Rev. Jessy Togbadoya is from a village in Liberia called Balama. He was the first individual from his village to receive an education. He now lives in Atlanta and runs a non profit organization called Balama Development Alliance (BDA). His mission through BDA is to enable transformational development by investing in the dreams of the […]

This past weekend I taught a cooking class on how to make hearty soups and salads that can be eaten as full meals. They are nutritious, filling and make wholesome entrees. Out of all the dishes we prepared, the class unanimously voted for the Brazilian shrimp soup as the most delicious and their favorite. I […]

Since there was no way I was going to even try to climb up Mount Everest, or even Base Camp, I decided to take the easy way out. Several airlines offer mountain flights that take you over Everest and other mountains in the Himalayas. In one and a half hours, you get up close to […]

Did you know that the name hamburger originally derives from Hamburg, Germany‘s second largest city, from where many people emigrated to the United States? In High German, Burg means fortified settlement or fortified refuge; and is a widespread component of place names. Originally what started out in the 15th century as a piece of meat between two slices of bread, has now taken […]

Kids grow up quick in Nepal. They have to support their parents, raise younger siblings, and help out in the fields before and after school. When in school there’s often a lack of teachers and many of the children sit in the class unsupervised. Poverty and hardship breed creativity and resourcefulness, whether it’s a kite made […]

I first tasted pirogi (perogie) when I was on a volunteer vacation in Russia couple of years ago. The lady who cooked for us at the volunteer home in Yaroslavl made this authentic Russian bread stuffed with mushrooms. Being a fan of both breads and mushrooms, this was one of my favorite dishes in Russian […]

Recently I came across the book “Unquenchable – A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines” by Natalie MacLean. I feel like what I want to do with voluntourism, MacLean has done it with wine. I am not a fan of reading wine guides for entertainment purposes, but this book turned out to be […]

Yesterday, my friend Michael treated me to an amazing lunch at Morimoto, located at the Chelsea Market in New York City.  It is owned by Masaharu Morimoto, best known as the third Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef, and an Iron Chef on its spinoff, Iron Chef America. Morimoto is known for upscale Japanese fusion […]

Continued from part 1… We start our second day crossing the Dudh Kosi (Milk River) on a steel suspension bridge about 50 metres (165ft) above the river – it’s a thrilling feeling with mountains on each side and the roaring river below. As we cross, the wind pushes us to one side and you feel […]

First I would like to kindly thank Sucheta for letting me write a guest entry on her blog! I recently met Sucheta in Nepal where I was re-visiting VIN (Volunteers Initiative Nepal) whom I worked for last year. This year I set up a partner foundation called Friends of VIN (visit our newly launched website Friends […]

India and Nepal are two neighboring countries that have a lot of similarities and a few differences. Often times you would hear the phrase “same same but different” in reference to contrasting the two. My own personal experience aligns quite well with this. Like India, women in Nepal wear salwaar kameez and saris, adorned with […]

My perception of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal was quite different than the reality. I had envisioned a metropolitan city, neatly maintaining the balance between the old and new, cobblestone pathways leading to the Hindu temples and Buddhist stupas where peace and fresh air fills into your lungs, streets of restaurants and bars where hippies, […]

I own it. I’m a shallow traveler. When choosing a destination my top criteria are visual drama and cultural civility. In other words, a beautiful place with a relative absence of war, crime, despots, or other forms of antisocial behavior. Delicious cuisine and interesting culture or wildlife are also high on the list. So when […]

This holiday season consider giving the gift of learning. Books For Africa is a non profit with a mission to end the book famine in Africa. They want to create a culture of literacy and provide the tools of empowerment to the next generation of parents, teachers, and leaders in Africa.  Since 1988, Books For Africa has […]

Often times people ask me, I want to go somewhere abroad but don’t know how to start organizing it. Planning a trip can be quite a challenge, especially when it’s an unfamiliar country with a different language and culture. Moreover, people are looking for the flexibility to go on their own, where and when they want to. Solo travel […]

I learned that citizens from 180 nationalities call Amsterdam home. That explains the variety of cuisines you can find here. On a single street there are restaurants from India, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Brazil, China and more! The culture here has always been freedom of expression and will, which explains why Amsterdam is a […]

Volunteers Initiative Nepal or VIN is a Nepal based not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2005 by Bhupendra Ghimire (Bhupi). Bhupi grew up in a remote village in Nepal where he had to walk three hours a day to school. He was one of the few students from his village to complete graduation and later on went […]

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when it came to Nepali cuisine. All I could infer is that Nepal’s neighbors India, Tibet and China would have some role to play in it. That truly turned out to be the case. Food in Nepal can be categorized into three main categories – Nepali, Tibetan and […]

I am totally in awe after meeting some volunteers here in Kathmandu. There are boys and girls in their 20’s who have come from Canada, USA, Switzerland, UK and Australia – all with common goals to give back to this world and experience life in a different culture. They have abandoned their comfortable lifestyles and families, […]

The Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the most spiritual places in India. The temple is a Sikh temple (aka gurduwara). It was constructed in 1604. Made entirely of gold, the temple is simply spectacular in its architecture and beauty teaching lesson of egalitarianism and humility. Even though I grew up in north India, […]