Category | Blog of a Modern Nomad

shaxi square

Old Town Shaxi of the Tea Horse Road

Posted on 10 May 2012

About 45 minutes down the road southwest from Jianchuan, along the busy Lijiang-Dali road is a town where most travelers fail to stop. No one pays too much attention to Shaxi these days. Its heyday is long gone. Once it stood on the busy Tea Horse Road—a less famous trading route than the Silk Road, [...]

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Emei Shan temple

China: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Posted on 19 April 2012

One of the temples on Emai Shan sacred Buddhist mountain. By Stephen Bugno The Good The sights—Where else can you see the Great Wall of China, panda bears close up in their hometown, or a gorge the likes of Tiger Leaping Gorge? Nowhere. That’s why you come to China, for these heavy hitters. I won’t [...]

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Guilin noodles

Eating in Guangxi China

Posted on 05 March 2012

A bowl of Guilin Rice Noodles By Stephen Bugno Some specialties of Guangxi Province China is a foodie’s utopia—the regional diversity of offerings is outstanding. Although it can’t compete with the powerhouse food regions like Sichuan, Beijing, or Guangdong, Guangxi Province still had some interesting food culture to investigate. Guangxi Province is located in southern [...]

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selling fireworks in Jianshui

Celebrating Chinese New Year in China

Posted on 24 January 2012

The shops are all closed up. There’s hardly any foot traffic or cars on the streets. Red lanterns hung around the city add to the atmosphere. But the most noticeable way to tell it’s the Eve of Chinese New Year is by the excessive and near constant explosions of firecrackers. Children light them off. So [...]

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pan platano san blas

San Blas: Mexico’s Relaxed Pacific Beach Town

Posted on 19 July 2011

By Stephen Bugno San Blas used to be important. It was a crucial port when trade between Spain and the Philippines was in its heyday. Then Acapulco took over and San Blas became a backwater. But that’s why it’s a fantastic, little, chilled-out beach town today. Set 90 minutes down a narrow two-lane road bounded [...]

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singapre mall escalator

5 Reasons Why Malls Rule Singapore

Posted on 18 May 2011

By Stephen Bugno I am definitely not a mall person. You might even be able to classify me as a mall hater. Here are five reasons I didn’t fight malls when I visited Singapore. 5) A National Obsession To understand Singapore without eating at or entering a mall is like trying to understand Ireland without [...]

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hangeul chart

Why Korean is the World’s Most Interesting Language

Posted on 05 March 2011

By Stephen Bugno So it’s 1440 and you are King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty. You are a well-respected ruler and a champion for the common person. But you have a little problem. Your population is undereducated and you want to communicate with them.   “My people cannot write characters even though they have hands, [...]

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mokpo fishing nets

Photos of Mokpo’s Fish Market

Posted on 24 February 2011

By Stephen Bugno Mokpo is a city in the far southwest of the Korean peninsula that most people told me to avoid. They looked puzzled when I told them I was stopping there. There’s nothing to see in Mokpo. It’s only a place to transit. Not worth staying there for any amount of time. That [...]

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haenyeo women divers jeju photo korea

The Women Divers of Jeju

Posted on 16 January 2011

By Stephen Bugno Circle the coastline of Korea’s Jeju island long enough and eventually you are likely to come across women decked out in diving gear popping up to the surface now and again. These are the haenyeo—the world-famous women divers of Jeju, keeping alive a centuries-old tradition while maintaining the economic viability of their [...]

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jamon spain serrano

Spain’s Top Ten Foods

Posted on 04 January 2011

By Stephen Bugno What to Eat When You’re Visiting Spain and Where to Find It Food is definitely one of the highlights of Spain and the regional diversity only makes criss-crossing the country a real culinary pleasure. There are certain specialties that you shouldn’t miss while visiting. From the dry, distinctively Spanish region of Andalucía [...]

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black sheep brewery pint

All Hail British Cuisine

Posted on 09 April 2010

By Stephen Bugno Enough from the nay-sayers! British food is good! It is time for the unfavorable reputation of English cuisine to end. In my 20 days in England, I didn’t have a bad meal. The most memorable were the home cooked meals I had in Yorkshire and pub food in the cities and across [...]

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at the coffee farm

Where my coffee comes from

Posted on 23 December 2009

“I tried to buy a ticket too, but they’ve run out of seats,” says the only other Gringo on the bus. There has to be 200 of us packed into this former American school bus. And without a ticket, this means we’ll be standing for the two-hour haul over the mountains to Matagalpa. This is our first time on an “express” bus, opposed to the “ordinario” or “chicken” buses which do not require an advance purchase or have seat numbers.

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Getting Robbed at Knife-point

Getting Robbed at Knife-point

Posted on 16 December 2009

It’s been one week since we were robbed at knife-point in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Since then I’ve had a multitude of emotions and feelings: anger, frustration, forgiveness, vengefulness, regret. As a traveler or tourist you expect to get your pocket picked on a crowded bus, you expect to get your purse jacked in

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buses in nicaragua

Where School Buses Go When they Die

Posted on 03 December 2009

Blog of a Modern Nomad The border crossing at Peñas Blancas is the typical chaos: money changes with huge wads of cordobas, dollars, and colones, a mother and son beggar team, long lines of tired Nicaraguan laborers, and a nun asking for offerings.  Before and after the 200-meter Noman’s Land one tractor trailer after another [...]

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aleppo  drink guy

Finding Twain’s Tangier in Aleppo, Syria

Posted on 30 November 2009

I am often in search of places that are “thoroughly and uncompromisingly foreign” but with our shrinking and globalized world, these places are increasingly uncommon.

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guggenheim bilbao

Basque Country

Posted on 19 October 2009

The next day I was on a bus five hours north to Bilbao, the largest city of Spain’s Basque Country—a region and people defined by their ancient language, Euskara. A city so proud, they’ve never fielded a non-Basque on their football club. They even refuse to keep corporate sponsorship on their jersey because they regard it as their national team.

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petra

Jordan

Posted on 30 September 2009

Blog of a Modern Nomad Welcome to Jordan The Jordanians, like most Arabs, are known for their hospitality. On the street people call out, “You are welcome to Jordan.” You’ll hear the same from those in the tourist industry, although it’s much less sincere. From them it’s more like, “You are welcome to spend your money [...]

Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux, France

Posted on 18 September 2009

By Stephen Bugno Blog of a Modern Nomad The next day I rode the slow, winding topo train to the French border town, Hendaye, where I caught a short ride out to the on-ramp of the divided highway. After about 25 minutes standing with my thumb up, I was picked up by a guy heading [...]

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