The Malaysian and I split the cab fare— $15 each, or so, which felt a little steep in Nepal. But seeing as the cabbie had just driven us for an hour and a half into the mountains, we weren’t really in any position to argue.
And considering one can drop $15 at Starbucks if they’re not careful, it seemed silly to be upset.
As I stepped out of the taxi, I couldn’t help but realize: here I am.
The taxi ride was a little awkward.
There were four of us. The driver spoke no English, as far as I could tell. Our trekking guide sat up front, occasionally chatting with the driver in their native tongue. I shared the backseat with a small Malaysian man. We had all introduced ourselves, but the names were foreign, and hadn’t stuck.
For all intents and purposes, I was in a car with three strangers, heading for the remote mountains of Nepal.
So I’ve been home for a short stint between trips. This means catching up with friends and acquaintances, many of whom are curious about the travel I’ve been doing. The two most common questions are fairly predictable: 1. How do you manage the language barrier? And 2. What was your favorite place?
We’ll come back to the language barrier at a later date. Today, I just want to share my favorite countries I have visited so far.
In honor of my trip to Taiwan one year ago today, I’m going to be sharing some posts about this oft-overlooked travel destination! And with Donald Trump highlighting the fact that for all intents and purposes, Taiwan actually is not part of China, it seemed like a good time to highlight some of the differences between these two countries!
I brought my Amazon Kindle on my most recent backpacking trip through the Balkans. There are many reasons for traveling with a Kindle—it’s smaller, lighter, and more versatile than bringing a physical book. Essentially, you can bring every book and magazine in all of human history without adding more than a few ounces to your bag.
thisisyouth 