On my bucket list when I planned my route for my round the world trip in position numero uno was the annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the largest arts festival in the world. The Fringe was one of the few non-negotiables because if I was going to traverse the planet, by god I was going to see some good theatre in the process!

And so that’s how I set my route around the world; it’s that simple really. Pick something you’re most passionate about and just do it!

The hilltop holding Amman’s temple is unremarkable as far as hills are concerned; the things, Amman, Jordan is a city comprised of seven hills, and the one holding the Temple of Hercules isn’t taller than the others, it’s not greener, or more “hilly,” but yet this hill was the one chosen by the ancient Romans to hold the Temple of Hercules. And in hearing the name Hercules, in an instant my mind takes a fanciful wander through Greek history and mythology.

As the illegitimate son of Zeus and Alcmene, Hercules has long held a fascination for me…and likely not just me. Greek mythology paints Hercules as a human as much as he was a demigod, as strong as the Gods but riddled by earthly disputes and relationship problems.

The thunderclouds hung low for hours over Havana, Cuba before my friend Louise and I decided enough was enough–if the rain was going to play a game of chicken with us then we were going to spend the afternoon exploring the city instead of hiding indoors in anticipation of the thick sheets of rain that had, for six long and cold days, followed us around the island like a lost puppy.

We bundled ourselves tight into our rain jackets, twisted our cameras safely into zip-lock baggies, and set out on foot to walk Old-Town Havana (la Habana Vieja) and Cuba’s famous Malecón. The Malecón being a place that has always elicited evocative images seared into my memory from Hollywood films…

I find myself frequently fighting a nonchalance that creeps into my travels – like a spider building a web, the thoughts spiral: “Is this worth my time? Could I be eating food right now? I mean really, how is this different than the 25 other palaces I’ve seen in the past two and a half years?”

Then I feel the guilt. I’m in CHINA. Of course I need to see the Forbidden City. The thing is, I have to cop to knowing very little about it prior to my visit. And this lack of information only contributed to these wayward musings.

If you’ve ever wondered what Chiang Mai, Thailand will feel like during the zombie apocalypse then hit the streets of the old city, inside the moat, around 9:00am on the Saturday of the city’s Flower Festival Parade. The parade starts at 8:00am just outside of the moat, near Warorot Market, and the rapid exodus of city inhabitants leaves the streets inside the moat uncommonly quiet.
As the Rose of the North, Chiang Mai’s sweet nickname is never more applicable than the first week of February, when the city is flooded with …

Travel Memories:
Balinese Cultural Dancer in Ubud
Often, the nightly cultural shows specifically arranged for tourists make me cringe and think “oh my dear lord it must be so cheesy.” Surprisingly though, this cultural dance in the center courtyard of a beautiful Balinese temple was captivating. I overlooked that it’s wasn’t actually ceremonial and enjoyed the dancer’s long-practiced moves and obvious training as the performers led the audience through a story of good versus evil, dragons and temptation (and I mean really, is there any other kind of story?!)
Even better though, and …

The Umbrella Festival in Bo Sang was gorgeous; small to be sure, but in a personable way. When I stepped out of my songthaew (a local form of transportation around town), I actually wondered where the festival even was for a moment; the pervasive decorations and bright parasols lining the streets of Bo Sang fit the town so naturally.

I haven’t visited Bo Sang outside of this yearly festival period, but many of the decorations were inherent, built right into the town identity as a resume and testament to their skill. …

The Getty Center in Los Angeles sits sentinel on the faded, olive green hills to the west of Hollywood; a sprawling and artistic estate with glistening white marble construction framing the surrounding scenery with poetic picture frames built into the building’s architecture.

I so easily forget parts of my own home; as I travel endlessly in search of other cultures and experiences I forget the US has so much to offer (a fact a lot of my fellow Americans point out to me when I tell them I travel extensively overseas…I …