I stumbled across Kim’s blog So Many Places last year when Adrian and I were in the final stages of planning our trip to SE Asia and working to get The Beautiful Occupation online. I was instantly hooked by her brilliant and honest writing and have been a faithful reader ever since.

I’m standing, dazed and shivering, in the dairy section of our local grocery store deliberating over 0% or 2% yogurt; I can’t remember what we normally buy. It’s been so long and I can’t think straight. My eyes burn with exhaustion, my body is hollow with fatigue and the dizziness in my head exaggerates the surreal nature of the moment. A flush of familiarity washes over me and for a split second the last fourteen mo

Restroom at the Pondicherry Bus Station, Tamil Nadu – India  

If your eyes are open you will see the effects of poverty. In developing countries there is no escaping it. Perhaps in America we can insulate ourselves inside our houses and communities and remain untouched, but not in Cambodia or India or Nepal. You will deal with it whether you want to or not. It will come to you.

I’m sick. Again. I don’t know how but I’ve managed to get a dodgy tummy (more officially called Traveler's Diarrhea - gross) in almost every country we’ve visited with the exception of Thailand and Vietnam.

You don’t come to India to be comfortable. We knew that before we ever arrived. Everyone knows it. The name India is synonymous with chaos and all the things you’ve heard about it are true.

When it comes to living out of a backpack, keeping it light and only packing what you need is a good rule of thumb. The last thing you want to do is haul around (on your back) a bunch of frivolous crap you don’t really need and what you need starts to get real clear as you’re piling it all into such a small space.