Mandy remembers spinning her new globe at age seven and being awed by all the “bumpy” bits on the round sphere indicating mountains. Among those bumps was one country that fascinated her more than any other...little Nepal because it was seemingly ALL bumps. At that age, she vowed to go...to Nepal...on the basis that it was cool and bumpy. Regardless,…
Journeying overland from Lucknow in India to Nepal took some initiative and significantly more determination than we’d expected, made all the more difficult because of the week long Diwali festival celebrations, which we had unfortunately mistimed to coincide with our travel days. The magic transit formula for success ended up being one Uber, one Indian train, two(!) sardine-tinned shared “taxis”,…
Trekking, as many may know, is one of our most-loved forms of travel and exploration. Trekking with meaning adds a whole new level. Back in 1996, a wonderfully innovative community oriented initiative called TESFA, meaning “hope”, was started in the Northern Ethiopian highlands. Nowadays, Tesfa Tours, runs multiple community trekking options using the TESFA program of community lodges, and we…
Flux capacitor set. Time circuits on. It was time to Marty McFly our way back to September 21, 2012. After weeks in the brown Tanzanian plains and bush, we were beyond enthralled to be greeted by nothing but shades of green as we touched down in Lalibela, Ethiopia where we immediately gained 7 years, 9 months and 10 days. Confused?!…
How did we afford a safari on our budget of $50/day? In short, we didn’t. We knew from the beginning of our travels that in Africa, we’d have to loosen our purse strings a little. Despite assumptions however, safaris can be a lot more affordable than people think. In our case budget friendly camping safaris can be planned in advance…
Touching down amidst towering coconut palm trees that seemed to carpet the landscape of this sapphire, cerulean, and cyan enveloped island which beckoned us to exclaim, wow! Yes, we’d reached the island of Zanzibar for our first stop in Africa. Zanzibar is one of those magical place names, that doesn’t quite seem like a real place until you’re there. It’s…
A four-night wild camping and road trip in Oman seemed like a worthwhile idea in theory when we planned it. Lots of backpackers and locals do it, it’s totally free (minus the $20 cheapie tent we purchased), and would allow us to get in touch with the beautiful nature, off-the-beaten-path villages and real culture of the country. And we knew…
Because we’ve been in Europe for most of the past year, Oman is the first place we’ve gone that has felt truly and totally exotic. We’d already dipped our toes into the Middle East when we visited Jordan, but Jordan, is not as off-the-beaten-path nor does it feel as ‘traditionally Arab’ as Oman... not even close. For westerners like us,…
