What to be when I grow up?  It’s the age-old question. A few people are born knowing the answer. My sister, for example, decided to become a mechanical engineer at age of five, and never looked back. Now, at age […]Read More ›

Getting from Belgrade, Serbia to Sarajevo, Bosnia was not a pleasant experience.  At all. I took a bus from one capital to the other. There is no other way to describe this trip but “horrific.” To begin, it was wickedly […]Read More ›

I’ve had many spiritual and philosophical moments on the road. I’ve had the time to reflect back upon my entire life. Here are eight things I wish I’d known 10 years ago: 1. Men (and women) will treat you the […]Read More ›

Belgrade was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. After Plovdiv, Bulgaria, I was prepared for the worst. Plovdiv grew on me after a hike in the gorgeous Bulgarian countryside. These experiences elevated Bulgaria from Butthole of My Travels to, well, […]Read More ›

I took an overnight train from Istanbul to Plovdiv, and arrived in the cultural heart of Bulgaria at 11 a.m. The city struck me as tourist-unfriendly from the get-go.  I went to reserve a train ticket from Plovdiv to Sofia. […]Read More ›