My lack of culinary skills mentioned last week mean that the daily lunch I serve to Ana is, well, simple. Today we snacked on basic sandwiches and veggies while discussing the list of tasks at hand before we leave for Thailand. As I vocally dream of the curries and delicious Thai flavors I’ve missed these past few months, it’s actually sinking in for her that in just three short weeks, instead of lunch at our kitchen table, she will sit down to a plate of white rice and flavorful veggies …

Two years ago today I posted one of the first posts here on A Little Adrift: A Little Inspiriation…My Ah-Hah Moment. It took every ounce of willpower in my being to link to that post without editing and changing it first (ok, I admit that I edited out a part that sounded incredibly snotty and hoity-toity in retrospect), but the rest is the same.
The site was a newbie back then and marked my first entry into the world of blogging; I had no clue what I was doing! There were no …

Countries are built to make their own citizens more comfortable – there’s a quote somewhere out there about that and it so clearly rings true over and over again whether I’m home or on the road. One of the common refrains from foreign backpackers I meet is a critical eye toward the huge food portion size in the US – it’s a cultural thing and is expected and accepted by the masses of Americans, we’re simply used to it and a big dinner fits into how we structure our work …

These past four months in Central America have been four of the hardest “travel” months of my life. I’ve been on the road for just under 18 months at this point and Central America has thoroughly exhausted me and essentially kicked my traveling ass.
I didn’t make a secret of that fact two weeks ago when I was frustrated beyond belief, sad, overwhelmed and just bone-tired of it all. It seemed like the Universe was conspiring against me, the gods of travel were just telling me to go home.
And then …

You know how that phrase “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry?”
Yeah, that about sums up most of my time in Belize and my major plans for the country.
I have read absolutely fabulous things about the diving in Belize. The Blue Hole has been on my bucket list for quite some time and the country boasts the second largest barrier reef in the world – sounded great!
But then a series of events forced me to completely abandon these plans and eventually just bail from the country …

A trip around the world just wouldn’t be complete without a highlight of some of the best foods and local treats I found along the way. And while traveling around the world as a vegetarian has its obvious draw-backs, I still managed to sample plenty of delicacies and specialties along the way.
An example of something I skipped? Fried tarantulas in Cambodia.

A vegetarian friendly highlight? Fruit salad and curd.
In fact, who ever knew that curd could taste so good?! India’s rampant use of curd (it’s a whole lot like yogurt) in …

The initial plan for this post was to research all of the different travel insurance options out on the market for budget backpackers and round the world travelers. And I did all of the research, but rather than providing a compare and contrast of the key travel insurance companies, I really came to the conclusion that World Nomads is simply the best on the market for gap-year or RTW travel.
After sussing out all of the negative and positive reviews on other backpacking and travel sites, it’s pretty clear that the …

This week we’ll look at another product that I took on my trip around the world. While it’s no secret that I support traveling lightly and packing only what’s necessary , the definition of necessary is subjective. And it’s also a tough call here with the SteriPEN Handheld Water Purifier. Cousin H bought a SteriPEN for us to use throughout India and Nepal and we did use it the vast majority of the time – and we mostly didn’t get sick (at least not from the water!).
Again, I don’t get …