by Matthew Allison | Nov 1, 2004 | South America & Antarctica
November 2004: Few places pack as much adventure as Peru, with its Incan and Amazonian indigenous cultures, ancient ruins, soaring 20,000-foot peaks, dense rainforests, and vast stretches of desolate coastline. This rich diversity is what made Peru one of my first...
by Matthew Allison | May 17, 2004 | Asia
May 2004: Ironically, it was the Vietnam War movies I grew up watching, like Platoon, Hamburger Hill, and Forrest Gump, that inspired me to visit Vietnam as one of the first countries in my quest to see the world. I wanted to learn more about the devastating war that...
by Matthew Allison | Nov 25, 2003 | Africa
Uganda 2003: My First True Taste of Africa Even though it was my second time visiting Africa after a brief trip to Egypt, my journey to Uganda in November 2003 was when I truly fell in love with the continent. This was my first experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it...
by Matthew Allison | Nov 9, 2003 | Africa
November 2003: Before the trip Guinea is a country I knew for little about. I had never met anyone from there, nor had I met a traveler who had been there before. What I did discover about it during my research is that Guinea has one of the largest bauxite reserves in...
by Matthew Allison | Nov 9, 2002 | Africa
Journey to Kenya November 2002: As part of a thrilling three-week adventure marking my first-ever visit to sub-Saharan Africa, I made my way to Kenya after an incredible time exploring Uganda. Boarding a local bus from bustling Kampala, I settled in for an...
by Matthew Allison | Mar 23, 2002 | Africa
March 2002 — First Journey into Ancient Egypt I have always been fascinated by ancient Egyptian history. Few places ignite the imagination like Egypt—a land of vast desert, towering pyramids, mummies, undiscovered tombs, and legendary curses. There is too much romance...
by Matthew Allison | Mar 20, 2002 | Mexico, North America
March 2002: Learning to Fly in the Shadow of 9/11 Facing Fear, Finding Freedom, and Fueling a Lifetime of Travel In what now feels like a different lifetime, back in March 2002, I made the decision to get my pilot’s license—not just for fun, but as a way to confront a...
by Matthew Allison | Jul 22, 2000 | Default
I am truly fascinated by ancient Egyptian histoy. Few places stir an imigantion more than Egypt with its huge pyramids, mummies, buried tombs and legendary curses. There is just too much romanticism and mystery in one country for me to ever be satisfied with one visit...
by Matthew Allison | Jul 5, 2000 | Central America
July 2000: Guatemala in my opinion is one of the most interesting countries in Central America. It has rainforests, indigenous cultures that still practice their traditions, colonial architecture, pyramids and some of the best and most accessible volcanoes anywhere in...
by Matthew Allison | May 3, 2000 | Asia
A Backpacking Journey to Cambodia May 2000: For my second trip to Asia, following my first adventure in China, I booked a standby ticket through Mesaba Airlines, where I was working as a baggage handler in 2000. With a cheap ticket to Bangkok in hand, I set off with a...
