Friends & Contributors | The Monsoon Diaries

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

Friends we’ve made around the world:

2013-2011

: Zarmisha…for never giving up and dragging me onstage for my solo performance at a random Mehndi, in front hundreds of strangers no less! 01/04/14.

: Danish and Anas…for showing us around Karachi every step of the way, and making sure we would enjoy the nightlife there at Vanity! 01/02/14.

: Mussadiq…for driving us around Lahore, taking us to the Badshahi Mosque, and celebrating New Year’s Eve with us in Lahore! 12/28/13.

: Zoya…for making sure I would learn the dance for the Mehndi the night of my arrival into Lahore and then taking us afterwards around The Badshahi Mosque, Food Street, and the nightlife of Karachi. I can always count as you as my dance buddy at the next wedding I crash! 12/27/13.

: Sigmone…for letting me stay at your place in Lahore, helping me learn the dance for the Mehndi, and then celebrating New Year’s with us over a rooftop bonfire in Lahore! Good luck on Step 1s! 12/27/13.

: Aimen…for letting me stay at your place in Lahore, introducing me to what it would be like to have a shower built from the future, driving me around Lahore at night, and celebrating New Year’s Eve over a rooftop bonfire in Lahore! Good luck on Step 1s! 12/27/13.

: The Butt/Dar Family…for your unceasing, infallible, and ever-present hospitality as you took me as one of your own and showed me how beautiful Pakistan can really be. 12/27/13.

: Joy Liao…for spending the whole day with me on the bridge watching the epic waves of the Drake Passage! 12/21/13.

: The Guides of Oceanwide Expeditions…for leading our way through Antarctica and being patient with us when we got way too close to the penguins! 12/13/13.

: The Chinese mainlanders on our Antarctica trip…for the endless entertainment and putting up with our Western antics. 12/13/13.

: Kat Potts…for your hard work organizing all the nuts and bolts of our Antarctica trip and making sure Gareth would be able to join us in time. 12/13/13.

: Trisha…for quickly befriending us at our hostel in Ushuaia by getting us excited for our Antarctica trip and offering us a tripod, extra scopalamine patches, and gloves! 12/12/13

: Jessica…for the friendship we quickly made in Colonia and then hand-delivering the jacket I accidentally left behind there when you arrived in Buenos Aires the next day. 12/11/13.

: Suhrid “Subkuch Milega” Mantravadi…for quickly contacting me when a mutual acquaintance (Sharon Li, a follower of The Monsoon Diaries and whom I’ve never met before until ironically right after returning from Iceland) introduced us via e-mail. You immediately became absorbed into our group within the day, finding out that we had more mutual acquaintances than had expected and traveling with us for all of the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon before heading back to the mainland. You made me feel less lonely in the world for doing what I do, and I’m looking forward to once again monsooning the world together without quitting our day jobs, even though when others may doubt us. Agai-hai! 11/01/13.

: Ragnar from “Extreme Iceland”…for being one of my favorite guides ever. You were down-to-earth, personable, funny, engaging, and overall amazing for consistently taking us off the beaten path during our 17 hour journey along Southern Iceland from Reykjavik to Jokusarlon. No red tape. Just all adventure. 11/01/13.

: Mel “Puffin-Toed” Tri…for quickly befriending all of us the moment you walked into our room at Hlemmur Square hostel. Instead of being annoyed by our group’s belligerence, you rather were curiously drawn to it, without a second thought in coming to drink and have dinner with us. From witnessing the Northern Lights together over handheld hookahs, dancing at ‘Harlem,’ linking arms down the street to fight off the cold, to joining us for The Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon before heading home together, we’re flattered to have shared in the magic with you in the last 2 days and be the ones to formally bookend your first solo trip abroad. See you in Australia! 10/31/13.

: Tatiana and Manuel…for being the most gracious hosts/guides ever when you showed us around your hometown of Panama City. Thank you for the tour around Casco Viejo, for showing us all the cool nightlife spots, for dim sum the next morning, getting us in the Panama Canal for free, and for the two trips to the airport so we didn’t have to waste money on taxis. Our last day of the trip couldn’t have been any better because of you two. We owe you both when you come visit us in New York City! 06/29/13.

: Zachary and RJ…for enduring the most awful border crossing from Costa Rica to Panama with us, and the spirited conversations on girlfriends and surfing afterwards. 06/29/13.

: Maria…for meeting up with us for dinner at Hacienda Real when we stopped in Tegucigalpa for the night! 06/23/13.

: Andrea…for picking us up late Sunday night from our hotel in Tegucigalpa, for the mouthwatering dinner at Hacienda Real, and for showing us your life in Tegucigalpa as you drove us around the valleys looking for the supermoon and the statue of Jesus Christo! See you back in NYC! 06/23/13.

: Claire Elizabeth and Christina…for understanding what it means to be med students and not sacrificing their wanderlust while in med school. Thanks for convincing us to head to the hot springs when you overheard us talking about it at the ruins, being part of a great night dancing in Copan Ruinas and for the conversation on the bus ride back to San Pedro Sula. See you in Kansas! 06/22/13.

: The French dude at Hostal Berakah in Copan Ruinas, Honduras…for introducing us to one of the best meals of the trip at La Terraza. Keep doing your karaoke thing. 06/22/13.

: Kṣitija Rawal…for quickly befriending our group at Bavaro Hostel in Punta Cana, for the quick refreshers on Hindi and Urdu, and for offering to be my travel partner and local guide when I head to Meghalaya later on this year! See you in Northeastern India! 01/06/13.

: Gill Thomas and the rest of her friends of Bavaro Hostel…for knowing exactly what we wanted by taking us all out to party at Alibarbar in Punta Cana, only moments after we checked into your hostel. See you all back in NYC! 01/05/13.

