“Tell him in Chinese that we love his dumplings!” I hissed to Gareth as we walked out of the restaurant, passing by the saintly man frying and steaming the dumplings we’d just gobbled up.
My friend and I sidled up awkwardly behind the chef, waiting for an appropriate time to sing his praises.
Clouds poured from the steamed bun baskets. Oil sputtered from the giant black dumpling-frying pan. The man’s hand flew upward [...Read More!]
In 17 cities across North America this past Tuesday, nearly 1,250 adults gathered for “Meet, Plan, Go!” to learn how to make their extended travel dreams a reality.
Wow!
As the Boston coordinator for the second year, I had the honor of leading a crowd of 100 fantastic people. Here is a small sampling of the photos and happenings from our life-changing event.
Doors opened at 6:15pm, and our team of 15 hard-working volunteers [...Read More!]
Want to change someone’s life… including yours? Help them learn how to travel the world for a long time, affordably.
How? By inviting them to the “Meet, Plan, Go!” events happening in 17 cities around North America tomorrow, 10/18/11!
This is my second year coordinating the Boston chapter of MPG (click here for tickets), and here’s what we have in store for you this year, you lucky ducks:
- 100 wonderful, travel-loving people in a private section of [...Read More!]
The first hint, around 2009, that Boston is becoming a hub for filming big movies was that our Charlestown High school announcements started filling with casting calls for “teenagers with strong Boston accents.”
The next hint was last year when seven giant movie trailers set up shop down the street from my apartment and flocks of locals gathered to catch a glimpse of Mila Kunis filming “Ted.”
But it took a guided group [...Read More!]
Tomorrow is my 30th birthday!
Want to make me REALLY, REALLY happy with a free gift? Here’s what I most desire:
1. Show some love to my two websites, AroundTheWorldL.com and TeachingTraveling.com by: reading, commenting on, and reposting/sharing/emailing articles, “Liking” the Facebook pages (currently near 1,400 fans!) and using the “suggest to friends” button, “Stumbling” articles (if you’re advanced like that), and generally bringing as many eyes as possible to these 500+ articles I [...Read More!]
You know that Green Walking Man icon that indicates (in most countries in the world) that it is safe for pedestrians to cross the road at a designated crosswalk, because oncoming cars must stop?
Take this China travel tip and save a life: In China, the Green Walk Signal actually means… absolutely nothing.
Unfailingly, in the two weeks I traveled through China, I would start to stride across the crosswalk, the Green Walk [...Read More!]
Yesterday was the first day of Fall, the Autumnal Equinox. And for myself and hundreds of other people who knew and loved a remarkable man named Kolajo Afolabi, yesterday was also a fall from innocence into deep grief as our dear, dear friend fell while running and passed away from the resulting injuries.
To celebrate our friend’s life, a life of warmth, contribution, love, and joy, I invite you to gaze at these [...Read More!]
If you are a vegetarian, you are either going to be inspired or disgusted by this article, but either way, you will likely have pondered a similar quandary: What is the best way to deal with vegetarianism during travel to a very different (read: “meaty”) culture?
Colin is a vegetarian and has been for years, chiefly for health reasons: veggies are healthier than meat, especially processed meat. Then we bought our China [...Read More!]
You’re hungry, you’re in Beijing, China, and you’ve stumbled into a restaurant where the menu is in pretty Mandarin characters with big pictures.
“Surely,” you tell yourself as you walk in the door, “pictures are all I need to order something yummy.”
Then you find yourself staring at the options on the wall displayed in the lower left photo in this article. Hmm… There appear to be six different choices, each with rice [...Read More!]
You’ve read my account of the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and other China tourist attractions, but now let’s get into the darker side of my 17 days in the most populous country on Earth.
The reality is that China is the most intense country that I have ever traveled to, and I have traveled to over 30 countries across the globe!
Now, the intensity of China travel is actually good news, [...Read More!]