This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Exciting news for upcoming travel plans! Unexpectedly, I’m heading back to Hungary for a few days mid-February. There’s a big festival in the south that’s more or less a local little Mardi Gras celebration, though locally known as Busójárás and celebrating the local town Mohács’ Ottoman-era success in retaking their […] The post Trip Plans: Spring in Nepal & Dubai appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. More news, more Europe. After a brief respite in Kyrgyzstan we’re back on the road to Europe – this time for some photography in Hungary and Austria with a quick family side trip to Slovakia. Austria is a personal long-time favorite – check out the Austria archives to get a […] The post Trip Plans: Central Europe appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Exciting news for upcoming travel (and for the blog – goodness, it has been quiet around here)! Headed soon to Italy for the first time since ~2006. Only plans for the north, this time, starting with some hiking in Cinque Terre and San Marino before meeting back up with Gulmira […] The post Trip Plans: Italy appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Food in Dubai: A Traveler’s Guide Dubai is not traditionally a backpacker favorite. Despite perceptions of being overpriced and obscenely flashy, though, I’ve come to find myself looking forward to infrequent passes through the Emirates for exactly one reason: the FOOD in Dubai. The wealth of cuisines available in the Emirates, […] The post Food in Dubai: A Traveler’s Guide appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Kulikalon Camping: There and Back Again You can, it turns out, go back again; even just for Kulikalon Camping. Camping in the Kulikalon Valley in the Fann Mountains of Tajikistan stands out as one of my favorite memories of traveling in Central Asia from my first long journey through the […] The post Kulikalon Camping: There and Back Again appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Year in Photos: 2018 Is it already time again for the annual blog post? My, how it passes quickly. It feels like 2018 was another banner year, full of fulfilling projects and exciting travels and a lot of time with friends across the globe. (Apologies to my family, who I […] The post Year in Photos: 2018 appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Exploring Mexico: San Luis Potosi As a relatively well-traveled American, there’s a major lack of depth on my travel CV that I still find is almost impossible to reconcile: Mexico. I’ve visited once, my first summer back from living in Asia, teaming up with a good friend from college to […] The post Exploring Mexico: San Luis Potosi appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Year in Photos: 2017 I know I say this every year, but y’all, what a year 2017 was. Three or four months of road-tripping across two different countries. Awesome professional projects, some new and some old. A fair bit of hiking (though never enough!). Last-minute birthday trip to Siberia. And […] The post Year in Photos: 2017 appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Austrian Radio Interview: Kyrgyzstan Edition   In what seems to be an ongoing series of interviews with Radio FM4 in Vienna, I spoke with their team at the end of March about travel opportunities in Kyrgyzstan as a representative of Lonely Planet. Having been based here off and on since […] The post Austrian Radio Interview: Travel Kyrgyzstan Edition appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more

This is a post from MonkBoughtLunch - A budget travel blog from Central Asia, the Silk Road, and beyond.. Austrian Radio Interview: ‘Travel Eritrea’ Edition Hey again! I’m finally back to Kyrgyzstan after two months on the ground in Texas, but just before I hopped back on a flight to head this way I found time to record another interview with Radio FM4 in Austria. This one’s about Eritrea, […] The post Austrian Radio Interview: Travel Eritrea Edition appeared first on MonkBoughtLunch ..read more