Posts by Franklin

Manila, Philippines

Manila, in a lot of ways, is my kind of place. There’s an old-West quality to the streets there: a certain duskiness, the widespread edificial lean of a building code either absent or ignored, and a low-slung sense of vigilantism – guns carried and cigarettes smoked wherever you please. That is to say, it’s a…
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Gulf of Thailand

We could have happily stayed in Bangkok for weeks. We had an amazing condo, courtesy of our matron saint Aunt Toy. The city literally sprawled out beneath us, 19 floors down, waiting to be explored. But John only had a precious 10 days with us, and we all decided it’d be a waste not to…
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Gear Review: Osprey Flapjack (backpack)

Like Vince, I didn’t buy a new pack for this trip—I used one I already had. That’s frugality in action, folks. Take notes. This particular bag is my second purchase from Osprey. I love their stuff. The first backpack I had of theirs was bought during college, and at one point while surfing I stupidly…
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Taj Mahal, Agra, India

I didn’t want to go to the Taj Mahal. I figured I’d seen it – in books and movies, on tourism posters, again and again. In DeLillo’s White Noise, there’s this trope about “America’s Most Photographed Barn,” which is a completely unremarkable barn in the Midwest that becomes famous for the stream of tourists who are…
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Kochi, Kerala, India

When we arrived in Kochi, in the region of Kerala, after the most heinous bus ride any of us had ever taken—a sleeper bus improperly named; gripping the rails of our bunks as the driver drifted that sumbitch; sleep impossible despite heavy sedatives—we were eager to get some rest. But did we? No. We went…
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Benaulim, Goa, India

I hadn’t heard of Benaulim, but Sascha was there, so we finished up in Anjuna and made our way. The lovely Phoebe “Bum’s on Show” Spey joined us on the journey south. Goa is something like India’s California coastline—the region forms a long strip along the west coast; it’s sunny and hot all the time;…
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Gear Review: Klearkase for Kindle

Vince has written a bit about the Kindle and its invaluable place in a minimal traveler’s gear list. It’s light, small, well-engineered and easy to navigate. If you’re planning to do any reading on your trip, it’s the obvious choice. And even if you don’t read for pleasure, there are certain books—like dictionaries and travel…
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Anjuna, Goa, India

During the first month of my trip, before Vince arrived[1], I spent almost a week in a small town in northern Goa called Anjuna. Famous for its party scene, of which I saw no evidence during my stay, Anjuna is a past-prime hippy haunt that now acts as a sort of quiet retreat from the…
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