I still remember the humid July afternoon I stood on a train platform in Bangkok, sweat dripping down my neck, staring at my massive 70-liter backpack. It was stuffed to the brim with things I thought were absolute survival items: three heavy cotton sweaters, a pair of rigid hiking boots I had barely broken in,…
There is a moment right before you leave your apartment for a trip where everything can go wrong. For years, back when I was working a rigid 9-to-5 corporate job in a gray office building in midtown Manhattan, that moment was filled with pure panic. I used to pack for a simple two-day trip to…
There is a specific moment during a twenty-hour journey when the initial excitement of heading somewhere new completely wears off. You are stuck in a middle seat, the cabin lights are dimmed, the air feels like a dry desert, and your phone battery drops into the single digits. If you forgot a vital piece of…
I still remember the crisp autumn morning I handed in my corporate badge, walked out of my Manhattan office tower, and traded my rigid 9-to-5 routine for a beat-up station wagon and an open map. After years of feeling trapped behind a desk, counting down the days to a tiny two-week vacation, I decided I…
I still remember the absolute panic of packing for my first solo backpacking trip across Europe. I was standing in my tiny New York apartment, surrounded by mountains of clothes, three different pairs of shoes, and a pile of “just in case” gadgets that I would never actually use. My backpack was so heavy I…
I still remember standing on the platform at the Penn Station subway stop in New York City, sweating through my clothes, trying to lift a suitcase that weighed nearly fifty pounds. It was my very first big solo trip. I had just quit my rigid corporate office job, determined to see the world on my…
I still remember the chilly autumn morning I stood in line at JFK airport, watching a TSA agent toss my favorite expensive bottle of liquid face wash into a giant gray trash bin. I was working as a certified sightseeing guide in New York City back then, scraping together every extra dollar from tips to…
I still remember the absolute panic I felt at John F. Kennedy International Airport back in 2018. I was about to board a flight to Bangkok to teach English, leaving my rigid corporate office job in New York behind for good. I had packed my entire life into one large backpack and a carry-on roller…
When I finally walked away from my gray corporate office cubicle in New York back in 2017, I threw a bunch of cheap clothes and a massive, heavy hair straightener into a ragged backpack. I was terrified. I was a young woman heading out to explore the world alone, starting with a long solo trip…