: Daniel of Trinity Lodge…for giving us the first best impression of Haiti as you went above and beyond in hosting us and driving us around in our first day in Port-au-Prince. See you on the next trip! 01/01/13.

: Tolik Mintenko…for being such a fun, accommodating and helpful guide as you showed us all of Lviv despite not expecting the sheer size of our 17-person group. 12/29/12.

: Catherine Donnor…for befriending us at Lviv bus station at 5:30am in the morning, for letting us tether your phone as a wireless hub, and for showing us the way to Lviv train station so we could drop off our bags. 12/29/12.

: Our friends of Why Not Hostel…for taking us out on Kiev for an unforgettable 6 hours of mayhem as you helped us celebrate Ruchika’s 22nd birthday in style. 12/27/12.

: Caty and your friend Aline…for staying friends with me since meeting you only for a few minutes in Sevilla 3 months back. I would return to your home in Switzerland where you would show me and my friends a magical night around Berne. See you in NYC! 04/15/12.

: Natasha and your grandparents…for taking us in from the rain when we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. Thank you for letting us share our stories from Iran even though you had not been back since the 1979 Revolution. We hope you will one day be allowed to return to your homeland and in turn share with us your impressions. Thank you for making us feel like part of your family, even for those 2 short hours. 04/15/12.

: Our friends in Tehran…for your instant friendship and your openness; you took us around for shisha and to see the sights ontop of Bome Tehran. You left us with an unforgettable last day in Iran. 04/14/12.

: Saman…for you being you, for stepping up to the whiskey ghelyoon challenge, and for giving me another excuse to come back to Iran. See you at Kish Island! 04/14/12.

: The Revolutionary…for teaching us more than you will ever know. 04/12/12.

: Narjes…for being the brave 11-year old that you were when you approached our group and then took us around in the paddle boats in the Esfahan river. May this be the first of many stories to come. 04/11/12.

: Mostafa…for not being just a tour guide, but also a friend and our brother in Iran. You went above and beyond in showing us what your country can offer and we only hope we can be just as hospitable as you were when you come and visit us in the States. 04/07/12.

: Gerard Butler…for running into us twice; once in the maze of Marrakech’s medina and the second time at the airport. Thank you for your down-to-earthness in asking us how our trip was going, being gracious enough to take a group photo and for following up on our blog afterwards! 01/02/12.

: Our hosts at Waka Waka Hostel in Marrakech…for teaching us how to make couscous and singing along with us to Jason Mraz and Cheb Khaled. 12/31/11.

: Caty Zhao…for trusting us with advice on where to eat and see flamenco in Sevilla even though we were probably there for less time than you were. Then you offerred to host us in Switzerland, which I will be taking you up on in April. See you in Bern! 12/28/11.

: Alvaro of AIESEC…for showing us around the beauty of Seville, sharing our love for internet memes, putting up with with our games of “vacation!” 12/28/11.

: Tere Gomez, Nushin Jamikhah and Yolanda Sanchez of AIESEC…for picking us up from the bus station as early as 6:30am and showing us around all of Granada, including seeing Alhambra from the famous viewpoint and introducing us to the addictive vino tinto & free tapas! 12/27/11.

: Siyu (April) Liu of AIESEC with her friend Michel…for recognizing my “American accent” when you ran into me at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, and for being great company when we ate a few days later in Madrid at the oldest restaurant in the world. 12/24/11.

: Lucas, Diego, and the rest of the people in our room at Kabul’s Hostel of Barcelona…for starting an impromptu dance party with us before we even introduced ourselves to each other. 12/23/11.

: Ines…for staying friends since we first met in Mysore back in Summer ’10 to showing me around your hometown of Barcelona 2 years later! See you in NYC! or our next trip to India! 12/23/11.

: Sir Moses…for teaching us English Creole, telling us about your amazing father, being a Harlem native, and making our drive to Belize International airport quite a memorable one. 11/28/11.

: Dits Restaurant in Belize City…for being a homey and pleasant group of people who not only cooked us delicious chicken stew, but also let us have free coffee and a discounted breakfast when you refused to take $20 USD bills for the sake of our convenience. 11/28/11.

: The Good Samaritan of San Pedro…for picking us up and driving us to the Water Taxi terminal when we had only a minute to spare. You helped us make our flight back home and you didn’t even charge us a cent in making it happen. Thank you for your random act of kindness. 11/28/11.

: Milton of Tikal Inn…for being so accommodating with providing us insider’s advice on how to best save money in Tikal, especially with the double entrance tickets for the sunrise tour. 11/26/11.

: Billy Kaderli…for running into us in Panajachel and directing us the cheap way to Antigua via an unforgettable experience on the chicken buses. Although your traveling style is opposite from ours, your philosophy on “dropping everything and travel” resonates with ours. 11/25/11.

: Richard Morgan…for going out of your way in upgrading us at no cost in another homestay (despite after being double-booked at yours!), showing us where real coffee beans grow from, and driving us around town in Panajachel. 11/23/11.

: Danielle, our friend from Columbia….for helping me adjust back to the USA with our annual road trip in California. 08/25/11. -steph

: Jan and Andy…for helping us eat that delicious leg of mutton! 08/23/11. -steph

: Morgane…for wandering around the hutongs and accompanying me through Beijing’s neighborhoods. 08/22/11. -steph

: Cody and Rebecca…for providing a place to crash on their couch and bringing me to the most delicious food in Beijing. 08/21/11. -steph

: Ephrain and Tim…for the poker game at the bus stop, where ripped luggage tags were money and i was winning. 08/19/11. -steph

: Len…for holding the rope and not letting me fall as I climbed Diamond Cave and Escher World, and making me want to come back for the climbing. 08/16/11. -steph

: Vianney…for providing a place to crash when we discovered termites in my bungalow, rock climbing, swimming, and justin beiber songs. 08/15/11. -steph

: Martin and Rozenn…for teaching me how to play YAMS! and sharing some blissfully relaxed days in Ko Pha Ngan. 08/12/15. -steph

: Sophie and Leo, for the full moon party to rooftops bars, to the fun that don’t stop with you two. 08/12/11. -steph

: “Team Awesome”…for all the games of Asshole, the casino runs, the illegal visits to piso cinco, and the late-night parties in our North Korean hotel. Release the Kraken! 08/09/11.

