A Conversation with Maria Rochelle

I recently had the pleasure of joining fellow author Maria Rochelle in quite a revealing conversation... A discussion on travel, literature, writing, life, love and losing oneself in the beautiful madness of all things. Since reading Knausgaard i’ve been determined to step, several wide steps, away from the ego. Moving instead towards a voracious diet of …

On the Road Less Traveled

The winding sandstone canyons that hide the fabled city of Petra. Here, where Bedouin live in caverns, past and future can be seen in the present. This is a land legendary and proud. Where pastoralists and sedentary pedestrians mix. The desert is hot madness, yet soft and poetic. It's exotic as it is wild and it …

NaNoWriMo : Into the Wild

Earlier this year, I set a goal to finish a solid draft of my memoir and to achieve this mission i'm going into the wild, er, offline... A MONTHLONG period away from social media, the internet, ethernet and all those nets, in an archaic approach to finish this labor of love that i'm damn excited …

The Sabah House Rules

It was nearly a year ago that I discovered the Sabah Dealer. A chance meeting on Twitter led me to this exotic, almost whimsical Instagram where I was transported to Anatolia. To the bazaars, the buskers and baksheesh and medieval villages. To a world still crafted by hand. I soon found that behind the Sabah Dealer's travels were shoes--Sabah's …

TBEX, TRAVEL BLOGGERS AND NORTH AMERICA

"Tbex is love made visible" --To misquote Khalil Gibran never felt so right Last week I participated in my first Tbex conference. This coming together of like-minded artists in the travel industry has opened my eyes to the potential we have within. From a passionate and lyrical lesson by Don George to the dynamic Dave and Deb from Planet …

Sketching Sights: Burma on My Mind

Before the world can truly reveal itself you must take a period of meditation. A time of reflection. To pre-game, to set a cosmic course of action by stating your intentions and making them manifest. This is the driving force behind Sketching Sights. To become one with the elements of each and every environment that strikes me. …

Rally For A Two-State Solution

Last weekend I took part in a polarizing protest. And, I want you to know, dear reader, before proceeding, that I hold no anti-muslim nor anti-semitic sentiments. My opinion is neither religious (for some they sure have made it out to be) nor ethnic (for some they sure have made it out to be). I'll let my …

Abbot Kinney Part I: Another Kind of Sunrise

All cities come equipped with a beating heart. A cultural core that stimulates the genius in urbanites giving them a unique identity to stand apart from the rest of the world. Some cities, like Los Angeles, race to the tune of several hearts and it was on our way out of L.A. that we came across …

A case in Airbnb

There's a new craze going from town to town, calling on travelers to break the mundane and deconstruct that rigid barrier between local and outsider. This movement is manifest in vehicles such as Airbnb. If you're unfamiliar with the concept think of it as a refined, more mature approach to hosteling or couchsurfing. Which never really took …

How To Kanafeh

This is how I discovered Kanafeh I had been in Jordan for several weeks and my love affair with Arabian sweets had reached a lofty peak. In fact, I would begin and end each day with a platter of pastries, smothered in honeys and syrups that would flood through heaps of pistachios on my plate. I had reached junkie …