Bohemian Traveler

2011 in many ways has been an extremely successful year. I have a lot to be grateful for. As the year is about to turn to 2012 I feel very fortunate. I have not only continued to travel extensively, but have begun to turn my passion (travel) into my job. I have started transitioning to [...]

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Overall my Southeast Asia trip was a great success. I witnessed incredible experiences, met extraordinarily friendly people, and saw how people live life in places that are very different from where I’m from. What went well Got a good mix of seeing places, people, and experiences. Managed the marriage work and travel together well, stopping [...]

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I feel like my three months in Southeast Asia symbolically came to a close the moment I stopped a lone Cambodian school boy riding home on his bicycle and placed my camouflage trekking hat on his head. I crossed paths with him while cycling back from my second full day touring the ruins and temple [...]

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I just returned from a 3-month trip through Southeast Asia. This was the first time that I traveled while maintaining my blogs, both Bohemian Traveler and GoMadNomad.com. It was a lot of work and I had to adjust my travel style, but all in all I liked this working-while-traveling-trip better than any of my previous [...]

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The Lack of Culture What I mean by lack of culture is the outside, in-your-face culture. If you’re a traveler it’s hard to find. Lao food, for example, is not readily available. The majority of cafes have one thing on the menu: sub-standard imitation Vietnamese noodle soup pumped up with MSG. I didn’t see any [...]

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I’m a traveler who tends to place a lot of importance on the cultural aspects of travel. Let me state first and foremost that tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos, has nothing to do with Laotian culture. That said, it can be a blast. Where else can you lazily float down a river watching beautiful limestone [...]

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By Stephen Bugno Pai, Thailand is the quintessential backpacker town. I’ll try not to be too judgmental and let you decide for yourself if you want to visit. Be warned: it is a small town with a big ego problem. You’ll see it on t-shirts, postcards, and other souvenir goods.   Travelers initially come to [...]

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By Stephen Bugno Packing light is a refined art—I’ve been trying to perfect it for years. I’m almost there. The good news is the longer my trip , the less stuff I bring. On short trips I tend to over pack. I think I’ve done a good job this time. It takes a lot of [...]

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By Stephen Bugno If you’re a member of couchsurfing.org, you may already know how awesome it is. For those of you who are not, I just want to stress all the amazing experiences I have had because I’m using it. Traveling for me is an extension of real life—not some holiday I take for two [...]

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By Stephen Bugno Salento is not the type of place where you’re going to be the only Gringo in town. Don’t try and fool yourself, it is a touristy place. But it’s popular for a reason. And even if you only have a limited time in Colombia, it’s still worth the effort to make it [...]

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By Stephen Bugno   “This is just as bad as an all-inclusive resort in Cancun.” I blurt out to myself while hanging from my hammock chair. We are sitting under a thatched-roof hut on the edge of Nicaragua’s Laguna de Apoyo, listening to the surprisingly loud waves crash while the sun goes down behind the [...]

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