: My fellow travelers of Young Pioneers Tour…for surviving 4 unforgettable days in North Korea with me. 08/08/11.

: Richie…for being a great friend to us and a fantastic guide while you were helping Gareth run our tour in North Korea. We had no idea that you were younger than all of us! And thanks for breaking our room light. 08/09/11.

: Gareth…for providing one of the most unforgettable tours into North Korea. Your free spirit and jovial antics belie the serious, hard working, and omnipresent guide that solidifies YPT as *the* go-to tour company into North Korea for younger travelers. See you at another alternative locale somewhere around the world. 08/08/11.

: Jiwoo Jessica Kim…my friend from Columbia…for jumping on my Facebook status and meeting up with me immediately when I arrived into Beijing. Thanks for the cheeky conversations and hanging out with us until 6am, even though you had to go to class that morning! 08/07/11.

: Winnie…for being another Asian female who grew up in an English speaking country and is traveling alone! 08/07/11. -steph

: The Soeun Sisters…for the fish massage, a free drink, and the great conversation. 08/06/11. -steph

: Number 10 Guesthouse…for being the most interesting guesthouse Steph has ever stayed at. seriously. 08/05/11. -steph

: Khmer rouge survivor…for an incredible story. 08/05/11. – steph

: Andy and Carmen…for eating chili chips, stalking lady boys, basking in 7-11, and the best introduction to Bangkok. 08/03/11. -steph

: New Zero Art Gallery…for letting me a part of your performance art workshop and appreciating my cracker/toilet paper crushing act. 08/03/11. – steph

: Ludovica Durelli…for accompanying me as we hung tight on the Indiana Jones style jeep up Kyaiktiyo, climbed up the rest of a ridiculously steep mountain, and roughing it with me through the middle of a monsoonal rainstorm just to see the Golden Rock. See you in Italy! 08/03/11.

: Gal, Anna, and Dina…for showing us where to eat some trustworthy, cheap, and delicious streetside food in Nyaungshwe by Lake Inle, and for the way-too-early-but-still-worth-it breakfast conversations the next morning. See you in Israel! 08/02/11.

: The girls of the Hnin Thitsar Umbrella Workshop near the Floating Market of Inle Lake…for introducing me to the Padaung giraffe women and thinking that I was a Korean pop star. 08/02/11.

: Oriana…for daring Steph to try various street foods, spending several days with her photographing Yangon, and for being of a like-minded soul when I had the pleasure of meeting you myself at Inle Lake. 08/02/11.

: The Inle barbershop band…for letting Steph play your guitar. 07/31/11.

: Ey-Ey…for being the feistiest, most confident and most honest out of all the local folks I met in Bagan. 07/30/11.

: Shan and your horse Tutu…for helping us see all of Bagan’s big temples in one day. 07/30/11.

: Our 7 year-old guide at Bagan…for making sure we didn’t fall while climbing up those brick temples and guiding us to a beautiful view of the sunset. 07/29/11.

: May and Jim…for being the best, most genuine, and most hospitable hosts we could ever stumble upon when arriving in Myanmar. Thank you for your constant prayers that safeguarded us throughout our travels. 07/29/11.

: Jun and SPT…for the neverending game of snakes and ladders! “tit, hni, thoun…” 07/28/11.

: Olivier…for wandering around 19th Street in Yangon with Steph and letting her practice her French. 07/27/11.

: Alex Lang…for being my first male travel buddy (finally!) in 2010, for accompanying me as we explored Dhaka north to south and for sharing your extensive travel experiences around the globe. I have a long way to go. See you in Melbourne! 07/26/11.

: Sabrina, Christina, and her dad…for taking in me better than any host could when I arrived into Dhaka. Getting to speak Chinese with you all felt like I was home again. 07/26/11.

: Sharmin…for taking care of us immediately after we disembarked from our flight to Colombo and randomly showing us around the Sri Lankan Special Forces compound the next day. 07/20/11.

: Lakshmi…for blessing Steph with your pretty trunk. 07/18/11.

: It all comes together in Mumbai: Anya, George, Annah, Karen, Sidd, Vikas, Me, Benn, and Joyce. Anya & Joyce I met at Delhi airport only 3 weeks ago, George & Ben found The Monsoon Diaries and we decided to meet for the first time in Mumbai, Karen is my friend from med school, Sidd I met last year in Mumbai when he got into Columbia, I was Vikas’s Orientation Leader 4 years ago in college, and Annah is my original Monsoon Diaries travel partner.

: Karen Wong, my friend from Downstate Medical School…for taking a detour from Jamkhed just so she could see me in Mumbai, and then heading out with me afterwards to Madurai and Pondicherry. Please keep my silver ring safe for me when I get back! 07/18/11.

: Avanti & Shivani…for never failing to take care of me whenever I’m in Mumbai. 07/16/11.

: Raja of Om Hari Jewelers…for the conversations, honesty, and the addicting cardomon black pepper chai while we hung out at your famous jewelry shop in Jaisalmer. 07/10/11.

: Pieter…for taking care of and keeping Stephanie Quan company while she was down and out in Varanasi. See you in Holland! 07/06/11.

