Is It Safe to Travel Dagestan? Or Stupid?
Every time I told a new person that I planned to travel Dagestan during our school holidays, I had to digest their expression and ask myself, again, “What’s the difference between being stupid and being brave?” It…
The Truth about Solo Female Travel in Georgia
Solo female travel in Georgia is a mixed bag. There, I said it, and I know I risk riling some people. Georgians are renowned for their hospitality – which is completely true. They are some of the…
How to Choose Your Next Expat Home
The snow pants were presenting a problem. As was my Little Red Riding Hood pea coat, my cozy and fluffy sweater shawl, and my snow boots. Leaving Kyiv and moving to Tbilisi in the middle of winter meant…
Rethinking Solo Travel in Ureki, Georgia
I’m sitting in the reception area of a hotel in Ureki Georgia, with bedding and other random hospitality debris piled high around me, and there’s one thing for certain. I am definitely traveling alone. I know this…
The Cable Car in Khulo, Georgia
I knew I had made a good choice when my hostel mom’s eyes light up. “Ah, Khulo!” she said, with the most enthusiasm I had seen in my four days in Batumi (barring when I struggled to…
What Happened in Tbilisi
You know how when you show up in a new place, with no friends, no job, no place to stay, you have the chance to reinvent yourself entirely? No one knows anything about you – this is…
How to Get to the Tunnel of Love in Ukraine
You’ve seen the pictures. A lush tree canopy over a train track, stillness and peace radiating from your computer screen. A leafy tunnel that looks like it leads to Narnia or Titania and Oberon’s realm or at the…
A Solo Female Traveler’s Guide to Drinking Alone
When I was twenty and really traveling on my own for the first time in England, I was devastatingly afraid of drinking alone. I’m not talking about 2am G&Ts up in the club. Nope, just a refreshing…
It’s Not About the Castle, Vladimir.
I was walking alongside the road, in a Ukrainian village I couldn’t have pointed to on a map before this trip, when I met Vladimir. We had been riding on the same bus, but he discovered I…
Dear Tasty Mexican Food, I Still Look at Our Photos
Dear Mexican Food, I’ve had a crush on you from afar all my life. As a kid, my favorite food was a cheese quesadilla from La Cocina (hold everything but the cheese, please – that’s right, just…
