Author: Karen McCann

​I still can’t believe Rich got me to agree to this crazy travel experiment. “Remind me again why it will be fun to travel without any luggage whatsoever,” I said recently. “The freedom to move through the world unencumbered,” he replied, growing a little starry-eyed. “To get on a train with nothing but a toothbrush…

“I’m not kidding,” Rich said. “I think this carpet is made of cardboard.” I bent down to take a closer look. “Could be some sort of plastic. Or maybe ridged asphalt covered in vinyl? Whatever it is, don’t put your bare feet on it.” We were standing at the entrance/entire floor area of the smallest…

Right after we got married, I went down to Kmart to replace my diamond wedding ring with an inexpensive gold band. “It’s just for the duration of our trip to India,” I reassured Rich. “In a place where people have so little, it just doesn’t seem appropriate — or safe —  to wear good jewelry.”…

“I just can’t take any more close-ups of blood dripping on snow,” I told Rich recently. At home or on the road, we love spending lazy evenings watching mysteries and thrillers, matching wits with unorthodox but brilliant detectives and the ruthless master criminals they’re hunting down. But after a glut of bleak Scandinavian suspense dramas…

“Why would you want to go to a stranger’s home and eat with people you don’t know?” a friend asked incredulously. “The hosts aren’t picked at random off the street,” I protested. “They’re professional chefs and fabulous cooks who open their homes to small groups for private dining. It’s a pop-up restaurant, like a small…

During the first two days of our Cost Rica honeymoon, Rich and I took dozens of snapshots of friendly locals, exotic jungles, and each other, until I finally thought to ask, “Say, how many shots do we have on that roll of film, anyway?” And that’s when we discovered neither of us had remembered to…

Iranian family in Isfahan, Iran. Photo by David Stanley When American Jeff Greenwald went to Iran to photograph the solar eclipse in 1999, he didn’t seriously expect gunplay to erupt during the astrological event. True, Iran was a strict Islamic republic in the run-up to 9/11, but so far the Iranians had been helpful and…

A TRAVEL SKILL YOU MAY NEED SOMEDAY? Runaway camels. UFO abductions. Leeches. The world is full of catastrophes waiting to strike, and the sensible traveler is prepared to encounter pretty much anything. On my own journeys, I’ve dealt with tornados, snakes, earthquakes, inebriated Americans in Japanese karaoke bars, and broken bones when camping in deep…

THIS SENTIMENT WAS NOT SHARED BY THE CROCODILE. Here’s a hot packing tip: leave your live reptiles at home . Unfortunately, one passenger didn’t get the memo on this, and he stuffed a crocodile into his duffle bag just before boarding a small plane in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The crocodile got loose…

THIS WENT VIRAL WITH THE CAPTION “BEST SELFIE EVER?” Living in a destination city like Seville, I’ve had ample opportunity to observe tourists behaving badly. And before I go any further, let me just say that most visitors are perfectly delightful guests – energetic, cheerful, and appreciative, contributing to the city’s bonhomie as well as…