This was Richard's Keynote to The European Travel Commission, presented on May 9, 2013. This also took first place in our 2013 travel writing competition. I once ran with the bulls of Pamplona....by mistake, involuntarily. I was at Microsoft, where we were developing a new travel product that would become Expedia, and we had the idea to use a new web technology called Live Chat to convey from the field the adventure of travel. I had the idea … [Read more...]
Death in Africa
While scouting for the first descent of the Baro River in Ethiopia, a tributary of the White Nile, I heard about a Peace Corps volunteer, Bill Olsen, 25, a recent graduate of Cornell, who decided to take a dip in the river at Gambella, a village near the South Sudan border. The locals warned to stay away from the river, which they claimed was busy with monsters. Bill ignored the cautions, and swam to a sandbar on the far side of the muddy river, … [Read more...]
Exploring Bermuda, an Introduction to the Island
Getting Here There are nonstop flights to Hamilton from a number of cities along the east coast of the USA as well as London Gatwick. It is surprisingly a short flight from many major metropolitan areas including New York (under 2.5 hours) and Toronto (about 3 hours). Many airlines service the island with nonstop flights including Air Canada, American, British Airways, Delta, Jet Blue, United, US Airways and Westjet among others. Bermuda … [Read more...]
Afghanistan Exposed
Just over one year into our odyssey, while headed overland to Europe, we ventured through Afghanistan. Rocking atop burlap sacks in the open-backed truck, I watched as Peshawar faded into the morning’s mirage. Knowing I’d never return in this lifetime, I felt history being made beneath my feet as upturned dust exposed ancient stories. With a mandatory armed-escort riding in the front, I knew I better play by the rules. At 50C, halfway to the … [Read more...]
Seeing the World with New Eyes
The blast from the whistle of the locomotive quickened my pulse. “Make way...Make way!.. I’m coming through,” it seemed to say. A huge plume of black smoke rose from the stack as the train made its rock-a-billy way along the mountain ledge. I leaned out of the open-air Gondola car to get a better view of the Animus River churning through boulders as big as boxcars. It is one of the few rivers in America that flows unrestricted by dams from … [Read more...]
Down The Colorado River, Through The Grandest Of Canyons
Hiking out of the Grand Canyon — 8 miles, 5,000 feet — felt like re-emerging from a quiet haven inside the earth to stand again atop the soil of civilization. Back up here it's a hot and crowded mess. Everything feels excessive. Everyone seems oblivious. The chaos is distinct after having been so deeply peaceful and disconnected. It feels like I’ve been gone for months, yet it's only been seven days. We saw so much in those 90 miles rafting … [Read more...]
Accidentally falling in love with the California Zephyr
I haven’t always been enamored with trains. In my past travels, I had been on several rails both in the United States on the east coast and also through small parts of Europe. Those times however, I was too young and naive to appreciate the significance and beauty of a well-placed rail. Now, more than three months into my newly nomadic lifestyle and about 10 years since my last rail adventure overseas, trains have become a larger and more … [Read more...]
Street Angel
Sighing with tired relief, we plopped our suitcases into the dusty, grey earth – we had arrived! The journey to Florence took far longer than we had anticipated and weariness dragged through our bodies like a ball and chain around an ankle. Our train started to pull off, rattling and screeching away from the station as we soaked in the new surroundings in the cool night air. I squinted at some small colourful objects in the distance and … [Read more...]
Uncovering Seoul
The best travel experiences are those of discovery. It does not have to be a life-changing discovery as those recounted in a lot of romantic stories nowadays. Simple, small discoveries will do. It was with the longing for a simple discovery that my friends and I planned our winter trip earlier this year. We were all born and raised in a tropical country where the sun shines all year through, so we wanted to find out what a snowy winter would … [Read more...]
The Journey of a Lifetime
As I hastily climbed the stairs of my neighbor’s house, gasping for air with sweat dripping across my forehead, I had one goal in mind: to win this game of Hide and Go Seek. I had no idea that this simple game would change my life forever. Continuing up the stairs I had the mentality of many young children - my life seemed invincible and the thought of death was distant and abstract. Thinking that I would outsmart everyone, I climbed onto a … [Read more...]
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