Humor
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...
Adventure
THE JJIMJILBANG DIARIES (Parts 1 &2): Six Days Naked in a Hot Tub Full of Old, Dirty Korean Men FOR SURVIVAL
Illustrations by, Jacquie Spadano and Ross Doran. ************************ I had not seen sunlight in over four days, but I knew it was nighttime. I could tell because the Koreans were singing again; their harrowing karaoke tr...
Backpackology 101
Club Rat: A Penny-Pincher’s Deplorable Guide to Partying Big While Spending Little
I once read in the book of life that if you sleuce enough alcohol at a problem, it will go away. I’ve recently tested this theory with trials because I am a strong advocate of the scientific method, and also an alcoholic. By mi...
China
A Dream Deferred: The End of Backpackology?
When I finally penned my response to Men’s Journal (at three in the morning) (over one week late), I was sitting amongst cockroaches on my hotel room floor, stripped down to my underwear, high as a rocket ship on mysterious Chi...
Adventure
Steve McDonald’s Guide to Getting in Cars with Strangers (Vol. 1)
Here at Backpackology, it is my responsibility to promote a travel style that encourages suicidal recklessness. It is my duty to glorify irresponsibility and actively promote self-endangerment. This is my contribution to the gr...
Adventures in Backpackistan!
The Long Road To Nowhere: A Hitchhiker’s Tale from Outer Mongolia
On the third day, I made a sea-change decision: I thought, if I ever get out of this miserable desert, I’m going to write my first postcard ever. “Sunny Greetings from the Gobi!” it will say, happily scrawled over a stark, grey...
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...
Backpackology 101
Everything You Never Knew You Didn’t Want to Know About Traveler’s Diarrhea
After three months of dread-filled anticipation, it was in Kannur, India, at the ironically named “Hotel Happiness,” that I finally got what was coming to me. The first wave of nausea ripped me awake at about 2:45AM, and within...
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...
Trending
-
The Mystery of the Immaculate Herpes
-
Chinglish 101: Five Secrets to Understanding Demon Bird Moth-Balls
-
Travel Tip #3: Saving Money on Food Costs & The Tupperware Gamble
-
Sichuan Lava Cuisine & The Top 4 Most Common Myths About Spicy Food
-
Going South on China: A Panda Hunt
-
Guest Blogger Emily Chappell: Woman On The Road
-
THE JJIMJILBANG DIARIES (Parts 1 &2): Six Days Naked in a Hot Tub Full of Old, Dirty Korean Men FOR SURVIVAL
-
Weekly Postcard: Sichuan, China
