Adventure of the month

1. There is only one La Paz in all of Bolivia. This one came as a shocker. I had boarded an 8pm bus from Uyuni-La Paz and was set to arrive twelve hours later, at 8am. Yet, it was 4am and I had been woken up and asked to get off the bus. It was a local bus, which makes a couple of stops so obviously there was a misunderstanding. Me: No, I'm going to La Paz Driver: This is La Paz Me: (looking at my watch, then at my cell phone, confirming it is in fact 4am and thinking I may have gotten on the wrong bus). Is there another La Paz? Driver: (getting a little exasperated) No, this is the only La Paz. Me: (confused and certain that if I get off the bus, I will be stuck in the off-brand city of La Pez) Are you sure? I'm not supposed to be in La Paz for 4 more hours. Driver: Señora, there was no traffic. We are early. There is only one La Paz in all of Bolivia. Please, you need to get off this bus.

A $500 American Airlines voucher that was about to expire, a week off and a long-held desire to hang out in the world's largest salt flat: these were the factors that led to me standing in La Paz Int'l Airport, gasping for air at an inhumane 11,913 ft elevation. Minutes after landing, I was in line waiting to pay for my visa and ready to drop, when I noticed that the yoga instructor standing behind me had beat me to it. I bent down to help her up, so now the poor customs guy who came running over now had to help not one but two women to the nearest seats. It was 5am, I was in Bolivia and altitude sickness was kicking my ass. This was going to be a challenge. I expected this, maybe not to this degree, but I knew that the first day was going to be rough so my plans were simple. I was catching a connecting flight to Uyuni, choosing an agency for the aforementioned salt flat sojourn and napping...or as they like to call it acclimatizing.

Last week was kind of special. For only the second time in my life, I went out on a trip that went full circle around the globe. This means I left Miami on April 1st and headed East towards Europe. I then continued east and then more east (and still more east) until lo and behold, April 9th I was back where I started. In between, there was some sightseeing, plenty of sleeping on airplanes, curry galore and that giddy euphoria that comes from the coupling of seeing a new place and the certainty of oncoming exhaustion. To give an idea of what something like that is like, here is a cliff notes version of my schedule.

It is fair to say that Dhaka, Bangladesh is not on many "Must-see" lists of tourist destinations and I sort of understand why. It is crowded, insanely so. The greater city alone has a population of 18 million people so finding a moment of peace and quiet is a near impossibility. The traffic...oh, sweet ever-loving Zeus...the traffic is unrelenting. It can (and did) take close to three hours to go the equivalent of five miles. The historic sites, despite the valiant efforts of their caretakers, are in varying states of disrepair. The mosquitos, all 5 kajillion of them, will be first to greet you at the airport en masse. At this moment, every square inch of me that was exposed at landing is more welt than skin. During the day, it is hot, humid and sticky and a true test of the whole "try to stay conservatively dressed in a Muslim country" thing. Bottom line, it is not an easy city to travel in. Yet here I was in my first post-100 country, hoping to see as such ...

"We don't grow when things are easy, we grow when we faces challenges." That is a random quote I found online after googling "quotes about challenges". I am not going to bother looking up who to attribute it to because frankly, I don't think it is that great of a quote. I only bring it up as a prelude to bringing up my latest project (or if I want to sound really aspirational and stick to the theme of this post, my latest challenge). Having put to bed the goal of reaching 100 countries, I was looking for something new to focus on. They say inspiration can come from unlikely sources and it did. This time, it arrived via the click-baity newsletter, Thrillist. For anyone unfamiliar, this is a newsletter that is mainly aimed at guys but that happens to include a lot of lists on the best restaurants, bars, architecture, etc in x city, thus my subscription. The article that caught my eye was a list, published this past January, of the 21 best dive bars i...

I'm not suggesting that there is anything irreparably wrong with Daytona, after all one of my coolest friends who might be reading this, is originally from there. I'm just saying that my recent experiences during a two day visit kind of made me go "hmmmmmm". First the 'good':  the famous boardwalk has an inherently charming old-timey look and feel to it.   Walking past the candy-colored shops and ice cream parlors feels like stepping back into a nostalgic 50's era movie set. The beach is expansive, clean and you can drive on it. The drinks are cheap and plentiful.  There is a roller coaster that appears to run on demand. If you are into black t-shirts featuring bikes, eagles, big-boobied women and/ or confederate flags, you don't have to look very far (although that last one really does not belong in the plus column).

It is tough to be away from family and loved ones during the holidays. I've done it before because of work and I was doing it now because of the only routing I was able to get. I spent the 24th shopping for gifts, getting a massage, attending an expat xmas eve dinner/ cocktail party and just soaking in the peacefulness that permeates Ubud. And peaceful it is. Between the many practicing Hindus placing daily offerings of fresh flowers on sidewalks, the ever-present lingering incense and the travelers trying to attain their best selves via yoga mats, this is somewhere that just feels special. There is no way for me to describe it without sounding trite or hokey but spending time, even just a couple of days there is bound to change you, for the better. It was in this state of mind that I spent Xmas day. It was my last day in Bali and I just wanted to take it all in. After another lovingly home cooked breakfast, I decided to return to one of my favorite places on the island. It sho...