Culture
China
Chinglish 101: Five Secrets to Understanding Demon Bird Moth-Balls
If Americans love one thing more than looking at silly things on the Internet, it’s getting really, super offended at silly things on the Internet. So before I start this week’s Photo Travelogue, I’d like to preface by saying t...
Adventure
The Mystery of the Immaculate Herpes
It was a miracle—a horrible miracle—that turned my pleasant morning tinkle into a heart pounding free-fall into nightmareland. HERPES!!! I diagnosed (even though I’d never actually seen herpes before). For several minutes I sto...
China
Sichuan Lava Cuisine & The Top 4 Most Common Myths About Spicy Food
The purpose of my self-destructive side trip to Chongqing was to eat at 夜富火锅, home of the spiciest hotpot on the planet (chunks of meat doused in a scalding broth of Sichuan chili and flower peppers, so spicy it’ll have y...
Bizarre
Going South on China: A Panda Hunt
Before I try to rationalize for you my ill-conceived quest into the bamboo forests of Sichuan, I’d like to clarify that I harbor no secret vendetta against the Giant Panda. I just simply couldn’t understand why the world fetish...
Bizarre
A Steppe Too Far?: Eagle Hunters, Cultural Darwinism, and Getting Banned in Kazakhstan
At 4:27PM, on the afternoon of October 29th, I received an e-mail from an acquaintance in Almaty, informing me that Backpackology has been banned in Kazakhstan. When my initial laughter subsided, my amusement faded into confusi...
Adventures in Backpackistan!
Off the Eaten Path: A Culinary Tour of Korea (Part One)
At first, I thought it was dead. At least in most corners of the globe, this is what you assume when something is placed before you on a platter and you are handed metal chopsticks. But this was not ‘most corners of the globe;’...
China
Silk Road Ramblings: Lost Empires, Gobi Fugitives, and The Secret Meth Habit of Marco Polo
I have conquered the Silk Road. I’ve hid from Chinese guards in the starlit dunes of the Gobi. I’ve visited mud-thatched villages and seen old Uighur men as hairy as camels shriek in wonder and delight as they passed around a p...
Culture
The Karakoram Highway
When I tell people that my favorite country thus far has been Pakistan, I often receive horrified stares, as if I’ve just admitted that I enjoy licking squirrels or pooping in jam jars. But what people don’t realize is that Pa...
China
Wednesday Wanderings: The Former Nation of East Turkestan
It’s hard to stabilize a video camera when you’re being stampeded by a crowd of bedraggled Uighur shepherds, when you’re tripping over barnyard critters and women with gold-plated teeth and painted unibrows are screaming foreig...
Adventure
GoatBall Superstar, Afghan Hero
The afternoon sun slanted across the District Chief of Police’s office as he sat glowering at me in his oversized armchair, gnashing his teeth like some rabid, Pashtun muppet. Sitting in his line of fire, I smiled at nothing in...
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The Mystery of the Immaculate Herpes
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Chinglish 101: Five Secrets to Understanding Demon Bird Moth-Balls
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Travel Tip #3: Saving Money on Food Costs & The Tupperware Gamble
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Sichuan Lava Cuisine & The Top 4 Most Common Myths About Spicy Food
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Going South on China: A Panda Hunt
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Guest Blogger Emily Chappell: Woman On The Road
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THE JJIMJILBANG DIARIES (Parts 1 &2): Six Days Naked in a Hot Tub Full of Old, Dirty Korean Men FOR SURVIVAL
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Weekly Postcard: Sichuan, China
