I’ve been to Bali twice over the last 3 years and I have mixed feelings about this heavily touristed exotic island. The first time I went to Bali in 2015, I had quit my job and bought a one-way ticket after seeing a picture of Tanah Lot on my computer screen in New York City on…
Tag: backpacking
Colombia: Lost City, Kogis, and Parque Tayrona
Following a few days in the hippie village Taganga in the Santa Marta region, I decided to join the 5 day trek to discover the Lost City in the mountains of Sierra Nevada. Despite the fact that I didn’t have proper hiking shoes or a backpack, the idea seemed like the best thing to do at…
Northern Thailand: Pai
Pai is a tiny mountain town near Chiang Mai, which is also a hippy gathering center. Tour companies and guesthouses all over Chiang Mai arrange minivan services between Chiang Mai and Pai and the trip takes 3 nauseating but pretty scenic hours, given the 762 sharp curves along the road. We booked our tickets with Aya…
Thailand, my second home!
Update: After my first blog entry below about Thailand, I continued traveling and returned back home (in New York City) at the end of an amazing 13 months. Even though I was back in the US in summer, the most fun time to be in the city, I wasn’t able to live in-between four walls…
Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai
Beautiful, modern yet authentic bohemian city in the northern part of Thailand, which is the country’s second most-visited city
Cambodia ❤
In between my trips to India and Thailand, I bought a ticket to Cambodia on a whim, which appeared to be a good option while applying and waiting for my 2-month Thai visa application. Cambodia is the first place I visited without making any prior preparations and I am glad I did it this way…
Motorcycle Diaries India Part 2: Goa
To continue from my previous blog entry on Rajhastan (Pushkar, Jaipur, Udaipur), Delhi, and Rishikesh, here is part 2 of my India story discovering the beautiful southern paradise Goa and a bit of Karnataka. Himalayas deserve their own chapter hence I will continue with another blog entry just for the majestic northern region. We arrived in…
Motorcycle Diaries India Part 1: Delhi, Rishikesh, Rajhastan (Jaipur, Udaipur, Pushkar)
Traveling in India for a month is one thing, living in India for eight months is another. The difference is you HAVE to learn to accept if you want to keep your sanity and happiness intact during your time in this magical land. And needless to say India is the craziest place I have been to, where…
Sri Lanka
I paid an impromptu visit to Sri Lanka to apply for a new tourist visa for India (details below) since the previous one expired after 3 months. Frankly I went to this beautiful island unwillingly by interrupting my stay in Goa however, I was glad I did it since I was super impressed by Sri…
Nepal: Kathmandu and Pokhara
The days in Nepal start with namaste and end with namaste. How can someone not be comfortable surrounded by people who see the divine in each other! I thought the Nepalis were very kind people whose faces lit up when they saw us and tried to have a chit chat in any chance they got. And…
Uruguay: My new love affair!
I won’t hide the fact that I was beyond shocked to find Uruguay as a super modern, progressive, young, and beautiful country while expecting it to be old/historic/authentic such as Peru, Bolovia or Paraguay (oops!). But I was sort of relieved when I heard the same misconception from most of my fellow backpackers. All of…
Argentina: A short visit to Buenos Aires
When I landed in Buenos Aires following the 2 months I’d spent in various mountains and jungles of South America, I felt like I had returned back home to Turkey. Buenos Aires reminded me of Istanbul so much especially during the shuttle trip from the airport to the city center: the people lying on the…
