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Cheersleader: 16 drinking toasts that don’t totally suck Rise to the special occasion by prefacing the first sip with one of these delightful toasts.
Whether christening a big promotion, throwing a bachelorette party, or celebrating the beauty in just “being” on any given evening, your choice of words, cocktails, and company have a major say in setting the tone for the evening ahead. Because chasing an abrupt “Cheers!” and clinking of shot glasses with cheap vodka is the soundtrack for blackouts and questionable decisions, the next time you find yourself out and about in some city that never sleeps, rise to the special occasion by prefacing the first sip in scholarly style with an apropos toast, raising glasses and spirits to an evening of booze-addled inevitabilities. “Here’s to nights we’ll never remember with…
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10 reasons going to the beach is like going to hell Hot, dry, and full of nearly naked strangers. But it gets so much worse.
With January over and done with, our daydreams are finally starting to incorporate summer and beaches. And by we, I mean everyone but me. I’m not going anywhere near a beach. Here’s why. If the current takes you, you get swept into a river of lost souls. Any time you go into the ocean, you best keep looking back to see how far you’ve strayed — or run the risk of getting pulled into an undercurrent. If you’re farther out than you think you should be, it’s not your mind playing tricks on you. You’ve been swept into the river of lost souls and you probably won’t make it. There…
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These are the 10 best treks in the world From the foothills of Scotland to the remote islands of Indonesia, follow my journey of walks.
Some people collect art, others cars or wine. I am a bagger of exotic walks. My ambition is to identify, and write a book about, the 100 best walks in the world — although I’m aware that, because of the size of the task, it may well have to be published posthumously. I love the quiet, unsynthetic joy of striding through exceptional places, with days given over to free-form rumination. It brings a soaring intensity of feeling that is rejuvenating and energizing. In order to get definitive about the best walks, I have been musing about their essential ingredients. There are thousands of beautiful walks, so beauty can only be…
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6 slightly offbeat safety tips for ladies travelling solo It’s good to be adventurous, but let's not lose our heads.
A lot of things can go wrong when you’re travelling solo in a foreign country, especially for us solo lady travellers. What if a natural disaster hits the region you’re in? What if someone steals your wallet and passport? What if you get kidnapped and strangled and left in the back of an alley with cats eating your face off, leaving you unrecognizable to loved ones? What, am I the only one worried about that? Fine, then. Travelling solo is an amazing way to meet new friends, have new experiences, and discover new things about yourself. However, let’s not throw all caution to the wind, here. It’s fine to be…
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Food fad fetishists have truly lost the plot The art of eating is being lost thanks to a growing army of health nuts and food police.
If we are what we eat, great swathes of the population are fast becoming a herd of crashing bores. Dining has, in recent years, changed course. Eating together was once a uniting social occasion. It now takes the form of cosmopolitan congregations of what would once have been considered eating disorders. I was recently invited to a “Vegan Feast” – a blinding oxymoron if ever there was one. Yet such events are increasingly commonplace. Friends gather, hungry, and nibble at an array of superfoods, antioxidants and obscure grains that promise to hold the secret to eternal youth – now described as “wellness” or “clean living.” More ingredients are verboten than…
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On travel safety and white privilege (and why they’re basically the same thing) Feeling safe is a privilege granted to me because I’m white, middle class, non-disabled and straight.
I recently received a comment on one of my solo camping posts asking me if I ever feel unsafe while I’m camping alone. This is probably the number one question I get asked by family members and friends and blog readers when I talk about going solo camping. They don’t care about the tent I use. (Until recently, my tent was a clown-colored hand-me-down with leaky seems.) Or if I have any tips on how to cook over a fire. (Don’t! Just go to a restaurant! Buy a huge pizza! And eat the leftovers for all your remaining meals!) They don’t even ask me how to make a fire. (Fire…
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We need to stop telling women they shouldn’t travel alone My crankypanties getting into a big, old, fat bunch.
A little while ago, an article popped up on my Facebook about Dahlia Yehia, a young woman originally from Michigan who had been tragically beaten to death by a stranger while volunteering and traveling alone in Nepal. Of course, the comments were riddled with people ranting wildly about how women shouldn’t be traveling alone — especially in scary, unknown places like Nepal and, well, anywhere in the world really. I glanced briefly at the comments, but didn’t think too much about them, because life is best lived when you don’t think too much about the comments. But then another article about Dahlia Yehia popped up on my feed, this time from NPR, and this…
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5 reasons to go solo camping That's 4 more reasons than not having a boyfriend.
Remember how I was going to go camping all by myself for the first time ever and how I totally thought I was going to have my face eaten off by wolverines? Well, I am happy to report that I still have 100% of my face. Yay! Not only did I survive the weekend with my face still attached, I have to say, I actually, really enjoyed myself. In fact, the night I got back from my trip, I booked two more solo camping trips for July and August. Because moderation is not exactly a thing that I do. When I first announced on Facebook that I was going to…
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By the time you read this I will probably have been attacked by wolverines And not the type that look like Hugh Jackman.
I know I say this pretty much all the time. But, you guys, I’M GOING TO DIE. You see, this morning, I am getting in my car and heading to Northern Michigan to go camping by myself for the first time ever. This seemed like a good idea when I was planning my trip, but then I remembered that I don’t know how to camp and I have the survival skills of an earthworm. I also remembered that Michigan is called the Wolverine State, and, sure, the Internet will try to convince you that there are no wolverines in Michigan any more, but we all know that the Internet lies.…
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My Big Fat Mexican Drug Deal: a honeymoon story I just knew that my new husband and I would end up spending our honeymoon in a rat infested prison cell a la Midnight Express.
I had every intention of smuggling a fat sack of medical quality marijuana on my honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas, but I chickened out at the last second. I was all ready to go with a weed filled maxi pad cleverly pasted into my underpants when the Super Shuttle pulled up outside our apartment and I freaked out. “I can’t do it!” I wailed. Carrying crotch weed on a domestic flight was one thing. International drug smuggling was, in my mind, an entirely different story. I’d never been to Mexico before and somehow I just knew that if I tempted fate, my new husband and I would end up spending…