Winter 2014

I hobbled out like a hungover sailor shaking out my sea legs. And there I was, in Dharamsala, India—a cluster of brightly colored restaurants and guesthouses all stacked up on top of each other like a patchwork quilt—something between a city and a village nestled on the green mountain ridges, a place in transit, a sanctuary for the homeless, the country-less. The street was packed with maroon-clad monks and dreadlocked, tattooed hippies, Tibetan seniors waving their canes at oncoming traffic as they tried to get to the Dalai Lama’s temple, and then the occasional dazed traveler.

After a day of work in Osaka, Japan, Laurel Armstrong of Minneapolis, Minnesota, got on her bike to head home, winding through the city’s busy streets toward her high-rise apartment complex. She had been living in this Japanese metropolis for almost a quarter of her one-year work contract and had grown accustomed to the gray, austere metal of the city’s skyline and its almost incessantly overcast weather.

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”—Henry David Thoreau

It’s tough to find a souvenir that encompasses the life-changing experiences, memorable people, and indescribable sights that only travel provides. A few Google searches before your trip will help you avoid on-the-spot thoughts like, Maybe I’ll just buy a snow globe or an “I love Moscow” T-shirt—even though both gifts were probably made 14 time zones away. Here are some tips for taking home a piece of the places you visit and eliminating the stress of souvenir shopping.

Need a fresh idea for weekend activities during your Chilean study abroad? Bored on your business venture? Wishing for one more week of good skiing? Portillo’s got you covered.

Finding and paying for gas can consume time and money that could be better spent on hotels, food, and sightseeing. GasBuddy is a free app that helps travelers in the United States and Canada earn rewards and find the cheapest and closest gas stations so you can focus on your destination.

During one of the hottest and most humid months of the year in Bangkok, Thailand, Nikhita Bhatia sits in the back of a truck in heavy traffic while the merciless sun beats down upon her head. Beads of sweat slowly drip down the side of her face. As the truck comes to a brief stop, she is bombarded with buckets upon buckets of ice-cold water from the passengers in a neighboring truck, instantly cooling her down and giving her goose bumps from head to toe. But without missing a beat, Bhatia picks up her own water bucket, armed and ready to fire back.

For patrons and lovers of the arts, attending high-caliber, live ballet performances without breaking the bank can be a challenge. International ballet competitions, however, which take place in the United States and in other countries throughout the world, allow you to see the world’s top aspiring dancers compete for scholarships, titles, contracts, and recognition on their journeys toward professional dancing.

Walking into the restaurant, guests are immediately greeted with a whiff of onion, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Their ears fill with Louis Armstrong’s scatting. Dimly lit lamps tinted with vibrant colors hang low over the café-style seating. Guests might as well be in New Orleans—all that’s missing is the humidity.

Although most people try to plan workouts into a trip, some tourists plan trips around their workouts. These competitors learn that athletic excursions can expose new ways to exercise—and new ways to travel. Whether it’s a weekend stop to participate in a race or a two-month vacation to bike across countries, destination athletes are finding ways to make exercise their motivation to travel and travel their motivation to exercise.

Thinking about the Germany of days past conjures up images of a lederhosen-wearing, beer-slinging, sausage-consuming folk. In Bavaria, the most southern of the German states, such scenes still pepper the countryside. Bavaria is also one of the most beautiful German states with its forests, rolling hills, and the Alps mountain range gracing its southernmost border. Capitalizing on Bavaria’s beauty, enterprising travel agents in post-war Germany created the Romantischestraße out of an old medieval trade route. Known in English as the Romantic Road, this highway stretches 221 miles through Bavaria and leads from Würzburg in the north to Füssen in the deep south.

For more than a thousand years, the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, has welcomed weary pilgrims with open arms. Each year, Spaniards and other travelers from around the world trek hundreds of miles through the rolling hills, wooded forests, and pastoral fields of the Camino de Santiago, and the warmhearted people of Spain wish them buen camino or “good walk.” You too can make the pilgrimage and take in the stunning scenery, the rejuvenating camaraderie of other travelers, and the unexpected exhilaration of a life-changing walk.

“But young lady, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference.” The young woman listened, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, saying, “It made a difference for that one.” —Loren Eiseley

If you like to run, chances are you already own running shoes. But have you given as much thought to your running apparel? The clothes you wear can improve your long-distance running experience, even when you’re running close to home. And when you’re traveling, carefully chosen running apparel can make it easier and more comfortable to run in a climate you’re not used to, whether it’s really hot or freezing cold. Stowaway asked Danny Moody—a manager at Runner’s Corner in Orem, Utah, and a long-distance runner for more than 15 years—to offer his expert advice on the most essential running apparel. Here are Moody’s top picks.