: Shyam Singh…for meeting up with me again in his hometown of Dharamsala and being the same cool guy I remembered meeting a year ago on the rooftop of Nukkad Guesthouse in Udaipur. 07/07/11.

: Abdul Aziz Dar (aka Uncle-ji), grandfather of my friend Najia Dar from medical school, and the rest of the amazing Dar dynasty…for taking us in as part of your own family, inviting us to an unforgettable multiday Kashmiri wedding in none other than Kashmir itself, and being omnipresent in ensuring all our needs were taken care of. 07/01/11.

: Ankur, Andrei, and Dan, my friends from Downstate Medical School…for driving 2 hours from south of Delhi in order to have dinner with me only a few hours after I arrived into India, and right before I was about to leave for Kashmir. Thanks for an amazing meal and making the seemingly impossible happen. 06/30/11.

: Joyce and Anya…for immediately trusting us the moment we met on our flight to New Delhi, and accompanying us all the way from Delhi to Kashmir to Rajasthan to Mumbai. Couldn’t ask for better travel partners; thank you for being a crucial part of our travels in India because we couldn’t have imagined them without you. 06/30/11.

: Seiki and her friend…for a quick conversation while waiting in line at the Kathmandu Departures Terminal, and the coolest way to take a polaroid picture. See you in Hong Kong! 06/30/11.

: The volunteers and administators of Hindu Vidyapeeth: Emilie, Sam, Hathu, and Vishnu…for taking us in as guests for the evening and inspiring us with your service to the children of Nepal. 06/28/11.

: Anais and her French posse…for surviving a bus ride from hell together to running into each other again for drinks in Thamel. 06/28/11.

: Mona and Behiye…for making our Dubai dreams come true. Words cannot express how much I learned and the fulfillment I experienced by being in your presence. “If it happens once, it will never happen again, but if it happens twice, it will surely happen a third time.” Already looking forward to that third time. 06/22/11.

: Hannah Wallace…for paragliding with us in Pokhara, being a good sport at Busy Bee, for showing us around Hindu Vidyapeeth in Nepal, and for being a descendant of Trotsky, you secret commie. 06/27/11.

: Nisreen…for a great conversation on the airplane to Dubai and for frequenting all the places I go to in NYC without ever actually running into each other until now! 06/22/11.

: Molly and Arthur…for the company in Pokhara from paragliding to staying at the same hostel to stories at Busy Bee to possibly joining up again a week later in India. 06/27/11.

: Sadikchya, my friend from ECAASU…for showing us around her native Kathmandu and being the best foodie tour guide one could ever ask for. Giving you VIP treatment ECAASU 2012! 06/24/11.

: Peter…for just happening to be in the same cab heading to the same hotel as we were, and then joining us for dinner and drinks afterwards in Amman, Jordan. 06/21/11.

: Ana, Maricela, and Andrew…for hanging out with us as we rested a bit before ascending up to the Monastery. See you at Yosemite! 06/21/11.

: Pete and Spenser, friends from the airplane to Kathmandu…for accompanying us on a memorable 2 days of adventure in Kathmandu. No other city in the world would be as fitting. Except for the early-closing nights of course. 06/24/11.

: The students of Bringham Young University…for a very chilled out session while perched at the top of the High Place of Sacrifice in Petra as we exchanged stories and phone numbers. See you in Utah! and NYC! 06/21/11.

: Max Friedman, our friend from Columbia…for the WTF moment when we ran into each other at a random bustling street in Kathmandu, Nepal. 06/22/11.

: Ali…our cab driver to the Beirut International airport, for quizzing us emphatically on how much we really knew Beirut after 2 days there, enlightening us on the politics of the Middle East, and inspiring us to find the solution. 06/19/11.

: Sue Yang, my friend from Columbia…for such gracious hospitality as you hosted us for the night in and around Dubai. See you in NYC! 06/22/11.

: Segolene Ragu…for a wonderful conversation despite the impossibly loud techno music at B018 nightclub in Beirut. I don’t know how we managed to talk, dance, and appreciate the open roof and the sunrise all at the same time, but I knew you would be my next welcome guest in NYC. See you soon. 06/17/11.

: Lord Sam Sleiman…for being our gracefully kind bartender at Rococo, the enthusiastic love for Americans, and directing us to all the happening nightlife spots in Beirut. You will make it to NYC one day, I promise! 06.17.11.

: Zaid…for striking up a conversation when I disembarked from my flight into Beirut, which eventually led to an entire morning of teaching us how to enjoy Beirut to its fullest. Have fun at the wedding! 06/17/11.

: Karde, my friend from Columbia…for taking us out for a great dinner and a beautiful lounge afterwards in Beyoglu and Istiklal Caddesi, while we chatted and reminisced the good old times as we overlooked the Istanbul skyline. 06/15/11.

: Little Ahmet Ginar…for making us gush over and over on how cute a little 7 month old could be. 06/15/11..

: Tony Gudge…for entertaining us endlessly with his stories on working as a sound engineer for The Clash, his travels all over the world, and everything else about British sensibilities while waiting in line for the treasury at Topkapi Palace. 06/15/11

: Nikhil Chandra…for being the coolest brother Sonya Chandra could ever ask for and being a wonderful and helpful travel partner throughout Turkey. Trust us, you have a little bit of Turkish inside you. 06/13/11.

: Melis, my friend from Columbia…for providing me a wonderful and beautiful free place to stay at your apartment in Istanbul. Even though you were busy most of the time with work, it was so good to see you and catch up. Looking forward to having you back in NYC! 06/11/11.

: Laura Ly, my friend from Columbia…for having her last day in Istanbul be my first, and for almost running into me in the airport when I arrived as you were trying to make your departure flight (we missed each other by a span of only a few minutes!). We’ll make up for it back in NYC. 06/11/11.

