HOME
ABOUT
WORK
COURSE
PODCAST
DESTINATIONS

Nav Social Icons

Looking for something?

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to footer

HOME
ABOUT
WORK
COURSE
PODCAST
DESTINATIONS

Mobile Menu Widgets

Connect

Search

Looking for something?

Bucketlist Bri

Adventurous Slomad Travel

Start Here
Destinations
Digital Nomad
Responsible Travel
Slow Travel
Van Life

Guatemala

Sort By:

The Ultimate Digital Nomad Guide to Guatemala

Top 10 Hotels & Resorts in Lago Atitlán, Guatemala

9 Best Coffee Shops & Cafes With Wifi in Antigua

15 Best Hotels in Antigua: Where to Stay in Guatemala’s Colonial Gem

10 Best Day Trips from Antigua Guatemala

How Many Days in Antigua, Guatemala? (3 Day Itinerary)

17 Best Restaurants Not to Miss in Antigua Guatemala

An Epic Lake Atitlán Itinerary — How to Spend Your Days Lakeside in Guatemala

Day Trip to Hobbitenango From Antigua — Is It Worth It?

Go to page 1
Go to page 2
Go to page 3
Next →

Let’s Connect!

They ask, “Why?” I was 29 when I embarked on

They ask, “Why?”

I was 29 when I embarked on the plane on the 21st, and 30 when I disembarked on the 23rd. How fitting. I spent all of my 20s abroad (except for my two final semesters in undergrad), and moved to Nepal when I was 21.

What better way to say goodbye to my twenties than by returning to the start? I felt the desperate urge to start my 30s this way—alone on a one-way ticket with no concrete plans. I have both feared and longed to come back all these years. You see, I had made a promise to one of my closest Nepali friends that I’d see her again, but the reality is that I no longer can.

She, along with another dear friend, passed away from cancer a couple of years back. The thought of returning to my old life here without my friends made me, well, incredibly sad. I had thought that, upon landing in Kathmandu—or taking a bite of my first momo—after so long, I’d find myself bursting into tears of both grief and gratitude. But I didn’t. Instead, I found familiarity in the chaos and chaos in the strangeness.

Just being here—and the decisions and actions it took to get here—has reminded me of the preciousness of this one very short life. And that, by choosing to celebrate mine—at the exciting turn of a decade no less—by coming back to Nepal on a solo trip that would force me into daring discomfort when I could instead retreat to the comforts of family or my partner, is how I want to live it.

Truth is, a couple of months ago the thought of Nepal felt out of reach. It felt risky, unattainable. But the idea itself pushed open, just a crack at first, a door that had been otherwise closed. I could have more easily ignored my “what if?” daydreams—calling them off as too hard, too uncomfortable, or too far-fetched to actually pursue—and kept it shut.
But sometime in mid-July, I decided to look at flights. And I found one (truly, just one) option that could work. And it just so happened that it would fall on my birthday, or rather bridge my birthday. The idea of getting on a plane at 29 and getting off it at 30—back in Nepal—sold me. I fell in love with the story, the adventure, the unknowingness of it all.

So, yeah. That’s why. Or as I prefer, “Why not?”

Rebuilt, it is indeed different now, but at the sa

Rebuilt, it is indeed different now, but at the same time just as I remember: the swirl of incense, spice, sweat, and candle smoke peppering the air; the pigeons cooing and flapping overhead; the Tibetan devotees and tourists melodically shuffling clockwise around the dome; the street dogs curling up in corners; the monks humming and drumming inside monastery halls.

I’m both at home and a foreigner in a strange land, once more, discovering it all over again with new eyes—just like those of the reborn stupa.

The last time I saw Boudhanath—one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world—was in 2016. It remained under reconstruction after the deadly 2015 earthquakes, so I never got to see it in all its magnificent wonder—until today! 🙏

And wow, Boudha under the rain this afternoon was just what I had been dreaming of ever since I left Nepal after one year living/studying/working here.

It’s so good to be back 🥹🇳🇵

📍 Boudhanath Stupa (northeast Kathmandu) — you can catch the local bus here from the airport for only 20-40 Nepalese rupees instead of paying 900 Rs for a taxi 😉

Save this reel to your Nepal folder and follow along @bucketlistbri 💛

#nepal #boudhanath #kathmandu #lifetimeexperiences #nepaltourism #visitnepal #kathmandunepal #nepalnow #nepalviaje @nepaltourism #nepalnow

I have a confession 🙈 I have not enjoyed crea

I have a confession 🙈

I have not enjoyed creating or posting on Instagram for a few months. But I have recently hit a big reset button🚨 and I feel inspiration flowing back to me.

I think in many ways, and for years, Instagram has stunted my creativity and photographic eye. Funnily enough, I used to love creating short travel videos long before it became a thing or a lucrative job. Now it feels like I’m always playing catch up. Now I select 5 photos out of 500 and I choose them through an Instagram filter of what “works.” I really don’t like doing that, which is why I often go weeks without posting. I lost my why, again and again and again.

What I really enjoy is the art and act of it — the “seeing” — the visual story, the edit that just transforms the feeling. The emotion that videos and photos evoke — in me when I take them and also in others when they absorb them.

