Hello and Welcome to On a Road to Nowhere!
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to visit our humble travel blog. We’re here to inspire unique, authentic, and ethical travel experiences while giving you deeper insights into the history, politics, and culture of some of our favorite destinations. Travel should be about making meaningful connections and responsible exploration, not just ticking popular sights off a list. Read more about On a Road to Nowhere here.
The Latest
- Expeditions in Ecuador: A Travel Guide to the Country in the Middle of the World
Ecuador is a country in the middle. It’s located on the middle of the world, smack dab on the equator. In fact, the name “Ecuador” means “equator” in Spanish. In travel terms, Ecuador is in the middle of two major bucket list travel destinations: Colombia and Peru. However, this tiny South American nation has more than enough to compete with… Read more: Expeditions in Ecuador: A Travel Guide to the Country in the Middle of the World
Most travel blogs kind of suck. Half the time, it feels like you’re reading a pitch for a multi-level marketing scheme. At On a Road to Nowhere, we’re trying our best not to suck. Our travel guides provide honest opinions and insights into local history, culture, and politics so you can actually understand a place before you visit.
Central America
South America
Asia
Gain insights and information about adapting to new cultures and navigating life overseas. Here we share stories and advice about the joys and harsh realities of living in a new country and culture. Click here to explore some of the latest posts…
- Rethinking Travel Safety and Crime in Latin America
- How to Talk to People Who Don’t Speak English Good
- What is Culture Shock? My Personal Experience in China
- Loneliness, Holidays and Living Overseas
- How to Vote in the Primary From Overseas
Mastering a new language can open both doors and windows to deeper connections and richer travel experiences. Whether you’re a casual tourist or a long-term expat, we have tips and guides for saying more than just “where is the library?” Read more here.
- The Best YouTube Videos for Learning Chinese: Your Ultimate Guide
- How I learned Chinese (and So Can You)
- How to Talk to People Who Don’t Speak English Good
- Bad Advice: Things You Shouldn’t Do When Learning Chinese
- Studying Chinese in China
- Expeditions in Ecuador: A Travel Guide to the Country in the Middle of the World
Ecuador is a country in the middle. It’s located on the middle of the world, smack dab on the equator. In fact, the name “Ecuador” means “equator” in Spanish. In travel terms, Ecuador is in the middle of two major bucket list travel destinations: Colombia and Peru. However, this tiny South American nation has more… Read more: Expeditions in Ecuador: A Travel Guide to the Country in the Middle of the World - The Amazon and Leticia: Learning from the Locals in the Heart of the Jungle
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most captivating and important natural areas on the planet. While the name may have been usurped by a greedy mega-corporation, the forest itself is home to a natural bounty unequaled by almost anywhere else. It’s the world’s largest rainforest, the lungs of the planet. It’s the Amazon. I’ve… Read more: The Amazon and Leticia: Learning from the Locals in the Heart of the Jungle - The Tatacoa Desert: Finding Joy in Colombia’s Valley of Sorrows
The Tatacoa Desert is a place of otherworldly beauty. It’s rugged and romantic and poetic and blisteringly hot. It’s a desert that isn’t really a desert. The Spanish conquistadors who first set sight on this arid landscape called it the “valley of sorrows.” Today, the Tatacoa Desert is a popular tourist destination and one of… Read more: The Tatacoa Desert: Finding Joy in Colombia’s Valley of Sorrows - Salento and the Cocora Valley: More than Just Tall Palm Trees
If you’re planning a trip to Colombia, you’ve probably already heard about the towering Quindío wax palms. These enormous palm trees are an emblematic symbol of country. You also might have seen them in that movie Encanto. Every year, thousands of tourists visit the small town of Salento in order to hike in the nearby… Read more: Salento and the Cocora Valley: More than Just Tall Palm Trees - Jardín, Colombia: A Town of Birds and Trails I Wish I Never Had to Leave
Colombia is a country full of gorgeous small towns, and Jardín stands out as one of the most gorgeous. It’s a town filled with buildings painted in rich, bright, tropical colors. A town where streets suddenly end at the edge of deep, green ravines. Where rough, forested mountains fill the horizon in all directions. Where… Read more: Jardín, Colombia: A Town of Birds and Trails I Wish I Never Had to Leave - Medellín: Is Colombia’s Most Hyped City as Good as they Say?
Medellín is probably the most popular travel destination in Colombia. It might be one of the most popular in the world. The travel blogs, the guide books, the random guy in the hostel common room: they all talk about what an amazing city Medellín is. I’ve heard people say it’s their favorite city in the… Read more: Medellín: Is Colombia’s Most Hyped City as Good as they Say? - Guatapé, Colombia: More Than Just a Really Big Rock
Guatapé is home to Colombia’s most famous rock. The rock is really big. It rises up rugged and grey from the surrounding lush green landscape. Did it come from space? Did it fall out of the pocket of some rock collecting giant? Geologists have probably come up with a reasonable explanation, but to me, El… Read more: Guatapé, Colombia: More Than Just a Really Big Rock - A Bug-Infested Peacock: Why Minca, Colombia Is a Beautiful Disappointment
Minca, a small town located in the mountains near Colombia’s Caribbean coast, was one of those gorgeous places I couldn’t wait to leave. Perhaps Minca’s lush jungle scenery and green mountain vistas were just too beautiful, because the town is now infested with fancy-pants European backpackers and the accompanying vegan restaurants and yoga studios. And… Read more: A Bug-Infested Peacock: Why Minca, Colombia Is a Beautiful Disappointment
As tourism becomes more popular worldwide, the travel industry has grown increasingly exploitative and damaging. Instead of supporting local communities, tourist dollars often end up lining the pockets of foreign millionaires, while gentrification tears communities apart.
At On a Road to Nowhere, we want you to think critically about your impact as a traveler. Are you contributing to neo-colonial exploitation? Or are you striving for a meaningful cultural exchange? It’s important we challenge our own perspectives and do our best to contribute to travel ethically and responsibly. In other words: don’t be a jerk.
Useful Travel Websites and Apps
As much as we might long for the days when you could show up to a town with nothing more than a beat-up guidebook and a sense of adventure, today much of traveling involves being glued to our phones making bookings. I’ve compiled some helpful apps and websites below that at least help make those bookings more convenient so you can spend less time staring at your phone and more time exploring at your surroundings. Some of these sites are affiliate links that give me a small commission at no cost to you if you chose to book through them. All of them are sites I’ve used personally and have no problem recommending.
Just be sure to do your due diligence as much as possible. Only hire local guides and try as much as possible to stay in locally owned hotels and hostels so that your hard earned travel dollars actually go to support the local economies of the places you visit.
Booking.com is basically the world’s only hotel booking website. They have hotels, guesthouses and vacation rentals all over Ecuador.
Hostelworld is the go-to site for booking hostels. If dorm rooms and shared bathrooms are your thing, you’ll find hostels all over Ecuador.
Get Your Guide offers tours and activities all around the world. Unlike some other sites and apps that do the same thing, you can actually find some reasonably priced deals here.
Trip.com is a booking site for just about everything. They are especially useful in China, and one of the only ways I know to get Chinese high-speed rail tickets without a Chinese bank account. 太好了！