: Karen and Diego…for befriending us at Playa Blanca that eventually led us to stay over at your apartment in Cartagena and going out for 2 full days in the city. Your companionship was what made our trip all the more meaningful and we look forward to having you when you come in the States. See you in Bogota! 04/01/11.

: Hilda…for being an amazing and invaluable travel buddy while we were in Cartagena. Your thirst for adventure is inspiring and I can´t wait to travel with you again. See you in Caracas! 04/01/11.

: Karo…for taking good care of me even if we never met before, showing me around Bogota at night even though you had to wake up at 6am the next morning. See you back in NYC where I can owe you a proper tour! 03/30/11.

: Maria…for being sharing my love for the dance at Mama Afrika in Cuzco. See you in Sweden! 03/30/11.

: Jade and Ryann…for being the best dance partners at Mama Afrika in Cuzco, and being part of a wild wild night. Whatever happened will be hard to repeat. See you in Toronto! 03/29/11.

: Laura…for being the only person in my only tour I gave at med school that actually met up with me a few weeks later and showed me around Cuzco. I told you we would make it happen. Good luck in your applications and I´ll see you at Downstate or Wisconsin! 03/29/11.

: Zane and Nick…for being our awesome and randomly assigned roommates while we stayed at Loki´s Backpackers Hostel, and for sharing with us a wildly entertaining night in Cuzco. Looking forward to partying with you again. See you in New Zealand! 03/29/11.

: Samantha…for our nice morning conversation at Loki´s Hostel and finding out that we were pretty much neighbors back in NYC. See you back in the city! 03/29/11.

: Kaitlin…for showing me what sexy was after climbing Wayna Picchu and the great company on the train ride back from Machu Picchu. See you in NYC! 03/28/11.

: Mona…for accompanying us around Machu Picchu at the very end, engaging us with an undeniable energy, and inspiring us with your views on life, travel and medicine. See you in Dubai! 03/28/11.

: Karla…for taking pictures of me while I was stuck on top of a rock at Wayna Picchu, and being so patient when I sent the pictures she wanted very many weeks later. Sorry! See you in California! 03/28/11.

: Lisa, Elena, and Susanna…for being the best buddies to talk to during our 2 hour train ride to Machu Picchu, and especially Susanna for trekking with us all the way to the top of Wayna Picchu. I was bummed we couldn´t meet up again in Cuzco. See you in Germany or NYC! 03/28/11.

: Renato of TaxiLimaPeru.com…for giving us a safe, thorough, and very impressive tour of Lima during our overnight layover. 03/26/11.

: Dara, my friend from ECAASU…for giving valuable travel advice on Machu Picchu and Cuzco.

: Felipe, my friend from Columbia…for setting me up a place to stay in his native city of Bogota and letting me under the care of his best friend.

: Nubia Chong, my friend from Downstate Medical School…for meeting us in San Diego to take us to In-N-Out as we returned from Mexico! 12/30/10.

: The One Small House Team…for an amazing community service experience in Mexico

: Eugene Mok, my friend from ECAASU…for hosting us as we arrived in San Diego right before crossing the border into Mexico. 12/25/10

: Vicky Wu, my friend from high school…for seeing me for the first time in 6 years, as well as having lunch with me and showing me around the IFC (especially after getting her wisdom teeth removed the day before!). 12/19/10

: Michelle and her boyfriend…for literally meeting me an hour after I landed in Hong Kong for a quick, last-minute dim sum brunch. See you in Vancouver! 12/18/10

2010

: Yiru Li, my friend from NYC…for a WTF moment when you recognized me better than I recognized you as we got off the same flight from Shanghai to NYC, even though we’ve only met once before, and being curiously interested in possibly being my next travel partner. See you around NYC! 8/11/10

: Kevin Fan…for making small talk while waiting in line at JFK airport that eventually led to his saving my ass when I realized I had no cell phone to call my mom to tell her that I was home and I needed her to unlock the door for me. Thanks for the call and see you in Gainesville! 8/11/10

: Lillian Ying and Andrea Lee…for meeting me for dinner in Singapore only hours before my flight back to NYC. 8/11/10

: Saniya and Malika…for letting me crash at their place in Singapore, taking me out for its National Day, and partying it up at their apartment without judging my intolerance for alcohol. 8/9/10

: Jamie Fleming…for a WTF moment when we recognized each other while waiting for the bus to Mamallapuram, despite only meeting for 5 minutes about 2 weeks prior in Hampi, for accompanying me all the way from Chennai to Mamallapuram and back, then seeing me off as we coincidentally both departed India for Singapore at the same time after many months abroad. See you in Australia! 8/8/10

: Arjun…for hosting me last minute in Chennai, knowing perfectly well what a travelblogger needed to be happy, and for taking me out for breakfast the morning after. See you in Mumbai! 8/7/10

: Jean Pak, my friend from Columbia…for accompanying me on my weekend trip to Mamallapuram without question and being one of the most helpful travel buddies I’ve had all summer. See you back in NYC! 8/7/10

: Supraja Sudharsan…for waking up at 5am in the morning waiting for my call so you could pick me up from the bus station in Chennai. You’re a trooper. 8/6/10

: Vineet Devaiah and Chidambar Kulkarni…for a WTF moment when you responded to a mutual friend’s facebook message only a few hours before you came to meet me for a really awesome dinner in Bangalore, and this was all about 2 hours before my bus departed for Chennai. See you back in Bangalore! 8/5/10

: Anna y Inés…for letting me practice my spanish with you as we hung out around Mysore, Srirangapatnam, and Brindavan Gardens together for a whole day. See you in Barcelona! 8/4/10

