Hello! And welcome to my blog. The purpose of this blog is primarily to share my free and open thoughts that I have in the course of my travels. Those of you who have followed me before may have read of the things I’d written in my previous blog…so thank you for coming back to my new site! Unfortunately, I backed up my old site incorrectly and I believe I’ve lost ALL of my posts from that site. I have the hard-written copies with me, but I had made some changes as I type it up for the web…ugh, I may get around to reposting those at some point.

For those of you who haven’t read previously, welcome and thank you!

Travel Blog

I haven’t been to too many places (yet), but I do have a lot of people ask me for help/pointers/advice/etc if they end up going to places I’ve already been. There will be travel advice sections primarily based on things I’ve previously written for people interested in visiting those places. My intent is not to tell you the best parts of all the cities, but perhaps to give some lesser shared advices - currency exchange and what to expect in terms of general prices, some culture tips and do’s/don’ts, explanation of local foods, maybe CouchSurfing and hitchhiking culture.

I may also include some personal recommendations, but I primarily look for smaller, often sketchier restaurants and places that most people might not feel comfortable visiting. If you want recommendations for such places, I’m happy to share them with you personally.

For nicer restaurants with reviews and whatnot, my advice is to check out any of the various travel blogs/travel recommendation websites (TripAdvisor is ok, WikiTravel can be great, Yelp! also good, NomadicMatt, etc).

Worst case (and personally, one of my favorite things to do), is to never be afraid to wander around the city in which you find yourself and stop at a restaurant that meets your cleanliness/sketchiness/price requirements.

I feel that most often, the best way to explore a new city, especially outside of the US, is to put down the phone and follow your senses - interesting sites, smells, sounds. You may enjoy what you find this way more - I know I do!

Personal Thoughts

I also intend to share some of my thoughts while I travel including random stream-of-consciousness articles and things that pertain to - either differences, similarities, or both - the United States or Western Europe.

My intent for comparing/contrasting is not to state which place/custom is better, but merely to try to explain some of the differences as I understand them. E.g. It may seem disgusting to various westerners that the Chinese leave the restroom door open, but, in my understanding, many Chinese believe this is cleaner. They do not have to touch the door/handle/lock that is perhaps one of the most disgusting parts of the bathroom. The Chinese are actually obsessed with cleanliness.

I also hope to share some profiles about individuals I may meet along the way who leave a particular impression on me. Those familiar may remember my profiles on Miguel, Katie, and Jennifer when I CouchSurfed in Louisiana. These types of personal portraits are intriguing to me since I get to work on writing creatively. Also, I hope these will not be constrained to individuals, but perhaps places and events as well.

Read Me!

I’m sure that many of my writings will be short - perhaps around 500-1000 words; however, I hope that at least a few of my travel recommendations will be long. I am particularly interested in writing for my family and friends, and also for young individuals who might want to or be interested in traveling the way I do and to the places I find intriguing.

Open to Recommendations!

I hope all of you will find my thoughts and writing interesting. Please feel free to write to me about recommendations you might have for places that I’ve written about, places you think I should travel, or just feedback about what I’ve written.

Thank you all! I hope to see many of you sometime soon in your home, in my home, or on the road.

Safe travels and happy surfing!

Josh S =P