That’s why I love writing and photography both, and combining them both through blogging. I forget I don’t have to do this, I GET to.

The joy, the flow, the “creation” of it all is so powerful.

So I hope you enjoy these photos and behind the scenes — for some reason, I always felt they weren’t “good enough” to share except for in Stories. How odd, who told me that? Only I did. So I’m giving back to myself the permission to travel far and wide and share whatever I feel like creating and sharing far and wide, too. I know many of you can relate… You’re not alone 🤗 — this is your sign to give yourself that permission slip to show up as authentically you 💛

1. iPhone snap of me happy in a teahouse

2. The gorgeous Japanese-style exterior of Amei Teahouse evokes scenes from “Spirited Away”

3. Spotted through the window 🫖

4. Jiufen under the rain

5. A woman from Malaysia was sitting at our table at dinner and gave us her “Jiufen souvenir” to remember her by. It was so sweet!

6. Wandering the alleyways and found a temple hiding under the mist 🐉

7. Taiwanese tea ceremony 😍

8. Those layers ⛰️

9. The sweetest lady and owner of our homestay had us model in front of her elaborate door, which she was very proud of!

#taiwan #jiufen #taiwantravel #taiwantrip #iseetaiwan

Jiufen is a charming mountain town in Northern Tai

Jiufen is a charming mountain town in Northern Taiwan with an interesting Japanese gold mining history🏮💛

It is an enchanting destination that deserves to be savored—don’t make the mistake of coming only for a day!

As I shared in a previous reel, many Studio Ghibli fans have caught wind that the Amei Teahouse is rumored to have inspired scenes in “Spirited Away,” and therefore make the day trip from Taipei to see it in person and live out their fantasy.

However, Miyazaki has denied the rumor that Jiufen, or any particular teahouse, was the source of inspiration for the film!

What did introduce Jiufen to the global stage, however, was the 1989 film “A City of Sadness.” It was filmed in Jiufen on Shuqi Road (the street going down past Amei Teahouse).

Please remember to visit Jiufen mindfully & with care 🙏

Learn more about what to do and see in Jiufen, Taiwan beyond “taking a photo of the Spirited Away teahouse” in my 2-3 day itinerary — free on my blog! @bucketlistbri 🤍 🇹🇼

#jiufen #taiwantravel #studioghibli #spiritedaway #jiufenoldstreet #taiwan #ameiteahouse #heartofasia

“I had to defend myself. So I beat him with a ma

“I had to defend myself. So I beat him with a machete and I left,” she said unabashedly, continuing,

“You can either choose to live in the darkness or in the light. I chose the light.”

Beti happened to be my Uber driver for my ride from Corte Madera to SFO airport, but now I know it was no happenstance that she be the one to accept my request.

You see, I just spent four days immersed in light at the 31st @bookpassage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference — an experience that @don_george_travel called in his closing speech, “A magical forest of light, illuminated by fireflies.” (With each embrace representing a spark of light — lots of hugging took place in that bookstore!)

Beti fled Honduras twenty-nine years ago in fear for her life and in search of peace.

As I listened to her story and met her soulful eyes in the rearview mirror, one of my greatest fears surfaced: not living my life to its fullest potential; to not only travel the world for my own selfish cravings of adventure and connection but to, in a sense of responsibility, share it back with the world. To live fully. To write stories. And to listen to them — like Beti’s.

And so as I was sitting there, all teary-eyed and smiley, I visually zoomed out high above our car crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. There, amid the endless line of ant-sized traffic, I saw it: two fears, two stories, and two seemingly separate lives intermingled intimately together, emitting a singular, soft glow — just like that of a firefly — making its way through the mist and fog of San Francisco, and ultimately, of life.

This was my second year attending TWPC, and again I am reminded of what I take most from this gathering which is — beyond the expert-led workshops & insider knowledge for excelling in the travel writing and photography worlds — the unshakeable lesson of living & traveling mindfully, armed with the two most important tools of the trade:

love and light 🤍✨

Add this place to your Taiwan bucket list — ASAP

Add this place to your Taiwan bucket list — ASAP!

📍 Taroko Gorge, Taroko National Park

This place felt like the “Misty Mountains” (of Taiwan)🧙‍♂️ ⛰️ 🥾 — there are wispy waterfalls, towering peaks, marble canyons, hiking trails, dark tunnels, aboriginal food/culture, and just look at that crystal clear river water! 😍

My full blog guide + itinerary for this underrated destination and national park (one of nine in Taiwan!) is now LIVE!

Head to my blog @bucketlistbri .com and search for Taroko for all the juicy details on how to visit 🌿

P.S. More Taiwan + Japan blog guides to follow — send me your questions and don’t forget to bookmark this for later ✨ 🤗

#taiwantravel #tarokonationalpark #iseetaiwan #asiatravel #tarokogorge #adventureculture

Follow My Adventures

Footer

On the Blog

Start Here
Destinations
Digital Nomad
Responsible Travel
Slow Travel
Van Life

Info

Work With Me
My Blog Course
Slomad Stories Podcast
About
Contact
Privacy Policy

adventures await x

Copyright © 2023 · Bucketlist Bri | All Rights Reserved