: Natasha and Holly…for hanging out with us in Hampi and for a WTF moment when we ran into each other a week later in Bangalore on top of a rooftop bar. See you in London! 7/30/10

: Lakshmi…for blessing me with her trunk when I gave her a coin. 7/29/10

: Claire and Fiona…for a WTF moment when we coincidentally had the same itinerary as I did as we spent 5 days together from Hampi to Goa. I’ve learned so much from you. See you in Scotland and Ireland! 7/29/10

: Rahul, Hansika & Ashi…for being Saraswati’s amazing friends who provided fantastic company that made me want to skip the Gocunda Fort just so I can hang out more with you. See you in Punjab! Balle Balle! 7/27/10

: Nikita…for a serendipitous morning conversation on a shuttle bus that led to a 2 hour lunch and then a post-midnight heart to heart on the ISB campus on conservatism, religion, philosophy, and everything else. Then you saw me off to Hampi the next evening; you didn’t have to say anything. Looking forward to our time machine and see you in Singapore (which we did 2 weeks later). 7/27/10

: Vaibhav Shah and your friends at the Indian Business School…for getting me to drive out here an hour away from Hyderabad and staying up with me in the wee hours of the night. 7/26/10

: Madhurya Reddy…for being Saraswati’s fun and amazing little sister who took care of me every step of the way from gelatos to bus tickets. Good luck on the GREs and see you in NYC! 7/26/10

: Saraswati Reddy…for embodying the ultimate concept of “Guest is God” by being one of the best hosts I ever had. Words cannot describe your unceasing generosity and unlimited capacity to make sure I made the most out of my experience in Hyderabad. See you in Pune! 7/26/10

: The Barodawala Family…for taking me in as one of their own as I arrived late to my train, for introducing me to their wonderful 5th grader son Adam, for staying up with me in our train compartment/berth engaging me on our lives, international politics, India, America, China, for encouraging me to go to Goa the next week (which I then did, thanks to you), and for offering me a place to stay if I ever end up in Abu Dhabi. See you in the UAE! 7/25/10

: Adrian…for having a delicious brunch with me and liking my first impression enough to facebook friend me immediately afterwards. See you in Beirut! 7/25/10

: Dave Levin…for taking me around Mumbai at night to the early morn’ and for being one of the coolest like-minded dudes I’ve met on this trip. See you back in New York! 7/24/10

: Gillian Grossman…for being my food companion and pretty much having dinner (and that one brunch) with me everyday I was in Mumbai. See you back at the restaurants in NYC! 7/23/10

: Jazba Singh…for being one of the best dance partners I ever had on the floor when I was partying it up in Mumbai’s China House. Where have you been in all my life? See you in Toronto where we’ll form our own dance team! 7/23/10

: Nishant Dixit, my friend from Columbia…for finding me in Mumbai, hanging out with me at the Columbia send-off party and partying it up at the Hawaiian Shack. 7/22/10

: Thommen, my friend from Columbia…for finding me in Mumbai, hanging out with me at the Columbia send-off party, and offering help and advice on Bangalore. See you back in India! 7/22/10

: The accepted Columbia College Class of 2014 from India…for being the future of Columbia! See you in New York! 7/22/10

: Mrinal, my friend from Columbia…for finding me in Mumbai and hanging out with me at the Columbia send-off party! See you back in NYC! 7/22/10

: Avanti Maluste and Shivani Khatau…for being my two favorite people in Mumbai. 7/21/10

: Random German lady living in India…for riding with me into the countryside of Udaipur. 7/20/10

: Shyam Singh…for the late night conversation on the rooftop of Nukkad Guesthouse in Udaipur. See you in Dharamsala! 7/19/10

: Julia Grochla…for staying up with me in the Nukkad Guesthouse in Udaipur as we talked into the late hours of the night. See you in Frankfurt! 7/19/10

: Ana, Gabes, Adria, and Arnau…for a friendly conversation at the Nukkad guesthouse rooftop restaurant in my first morning in Udaipur. See you in Barcelona! 7/19/10

: Raju (left), the owner of Nukkad Guesthouse in Udaipur…for showing me the way around the outskirts of Udaipur and being one of the best hosts I’ve had on this trip. 7/19/10

: Ryu Hyeon Joo…for thinking I was Korean when we met in the early morning as I arrived into Jodhpur, a WTF moment when we coincidentally found ourselves on the same bus to Jodhpur later that night, and then spending the next 2 days together in Udaipur as we communicated via hand gestures and broken Koreanglish. See you in Seoul! 7/18/10

: Priti…for being one of the most gracious hostesses I’ve had by waiting for me at midnight when I arrived to her guesthouse in Jaipur, offering me free chai and cookies despite how late in the night it was, and pretty much planning my entire trip in Rajasthan in 5 minutes. 7/16/10

: The Kingfisher staff at Amritsar Airport…for joking around with me while I checked into my flight for Jaipur. Good luck getting into UCLA! 7/16/10

: Kitty van’t Geloof…for a memorable lunch in Amritsar only minutes after a random conversation in an internet cafe. See you in The Netherlands! See you in Amsterdam! 7/16/10

: Jackson Gore…for the random chat while waiting for our delayed flight to Amritsar that eventually led to a great dinner and exploration of the Golden Temple the day after. See you in London, mate! 7/15/10

: Rebecca Joseph…for the great company during my journey from Varanasi to Delhi, getting me to stay at Rajputana’s Guesthouse a few days later, and exploring the city of Jaipur with me the day after. See you in New Zealand! 7/15/10

: Mic, XiaoXiao, Rebecca, Andy, Mathilde, Alice, and David…for becoming fast friends at the Ganpati Guesthouse in Varanasi that led to an unforgettable dinner, music show, and late-night conversations. 7/15/10

