Bangkok or Singapore — It's Complicated
One's chaos you can eat. One's order you can breathe. We want both, always.
'Kolkata Is Just Old Buildings and Traffic' Is a Myth
We planned two days out of obligation. We stayed four out of choice. Kolkata earns more attention than it gets.
Phuket or Koh Samui — It's Complicated
Thailand gives you two beach answers and refuses to just pick one for you.
Twenty Minutes at a 1,300-Year-Old Temple — Mahabalipuram
The plan was twenty minutes at the Shore Temple. We lost the whole afternoon instead, happily.
Boracay or Palawan — It's Complicated
Both are the Philippines at its most photogenic. Only one asks you to work a little harder for it.
Bangkok Is Not 'Chaos and Street Food'
That's one neighborhood, filmed a thousand times, sold as the whole city. Two floors up and one temple courtyard over, it's a different place entirely.
Cebu or Boracay — It's Complicated
One's an island you explore. One's an island you just lie on. Confusing? Correct.
First Eurotrip, First Solo Landing — Stansted
London was the plan. A small Essex airport most people have never heard of is where I actually became someone who could land alone in another country.
Darjeeling or Kashmir — It's Complicated
Two versions of the same fantasy — mountains, mist, something warm in your hands. Only one of them is actually a valley.
Nobody Tells You This About Mahabaleshwar
Everyone comes for strawberries and cream. Twenty-four kilometers away is a cliff where history got a lot less sweet.
Rajasthan or Kashmir — It's Complicated
Desert royalty or valley romance — India's two biggest bucket-list trips, one impossible ranking. Everyone asks which to do first. We still don't have an answer.
The Strawberry Queue Fight — Mahabaleshwar
We went for the honeymoon energy and had our first real fight of the trip over a strawberry stall. This is that story.
Alibaug or Matheran — It's Complicated
Sea or hill — Mumbai's two default answers to 'let's get out of the city this weekend.' We've picked one for the group chat and one for us.
Nobody Climbs Kintamani Anymore
Most people who go to Kintamani never actually climb it. They stop at the viewpoint café, take the photo, and leave.
Lonavala or Khandala — It's Complicated
Two hill stations, five kilometers apart, one decade of arguing about which one's actually better. We still can't agree.
The Night I Almost Turned Back — Chail
Zero sleep, an overnight train, and a rumor that it might snow. Every sign said turn around. I'm glad I didn't listen.
Mahabaleshwar or Panchgani — It's Complicated
Same road, same strawberries, two completely different personalities. We keep booking the wrong one and wishing we hadn't.
Ubud's Rice Terraces Are Gorgeous for Exactly Nine Minutes
Same rice terrace, ninety minutes apart, and it's two completely different places. Timing is the whole trick with Ubud.
Dublin or Cork — It's Complicated
Ask anyone in Dublin, they'll say Dublin. Ask anyone in Cork, they'll say Cork isn't even a competition. We landed in the middle of it.
Spiti: The Middleland | −27°C, No Water, 10 Days
−27°C, no water, ten days — the winter anniversary trip that started it all this season.
Southeast Asia Journal
Pulled from the archive of ~50 destinations. Reworked soon.
Kinsale — Ireland's Gourmet Capital You've Never Heard Of
Everyone photographs the colored houses. Almost nobody films the fifteen minutes before it, when it's just fishing boats and cold hands.
Kinnaur: The Trip That Started HawaaPaani
Nine days, almost no plan, and a stranger's plate of rajma chawal on top of a mountain — the accidental trip that became the whole idea.
Krabi Humbled Us Before Breakfast
We booked Krabi for the limestone cliffs and spent day one figuring out which beach was even attached to which town.
Spiti: The Middleland, Part 2
Next in the series — publishing soon.
Ladakh, Off-Season
An earlier journal from the archive — coming soon in rewritten form.
Gyu Monastery's Café
The one stop that quietly became the heart of the whole Spiti trip.