On my travels I have made a point to visit many of the incredible Unesco World Heritage Sites all over the world. These range from the iconic architectural sights like the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, to the beautiful and charming UNESCO cities of Guanajuato and Luang Prabang. I’ve picnicked in UNESCO National Parks and stared in wonder at the historic wonders of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. Take a peek at my favorite experiences over the past decade as I’ve traveled this world in search of culture, history, and connection.
Colorful houses drip from cliffs and hang over the sea. Sunlight sparkles in the ocean and across the gentle curve of sandy beaches. The five towns comprising Cinque Terre are among the most photogenic of Italy’s coastal cities. Even more, Cinque Terre is one of the most popular and iconic of Italy’s towns. While Rome and …
After nearly 40 transit hours to travel from Kathmandu, Nepal to Milan, Italy, I was read to see a friendly face. I studied abroad in Northern Italy years back, so arriving in Milan felt like a warm hug from an old friend. I was also en route to an actual warm hug from an old friend. My …
Royal Chitwan National Park is a crowning jewel of Nepal, and it’s also one of the country’s most successful conservation projects. It’s notably a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and therefore under international protection. During my month of volunteering outside of Kathmandu, I had only heard good things about Chitwan from the young monks; I was …
When I first booked my trip to spend three days at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Royal Chitwan National Park, I had visions of trekking through the jungles to spy on tigers and dodge wild rhinos. Turns out, the adventuring at Chitwan doesn’t go quite that far. I did see one of the rare one-horned rhinos, …
Florence really is a city of magic. Traveling with my cousin and best friend, we stayed at an affordable hostel in the city center and used that as a base to explore. Although the one- and two-star hotels are often affordable, with the private room in the hostel we saved money on breakfast and had …
The early morning light glinted off buildings of Kathmandu as our plane circled the Kathmandu Valley waiting to land. After two months exploring India, I moved into Nepal (full Nepal travel guide here) after traveling north from India for two months. My goal? Spend nine weeks at a slower of pace life while exploring everything …
Trekking in the Himalayas conjures images of beautiful, sweeping mountainscapes. It’s cupping your hand to your brow and tilting your head upward to gaze at the world’ tallest mountains. After five weeks traveling and living Nepal, most of that spent volunteering at a monastery with young monks, the time had come to pit myself against nature and …
I left Agra in the dead of night with the promise of the Golden Temple on the horizon when I awoke in Amritsar, India. My cousin and I had a wild few weeks journeying north from Mumbai. We marveled at the palaces in Udaipur, the camels and monkeys in charming Pushkar, the colors of celebrating Holi, …