 2016 by Oolin Note: this was published in 2016, before the emoji revolution. But, you know, its the SPIRIT that counts. Friend at home: “How’d the day go, boys? Friend on trip:“Sdfghaiodfubadjnfgl!@dwgnwfghwfH!!njsfkgjb wrn!! DDAAAAAAaaaAA!!!!” Friend at home:”Is Joey Icelandic?” Friend#2 on trip: “No dude, he’s Stoked. “ I send a lot of …
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Something Calls You: A Poem
Something calls you… Your ears can almost here it but instead they catch only the wind as it passes. Instead, your heart feels it’s whisper like the promise of a distant embrace. Something calls you, and at first, it’s only a calling. Like your pride beckoning you to the hunt. It floats between each heartbeat, as if …
A Solo Traveler’s Guide to Great Conversations with Anyone
Google search: “S-o-l-o T-r-a-v-e-l” Google:” Oh-My-Gawd it is SO GREAT. You should totally F***ing do it.” Feel free to try it yourself at home. You’ll get thousands of hits. Google: The 10 Benefits of Solo Travel, 6 Advantages to Solo Travel, 8 things you learn about yourself while Solo Traveling, yadda-yadda-yadda. There is one unexpected thing you might …
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The Carreterra Austral: Finding the Spirit of Chilean Patagonia
“If every country was a cocktail, Chile would be a skinny margarita, served in a champagne flute. It’s a long, slender country. It’s green, it’s tangy, and it leaves you wanting more.” Of the two bikes we shipped to Chile for our bikepacking trip, both were detained by customs officials in Santiago. Following their interrogation, …
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Be Outlandish: 3 Easy Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your First Burning Man
There are plenty of articles on how to prepare for burning man, and what to bring, and what to expect (pssst! you’ll still be surprised =)). There were some takeaways for me, that I didn’t find on any of the other articles, so here you go, check them out! 1. Volunteer for the Black Rock …
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Here’s Why You Should Give Some Love to Your Travel Friends
1. Travel friends give you insights about your own culture, and how weird it is. There are alot of habits ingrained in us through our culture, and through traveling and meeting people from different places we can gain insight into those habits and learn about new ways to live our lives as our best selves. Let’s …
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