: Carl and Tara…for joining me for lunch at Brown Bread Bakery in Varanasi and sharing travel experiences. See you in Saratoga Springs! 7/14/10

: Tanmay…for introducing me to his hometown of Calcutta at night and getting me to meet his awesome actor friends, and being quite possibly the coolest/funniest/best host and brother from another mother with all our conversations in a span of a few hours. Good luck in England! 7/12/10

: Steffi…for randomly approaching me for a cup of coffee while I was half-dead/asleep arriving into the Calcutta International Airport, and then hanging out with me the next day in blatant support of social networking and Facebook. See you in Berlin! 7/11/10

: Lydia and Danielle…for striking up a brief but memorable conversation about their work fighting human trafficking, helping me out with finding the counter for my flight to Kolkata, and even managing to track me down on facebook when it seemed like we were never going to see each other again. See you in Calgary! 7/11/10

: Erin Meyer…for randomly being there to say hello to when I arrived at the hostel and coming out with me the night after for a shameless adventure involving karaoke, shisha, toilet humor, and the fact we were the two coolest Americans in Singapore. See you in Beirut for New Year’s! 7/11/10

: Sajni Mehta, my friend from NYC…for a WTF moment when we ran into each other in Singapore (this being the 2nd time we’d run into each other overseas), for almost getting in trouble by staying up late, having drinks at the rooftop bar of New Asia Bar, and then grabbing shisha by Arab St. See you at our next international destination! 7/10/10

: Mr. Scottish Arms…for chatting with me about India at the hostel in Singapore and offering advice on plane tickets and Hindi phrases. See you in Mumbai! 7/10/10

: BeiXian “BX” Tang, my friend from Columbia…for showing us around all of central Singapore in less than 3 hours and then taking me out karaoke’ing the night after. See you in Singapore, again! 7/9/10

: Our guide at Mesjid Istiqlal…for guiding us around the grandest mosque in Southeast Asia in less than 15 minutes before we had to catch a flight to Singapore. 7/9/10

: Kevin McLaughlin…for meeting us at our guesthouse in Jakarta and giving helpful advice on airline rewards and membership. See you in Ireland! 7/9/10

: Our host at Bangka B&B…for not judging us for staying only 12 hours in Jakarta. 7/8/10

: Borobudur Sunrise man…for taking us at the last minute up a mountain to catch an exquisite sunrise, even though we didn’t see Borobudur past the fog. 7/7/10

: Etri and her little sister…for showing us around Yogyakarta, being a great host and translator at the last minute, and sitting next to me as I type this out. 7/6/10

: Sebastien…for meeting us randomly at the train station and helping us find our place to stay in Yogyakarta without charging us a buck. 7/6/10

: Our driver in Surabaya…for driving us 8 hours to the Bromo lunarscape, being patient with us, and then not fretting when we haggled him down and then refusing his prices. 7/6/10

: Naomi Bishop…for getting us an AMAZING place to stay at her former home near Yogyakarta. 7/5/10

: Tiff Qua, my friend from Columbia…for almost meeting up with us in Manila and planning to meet up with us anyway in Singapore but not before providing us loads of information on what to see and where to eat. 7/4/10

: My family Uncle Raymond, Auntie, cousin Edward, and my new cousin-in-law Felicia…for inviting me to their wedding reception in Taipei! 7/4/10

: Helen Wu…for partying with me in Taipei and thinking I was 35 years old. You flatter. See you in Chile! 7/3/10

: Cindy Chang…for a WTF moment when we ran into each other pretty much the moment I landed in Taiwan, then for partying with me that very night at Primo hours before my flight back to Indonesia. See you in Tokyo! 7/3/10

: Lisa Lim…for being the only guesthouse/hotel manager who figured out how find and add me as a friend on facebook, and for being a great host at 88 Inn in Kuala Lumpur; you made me feel at home by talking with me in Chinese. 6/28/10

: Soe Lin Aung, my friend from Columbia…for a WTF moment when we met up at the Thailand/Myanmar border at Mae Sot out of all places and for showing us around and feeding us Burmese food. 6/25/10

: Som Yai, Ye Yang, Thong Si and other friends…whom taught me a lot about Laos culture and lifestyle and for letting me converse with them in English. 6/22/10

: Sok Cheat, our fantastic tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap…for taking us around for 3 days from sunrise to midnight. 6/17/10

: Van and her brother Lam…for a WTF moment when we ran into each other in Saigon and then for showing us the nightlife! See you in Virginia! 6/14/10

: Helpful Pipe man…for getting Annah a REAL pipe instead of a touristy one. 6/11/10

: Nicholas & Phillips…for the good company from Ha Long Bay to Hue, and the free Advil for Annah. See you in Quebec! 6/11/10

: Harn…for invaluable advice on Malaysia and free AirAsia.com tickets. 6/9/10

: Ally Paclisanu…for giving us advice on Myanmar visas while randomly bumping into us at Rose Hotel in Hanoi, and for meeting me again in NYC a few months later! 6/11/10

: Rose…for solving all our problems and being the friendliest caretaker from Liberty Hotel we have ever met. 6/8/10

: Advika…for eavesdropping on our conversation at Saigon Airport and giving us great advice on Hanoi and Jakarta. See you in Chicago! 6/7/10

: Heather Eidinger…for brutally honest advice on Vietnam and for the late night company at Friendly’s Guesthouse in Manila. See you in Canada! 6/7/10

: Claire R & Charles Blaxland…for being great company at Rita’s in Batad and giving us invaluable advice on Tagaytay which we later used. See you in Australia! 6/4/10

: The Man of Batad…for telling us that we were going in the wrong direction on our way back from Tappiya Waterfalls. 6/4/10

: Rita’s Boy…for making us dinner the old school way. 6/4/10

: Rita…for hosting us in Batad and teaching us how to prepare rice. 6/4/10

: Germaine…for hosting us in Batad, cooking us food, and giving us advice on how to reach the waterfalls. 6/4/10

: Shyama Rajendran, my friend from NYC…for meeting up with us in Manila, getting us bus tickets to Banaue/Batad, and for taking us to Club Icon for a crazy night out! See you back in NYC! 6/2/10

: Mrs. San-a-jong…for a WTF moment (before the trip even BEGAN) when you recognized me as your daughter’s preschool & high school classmate as you checked me into my flight to Manila. 5/31/10

Preparing for the Trip:

: Mohsen Ali…for helping Hassan with translating my Pakistani visa sponsor letter into Urdu.

