Best Stories on A Little Adrift

Welcome friend! If you’re new here to A Little Adrift, you’re starting at just the right spot. This page holds a collection of all the best stories and writing, segmented out by theme: cultural history, favorite experiences, foodie delights, nature, festivals & temples, and volunteering. We have a whole other resource page for RTW travel planning and sussing out the best tips, advice, and trip prep articles for those readers knee-deep planning their own trip!

So why not scroll down, pick the first few titles stirring your curiosity, grab your mug of tea and enjoy!

Musings as I Seek Out a Country’s Cultural History

Humanizing the Travel Experience: An ecolodge set into the desert sets the stage for meeting and learning about the local Bedouin culture as they teach me to make Bedouin bread, coffee, and cheese.

Consider Echos of Cuba’s History: A storm settling over Old Havana sets the mood for exploring the city and Cuba’s historic El Malecon waterfront that looks toward the Florida Keys.

Cuba Gets an “ish” from Me: I delve into controversy with this piece as I cover why traveling to Cuba only rated as mediocre in my book and discuss why I don’t plan to travel back there any time soon.

Frangipani, Incense, and Balinese Beliefs: The Balinese are incredibly superstitious and the island’s rituals and offerings are a beautiful and daily part of the island’s culture and religion.

Honduras: The Central American South: Cowboy hats and sunshine combine to make Honduras stand out with similarities to the American South, where I grew up.

Authenticity and a Town I Just Shouldn’t Like: Finding and enjoying conversation with the locals at a bar in Guatemala’s most touristy town is a window just like any other into culture and politics.

My Personal Favorite Travel Stories and Experiences

A Love Letter on Travel and Leave-Takings: My love letter to travel as I muse on solo travel, the difficulties of coming back home while finding a travel relationship that works for me as I continue wandering.

A Pastel Sunrise Over Wadi Rum: A dawn camel ride as the sun is rising over Jordan’s desert is etched in my memory as the pinks and blues tinted the sand and rocks.

A Child’s Journey Through Chinese New Year: Go on the journey of Chinese New Year festivities in Thailand’s Chinatown told through the eyes of a young child.

A Secret Spot in Ireland’s Heart: Ireland is an island of mystery as I tap into the cadence and rhythm of the locals speech, lore, and attitudes while hiking through sheep pastures and along coastlines.

My Ah-Hah Moment for Traveling RTW: The moment I decided to travel around the world and plot my leave from the US; thoughts and feelings as I made those choices.

The Best Advice My Dad Ever Gave Me: My dad’s a wise man, and advice he gave me as a super-angsty 16 year old still resonates today and shapes my perspective when things get dicey on the road.

Peat Fireplaces, Rugged Ireland, & Something Special: Ireland holds such a special place in my heart, the smells of fireplaces mixed with yeasty beer and flowing conversation ebb and flow throughout the island.

Ten Days in a Vipassana Meditation Course: One of the hardest, most self-disciplined things I’ve ever done was complete a strict, silent ten day meditation course set on a gorgeous lake in Nepal.

Hongsa, Quietly Rural Laos: The smiling faces of children, an elephant ride, and rural Laos on a trek from a small and remote town in Laos with very few tourists but a lot of heart to share.

The Tastiest Foodie Delights from Around the World

Jordan Spices & Our Global Palate: Fun and unique flavors I found traveling for the first time in the Middle East–spices and food combinations I had never previously sampled.

Touring a Rural  Macadamia Nut Farm: Expats running a macadamia nut farm in Guatemala offer tours and the most delicious pancakes in the country cooked with a hearty macadamia flour and topped with blueberries.

A Working Coffee Plantation Tour in Guatemala: Learning about how coffee goes from red cherries on the plant to sorting and roasting the beans before eventually making it into the cup!

Favorite Indian Foodie-Finds: As a vegetarian, eating in India provides incredible diversity in terms of flavors, dishes, scents, and colors–several of my favorite dishes in the world come from India.

Czech’s Rich Traditional Desserts: I’m no stranger to desserts and sweet Czech dumplings stand out as an every-day treat when you’re in the country in need of a snack!

Highlighting Nature and Mother Earth’s Beauty

The Most Picturesque Drive in Ireland: Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula couples Ireland’s hundreds of shades of green with sloping hillsides, steep cliffs and tumultuous waters.

The Rare Rains Fall on my Visit to Uluru: Australia’s “Big Red Rock,” Uluru, is one of the most iconic Aussie sites–expect when I arrive the rains are falling hard and rarely seen waterfalls pool down the rock’s tall edges.

Unexpected Sweet Life on the Rio Dulce: Relaxing on the river and finally slowing down my travels fast enought o find some peaceful days in the south of Guatemala, kayaking and swimming on the river.

Red Hot Lava and an Active Volcano: A hike up the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala has me a bit nervous in preparation as rock chucks spew from the mouth and during the hike the soles of our shoes begin to melt!

A Moody Hike to the Old Man of Storr: A wet hike to the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye in Scotland is rapidly obscured once I get to the top and and clouds roll in low to cover the jutting Storr with eerie shadows.

The Smells of the Tuscan Countryside: Take in Tuscany’s gentle bumps and hills as the wine fields and sun-kissed olive trees dot the countryside on an afternoon bike ride through the rural countryside.

A Sparkling Mediterranean Coast: The Five Lands connected on the west coast of Italy are far from “hidden gems,” but Cinque Terre are popular for good reason as the pretty little towns create an oil painting of color against the Sea.

Diving with the Fishies!: A life-long dream was fulfilled diving Australia’s oceans for a taste of the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Cairns. I photographed fish and marveled at the spots of light seeping through the deep blue waters.

The Giant Staircase in Katoomba: Early on in my RTW travels I set out to hike the stunning pretty Blue Mountains near Sydney. One of my first global forays into nature and the memories still stand out among the best.

Temples and Festivals from Around the World

Tikal Wildlife and Ruins: One of the largest and most important Mayan sites in Central America, Tikal is still mostly over-grown so it’s mind-blowing to look out over the tree-tops at acres of un-excavated Mayan temples.

Katmandu’s Ancient  Stupas: Nepal is home to many of the holiest temples known to Buddhist religion, so take a tour of the gently waving prayer flags and pilgrims visiting these holy sites.

Ogling  the Taj Mahal in Sunshine: The Taj Mahal’s white marble walls, all in perfect symmetry, stand as a monument to love and one of the most popular spots in the country for Indian newlyweds on their honeymoon!

Holi Festival of Colors!: Wild and wacky, Holi stands out as the most fun I’ve had in a single day. Locals smear color all over your face, “cleanse” you with water, and joyously welcome in the spring.

Say Wat? Cambodia’s Angkor Wat: The vast grounds of Angkor Wat are so much more extensive than just the iconic tiered main temple and visiting the lesser known sites mean quiet time with the ancient carvings.

The Intricate Sawdust Carpets of Semana Santa: Amazing hand-crafted and ephemeral carpets line the streets of Antigua, Guatemala in preparation for the city’s Holy Week activities.

Volunteering Stories from RTW

Volunteering Teaching English to Monks in Nepal: My favorite volunteer experience to-date, I spent a month in the outskirts of Kathmandu teaching English to young monks living at a monastery.

Valentines Day at a Cambodian Orphanage: FLOW is a happy community of children outside of Phnom Penh, they are welcoming and warm and celebrating a holiday with these Cambodian children was magical.

Building Stoves in Rural Guatemala: The rural stove-building project in Xela wasn’t particularly glamorous, but as the families stood by watching their new stoves constructed I could feel the immediate effects of my volunteer time.