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I recently discovered that South Korea has its own sister pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago, the Jeju Olle Trail, a network of coastal and inland paths that circle Jeju Island. Jeju, often called the “Hawaii of South Korea,” is a volcanic island roughly 73 km across and 31 km from north to south, known for its dramatic cliffs, lush forests, and a culture shaped by wind, stone, and sea. The trail itself was created in 2007 by Suh Myung‑Suk, a Korean journalist inspired by h

Several years ago, I took a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn and spent a day wandering the cobbled lanes of its enchanting old town. That brief encounter left me wanting more — to see Estonia beyond its postcard-perfect capital. This year, I finally made it happen. I rented a car in Riga, Latvia’s vibrant neighbor to the south, and began the scenic 310-kilometer drive north to Tallinn, tracing the Baltic coastline and crossing into a country I’d long hoped to explore in depth.

Overnight, the ‘Captain Octopus’, my tour boat, had docked at Padar Island after starting at Kalong. We were 14 passengers onboard and after having a sumptuous dinner, which was completely seafood based, including crabs, fish, and salads, we were told to wake up by 4:30am. The sky was dark, with no light pollution, except that emanating from the hundred or so other boats that were docked here. I learned something new from a young British medical school student about night pho

Barely a half an hour flight from Denpasar is an island named Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo national park. Renting a small scooter, for $3 for the evening, I set out to Sylvia Hill, a spot beloved for sunset viewing. A German fellow traveler led the way, and I was at the spot just as the sun was about to set. The island had many high spots for great pictures of the surrounding area. There is a single lane highway close to the coast and it can be seen when landing onto La

Besides Mahe, two other islands people like to visit in Seychelles are Praslin and La Digue. The 's' in Praslin is silent. It is a bigger island than La Digue but much smaller than Mahe. Seychelles has a picture of Coco de Mer in most places including hotel rooms and in art which is displayed everywhere. Coco de Mer is a species of coconut, but has two halves with a shape of the heart. It is illegal to have a Coco de Mer in your possession. Only licensed handlers are allowed

Forty years ago, three brothers wanted to enjoy life and they started distilling rum from the sugarcane in Seychelles for personal consumption. Over the years, it blossomed into a full blown distillery that supplies rum to 50 countries and makes over two hundred thousand liters of this stuff daily. They offer a free tour and a paid tasting, I joined them for both these events. The old ancestral house serves as the reception area, museum and the tasting venue. They display a

Over 23 years ago, I went to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and ventured to do a scuba dive. A huge catamaran took me in the ocean for two hours from Cairns and arrived at the barrier reef dive site. Although I did not know how to swim, I was allowed to dive. The dive instruction went smoothly, and I went underwater. Things were going well until I fully realized that I was underwater with no ability to breath other than the pipe in my mouth. I worried what would happen i

Mahé hosts the capital, Victoria, of the country of Seychelles , which is an archipelago with about 155 islands. It has just about 100 thousand citizens, and in my opinion, it is one of the most expensive countries to visit. It is frequented by Europeans who desire to escape the frigid local weather in favor of the warm, balmy days and easy access to beaches and ocean all year round. Seychelles is the smallest African country. February is the wettest season and being here in

In many places around El Nido, one can see signs of four tours, A, B, C and D. Each is a full day trip in a boat to the open sea and includes 5 stops to some the innumerable small islands off the coast, each about half to one hour boat ride away from the other. I signed up to do Tour C which includes helicopter island. Overnight, it rained very heavily and by the morning at the pickup time, it had let up. However the coast guard had rescinded the permission for Tour C and the

The Island of Palawan, which is between Manila and Cebu on the western side of the country, is a very green island spanning about 250 km from south west to north east and has the area named El Nido at its northern tip. I rented a scooter and decided to check out the beaches on this side of the island. The first beach is the Vanilla beach towards the south side of El Nido. It has a beautiful densely wooded small island about a kilometer away. There are ziplines running from t

Just 2 km from the big island of Davao in Philippines, is the Samal island. From the Davao ferry terminal, a 20 peso ($0.35) ticket is charged per person on the car ferry to head over to Samal and it is a short 15 minutes ride. The waters are calm and there are many huge ships anchored around the ferry terminal area. Approaching the island, you can see that it is aptly named as the garden island because it is densely forested. There are scooter rentals as well as the ubiquit