One intriguing aspect of traveling through the desertlike landscape near north Kenya’s Ndoto Mountains was the opportunity it provided us to meet fellow travelers. The travelers in this case there were not Western tourists, but young Rendille “warriors” (tribesmen who’ve been circumcised, but are not yet married) who live traditional nomadic lives in the northern…
The best journeys explore mindscapes as well as landscapes (book club remix)

Road rituals, imagination, and bringing the mindset of travel back home (Vagabond’s Way book club remix)
Locals often perform a version of their culture based on travelers’ expectations
“Staged authenticity” is a term coined by anthropologists to describe how, within the tourist economy, indigenous people perform a version of their culture that caters to the expectations of tradition-obsessed outsiders. My visit to northern Kenya this summer reminded me how complex and savvy displays of indigenous traditions can be — often mixing ancient cultural…
Going abroad for love, and travel writing that says something new about a place

Author Thomas Swick’s on coming of age overseas in Poland, and becoming a travel writer
Seek places where your very presence makes you interesting (book club redo)

Authenticity, the wisdom of place, and how to act off the beaten path (Vagabond’s Way online book club, redo of e229)
Travel memoir lab: Truth, luck, & multi-genre storytelling (with Tom Bissell)

Travel memoir lab: Truth, luck, & multi-genre storytelling (with Tom Bissell)
Seek places where your very presence makes you interesting (book club remix)

Authenticity, the wisdom of place, and how to act off the beaten path (Vagabond’s Way online book club)
Vagabonding audio companion: A life in (and philosophy of) long-term travel

Vagabonding audio companion: The story behind Rolf’s travel career and philosophy
A train isn’t just a vehicle; it’s a place (a remix encore, with Monisha Rajesh)

Around the World in 80 Trains author Monisha Rajesh on the joys of rail travel (encore).
Travelers experience more when they slow down and ask lots of questions

Tourist zones, scams, slow travel, and the ethics of taking photos (Vagabond’s Way online book club)
“Dare to do Dirt”: Seeking rural places (and how to best experience them)

“Dare to do Dirt”: Seeking rural places (and how to best experience them)