: Sadaf Malik…for helping Hassan with translating my Pakistani visa sponsor letter into Urdu.

: Hassan Baber…for both translating and typing out my Pakistani visa sponsor letter onto Microsoft Word for the final visa application.

: Shaifa Farooqui…for getting your mother to help translate my Pakistani visa sponsor letter into Urdu.

: Meher Farooq…for writing out the translation of my sponsor’s visa letter into Urdu by hand, and then finding your friend Hassan to type it out for me.

: Silvia Mancebo…for giving me advice on where to go in Nicaragua within seconds of receiving my email letting you know I was there.

: Jen Gao…for sending me pages and pages of what to do and see in Quepos and Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica after you had just been there only a few days before.

: Cristina Handal…for introducing me to your two childhood friends Andrea and Marie when I arrived into your hometown of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

: Diana Cahill…for giving me so much advice on the safety updates and where to go/eat/stay in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It’s so sad you were away on vacation to Peru and couldn’t meet up with us in Honduras. Next time, though!

: M Jannat Akhter…for providing me valuable information on where to hang out in Dhaka, Bangladesh

: Ashley Tagg of AIESEC…for putting me in touch with all her AIESEC colleagues abroad in Spain so that I could make new friends and get a side of the country I wouldn’t have otherwise!

: Erica K…for convincing me to take a detour to Gibraltar when I was literally on the fence. Thanks to you, I’m seriously going.

: Alina Masters…for being my personal travel agent when it comes to traveling around Spain.

: Iona Mochado…for consistently providing tons of unsolicited advice on our winter ’11 trip to Spain, even though we had only met for 5 minutes when you interviewed at my medical school. One of these days you’re going to have to join us.

: Naina Sharma…for gently nudging me to choose Belize for Thanksgiving, which I eventually did.

: Dalea Dyer…for insisting (and convincing) me to go to Belize for Thanksgiving, and keeping up with me through the duration of the trip. Wish you could’ve came with us.

: Evan Jones…for contacting his local friends in the Middle East about the situation in Syria and advising me whether or not I can still get a visa as a U.S. citizen.

: Diva Datwani…for not only giving valuable advice on Luang Prabang last summer, but also on Dubai for the 2011 trip. One day, you’re actually going to join me and personally show me around!

: Felipe Tarud…for setting me up a place to stay in his native city of Bogota and letting me under the care of his best friend

: Dara Chen…for giving valuable travel advice on Machu Picchu and Cuzco before I left

: Brian Foo…for designing this sexy blog and indirectly teaching me how to decipher & code .css stylesheets

: Nilam Patel…for overall emotional support, making it hard to leave, and making sure I have a way to wash my clothes

: Isaac Silverman…for teaching me the difference between “tourist” and “traveler”

: Jess & Kim…for offering a place to stay, a family as guides in Manila, and advising us to the biggest mall in Asia

: Christian Pina…for throwing me a surprise going away party and for setting up a pool of all the diseases I’m going to get

: Shyama Rajendran…for meeting up with us in Manila, buying us bus tickets to Banaue, and sharing random stories about her family via gchat

: Trina Tran…for demanding me to go to Dalit over Hanoi

: Quynh Nguyen…for providing travel advice on Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Singapore, and sharing her 10+ facebook albums

: Linus…for being my big brother all my life, making sure my legal docs are intact in case anything happened, and being worried about this trip for me

: Avanti Maluste…for chastising me to stay longer in Mumbai instead of going to Goa, and letting me play with her cat when I arrive there

: Shivani…for chastising me to stay longer in Mumbai, after Avanti told her to

: Van Nguyen…for providing travel advice on Vietnam in the longest facebook message I have ever read

: Hong…for providing me travel advice on Vietnam, and a guide whom I will meet for the first time in Hanoi

: Shari Setyawinata…for providing pages of travel advice on Indonesia, and making us consider taking airplanes instead of the trains

: Lorenzo…for introducing me to his family in the Philippines via e-mail

: Huei…for advising me on Malaysia but never really coming out to see me before I left, even though she was 5 blocks away

: Jessica…for providing advice on Thailand and giving us the awesomeness that is airbandb.com

: Nazeela…for giving indispensibly aggressive advice on India

: Sarah Eberle…for providing travel advice on pretty much 60% of the places we’re going to, and tempting us to skip Bali for the Gili Islands

: Pamela & Julian…for providing me great advice upon request on Thailand and Singapore

: Julian and Genna…for suggesting titles for this blog, especially my favorite: “How Chen Ho Got His Balls Back”

: Poh Choo…for providing travel advice on Malaysia and adding Penang to our list

: Michael J. Novielli…for sending me a super awesome color map of Southeast Asia as a surprise gift

: Vaibhav…for advising us and getting us a place to stay in Calcutta and Varanasi

: Corinne Fukuyama…for joining us on this trip for the Philippines and Vietnam

: Caitlin Halpern…for joining us on this trip for Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore