Matthew Kepnes

People always ask how travel has changed me.

As I made my way up to my friend’s apartment on that initial walk, I couldn’t help but notice the graffiti, and the abandoned buildings everywhere. Half the buildings are broken down with boarded up windows and look as though they would be filled with squatters.

And this is an often overlooked fact – the vast majority of sex tourism in Thailand comes from locals. Western sex tourism pales in comparison to this massive industry. The difference between Thais and Westerners? Thais are more discreet.

Travel is transformational. It changes who you are to your very core.

Don’t let money get in the way of travel. If you are creative and flexible about what you want to do, you will find work.

Travel is not a contest. It’s not a race to see who can travel cheaper. It’s someone’s personal route around the world. Don’t take that away from someone.

When I was twenty-five, I quit my job to travel the world because I met five travelers in Thailand who changed my views on how I wanted to live my life.

As my ear drums begin to sound like popcorn in a microwave I couldn’t fall back asleep. They were small, frequent pops and in my zombie-like state, I couldn’t really place why this was happening.

History is filled with amazing adventures who paved the way for future explorers and inspired generations of wanderlust. Here are some of the best.

Here’s an inspirational travel quote for each week of the year (plus one for good measure) to keep you dreaming of exotic lands.

Over the years, I’ve had some bad hostel roommates. They’ve been rude, messy, dirty, smelly, drunk, loud and everything in between. Two girls in New Zealand were so bad they inspired me to write a post on hostel etiquette.

When I started traveling, my dad asked what I’m running away from. My mother constantly wants to know when I will “settle down” and join the “real world”.