It was midnight when I arrived in Delhi — an hour later than I was meant to — and my first thought was that airports look like airports all over the world. Of course, when I stepped outside and met up with my tour guide, Earl, he told me New Delhi’s airport was only a few years old and the previous one had looked more like a large bus station. My second thought was something along the lines of, “damn, it’s humid. Should it really be this hot at midnight?” The answer was no, it should not have been that hot in Delhi in October (especially not at midnight), but…
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Istanbul: First Impressions and a note about the demonstrations
I visited Istanbul last November. In light of recent political events, I’m apprehensive of writing about my time in this city. I don’t want to trivialize what’s happening by writing casually about my experiences as a tourist, but I also don’t want to skip over this part of my trip or act as if traveling to Turkey is a terrifying feat. It’s not. Even now. Unsurprisingly, according to Turkish Travel Blog, tourism to the country has been largely unaffected by the demonstrations. Please see their post for more information, and take note of the headline: do not cancel your holiday in Turkey. If you’re looking for information about the demonstrations,…
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Prague: First Impressions
I took an overnight train from Krakow to Prague. My advice for that train? Don’t pay more than the standard fare, even if you want a smaller compartment, because you won’t get it. All the compartments are the same size — they can hold six people, three bunks on each side — just hope that some of the beds aren’t occupied. When you arrive, you’ll need to convert the benches into beds yourself and put on sheets. The conductor on my train didn’t speak English, so when faced with compartment mix-ups he was unable to say more than “no” to his passengers. He was in an awful mood when we…
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Maui: First Impressions
I had trouble deciding what to call this post. These can’t really be my first impressions of Hawaii when I’ve only been to Maui. But I haven’t seen much of Maui either because in my first week at the farm I only left the property once. Hana Farms is technically located in Hana, but, until today (my second trip off the farm) I hadn’t actually seen the town. So, are these my first impressions of Maui, Hana, WWOOFing? It’s unclear. Regardless, here’s how this latest adventure is going so far. When E and I stepped off the plane into the humid Hawaiian air, the first thing I noticed was the…
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Copenhagen: First Impressions
I left Amsterdam at 11:00pm on an overnight bus bound for Copenhagen. The ride took 15 hours with a transfer in Hamburg. It was to be the first of many such travel experiences in Europe–in total, I rode two overnight buses and 4 overnight trains over the course of my trip. When I arrived in Copenhagen at 2:00 in the afternoon, it was sunny and I was exhausted. The bus dropped us on a random side street around the corner from the train station and it was some consolation that my fellow travelers looked as weary and confused as me. I hefted my backpack onto my back and started walking…
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Amsterdam: First Impressions
I love cities where the water feels like a necessary part of life, where it can’t be avoided. In New York City, for example, it’s easy to forget that you’re anywhere near the ocean, but in Amsterdam, the canals are hard to miss. You all remember my friend Grace from my week in Iceland, yes? Well, I spent my first two days in Amsterdam with her cousin, Miles, who, when I set out to explore the first day, told me that the city gets better the farther you get from the center. He was absolutely right because the farther away you get, the more likely you are to see sights…
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Iceland: First Impressions
My friend Grace and I arrived in Iceland around 11pm. After quickly getting our passports stamped and collecting our baggage, we headed out into the parking lot to meet the bus that would take us to our guesthouse in Reykjavik. This is Grace, by the way. She’s been my travel buddy in Iceland. Don’t be deceived by how sunny it is in that photo, Iceland is freezing. We knew summer had ended here, but, when we walked out of the airport, it felt like winter–a harsh change from just a few days earlier when I’d gone swimming at the beach in Rhode Island. After registering the cold, the second thing…
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DC: First Impressions
Yesterday my housemate Lisa and I made our first venture into the city. I’ve visited DC before, but not in about 10 years. My 7th grade class took a three day field trip to DC, but mostly I remember visiting the FDR memorial in the rain and drama over who was rooming with who at the hotel. Needless to say, my experiences this time around are a little different. Lisa and I weren’t up for a Smithsonian or too much sightseeing. We just wanted to wander around and get dinner, so we took the metro to Dupont Circle, a neighborhood in Northwest DC, which is known in part for its queer-friendly…
