Quiet days in Laos turned into full-body culture shock.
A meditation café, an e-bike escape through Vientiane traffic, and then suddenly — me, the only foreigner, standing in a sea of faces at the That Luang Festival.
I came for a gentle walk.
I left with my perspective shaken (in the best way).
👉 Full reflection on Substack.
https://whothefami.substack.com/p/an-aussie-at-that-luang-festival
#Laos #TravelWriting #CultureShock #SlowTravel #SoutheastAsia
This week's blog: should I live in a city of village in Italy?
https://www.marktedesco.com/blog
#TravelItaly #Italy #Rome #Book #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #trip #expats #expatItaly #Tuscany #blogging #bookstodon #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #Authortube #Bookworm #share #adventure
🏔️ #Kufsteinerland reportage pt.2
Alla fortezza: Organo degli Eroi (il più grande al mondo!) che riempie la valle ogni mezzogiorno, pozzo di 60m scavato nella roccia, celle dei prigionieri politici, mercatini autentici 🎶🏰
La sera: Stollen 1930, galleria a 90m di profondità con 1.000+ varietà di gin (Guinness dei Primati) e Gin Dinner a 5 portate 🥃
Storia millenaria + creatività pura = #Tirolo inaspettato
Ne parlo su MondoinTasca 👉 https://mondointasca.it/2025/12/19/kufstein-dalla-fortezza-allo-stollen-1930/
Ever wondered what everyday life in Thailand is really like? These true stories uncover the beauty, chaos, and charm of the Kingdom. 🇹🇭❤️ https://meganpublishingservices.com/product/thailand/
#TravelWriting #ThailandLife #SoutheastAsia #Thailand #travel
Now on sale for $2.99! – Stories from Puglia: Two Californians in Southern Italy
#TravelItaly #Italy #Italia #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #Puglia #share #adventure #traveling #book #explore #writerslift #writingcommunity #expats #expatItaly #bookstodon
Reportage dal #Kufsteinerland, #Tirolo 🇦🇹
- 4.948 canne d'organo che fanno tremare una valle.
- #Krampus veri (non folklore turistico).
- Un borgo di 1.600 anime con 2.300 posti a teatro.
- Gin bevuto 90m sottoterra.
Sono arrivato in #treno da Bologna, tra imprevisti e solidarietà tra colleghi.
Perché il viaggio conta quanto la meta.
Parte 1 del mio viaggio su MondoinTasca 👇
https://mondointasca.it/2025/12/15/kufsteinerland-1-benvenuti-in-titolo/
Per favore, dai un'occhiata al blog di oggi per sapere se dovrei vivere in una grande città o in un piccolo villaggio in Italia…
https://www.marktedesco.com/it/blog
#blog #Italy #Italia #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #Tuscany #Toscana #MonteAmiata #share #adventure #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #expats #expatItaly #viaggaire #bookstodon
Please check out today’s blog about whether I should live in the city or in a small town in Italy…

https://www.marktedesco.com/blog
#TravelItaly #Italy #Rome #Book #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #trip #expats #expatItaly #Tuscany #blogging #bookstodon #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #Authortube #Bookworm #share #adventure
Now on sale for $2.99! “She Seduced Me: A Love Affair with Rome”
On Amazon.
https://a.co/d/89CesSr
#Rome #Italy #TravelItaly #Book #historicalfiction #Travel #Travelwriting #expats #expatItaly #theEternalCity #Novel #GoodReads #Bookworm #BookMarketing #Writing #MustRead #share #Nonfiction #bookstodon
Very pleased to receive my copy of Wild & Inspired, an anthology of travel writing by members of the Australian Society of Travel Writers; it marks the 50th anniversary of the ASTW. I have a piece in there about the Pride of Africa train in South Africa.
Our life in Italy continues: If you missed last week's blog, check out our unexpected adventures on a hike in Tuscany...
https://www.marktedesco.com/blog
#TravelItaly #Italy #Rome #Book #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #trip #expats #expatItaly #Tuscany #blogging #bookstodon #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #Authortube #Bookworm #share #adventure
🌿 Santiago de Compostela
Some places don’t wait to be discovered—they find you.
Stones whisper in the rain, and cobbled streets twist with a secret logic, as if only the city knew each turn. On some corners you might meet a pilgrim… or a meiga. And then, the gaita.
Full story: https://aventurapremium.com/santiago-de-compostela-celta/
Christ what a day. In the middle of the arvo I suddenly discovered the text I was writing had been due to be filed a week ago. God knows how that happened, I'd recently discussed the date and moved it by one day. A confusing week, I think, what with all the travel and this cold.
Anyway I very quickly finished writing it and filed it, with a note of confused apology. Oops.
Abbiamo fatto un'escursione in Toscana e siamo rimasti sorpresi da alcune delle avventure che abbiamo vissuto. Il post del blog di oggi
https://www.marktedesco.com/it/blog
#blog #Italy #Italia #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #Tuscany #Toscana #MonteAmiata #share #adventure #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #expats #expatItaly #viaggaire #bookstodon
Please check out today’s blog about some surprises on our hike through Tuscany :

https://www.marktedesco.com/blog
#TravelItaly #Italy #Rome #Book #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #trip #expats #expatItaly #Tuscany #blogging #bookstodon #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #Authortube #Bookworm #share #adventure
Every year around this time I send out a personalised Christmas card to all my business contacts - editors, PR people, tourism bureaus in various destinations, etc. Partly it's a goodwill gesture, partly it's to remind them of me in order to get work in the following year!
For the cover of the card I always use a shot of somewhere I travelled to that year, with just a tiny glimpse of me somewhere in the frame. This is the 2025 pic, of the Black Church in Brașov, Romania:
Tapping my fingers because one of my clients is holding onto *eight* travel stories that I've been paid for, but they haven't published yet. And there are three more I'll be handing in shortly!
In the old days when it was a problem because they only paid on publication. They now pay when the stories are filed – which is good but creates a new problem, as I lose my leverage to get the damn things published. :)
Southeast Asia can feel emotionally empty at times — nightlife everywhere but real connection is rare. After a long struggle with addiction, heartbreak, and mistrust, I finally met someone who showed me something different: softness, presence, and genuine warmth.
For the first time in a long time, I felt real connection — not chaos.
It surprised me… and it’s helping me heal. https://whothefami.substack.com/p/starved-for-real-emotional-connection
#TravelDiary #SEAsia #Healing #AddictionRecovery #Connection #TransJourneys #TravelWriting
If you missed Sunday's blog, here it is :
https://www.marktedesco.com/blog
#TravelItaly #Italy #Rome #Book #Travel #Travelwriting #travelblog #trip #expats #expatItaly #Tuscany #blogging #bookstodon #traveling #tourism #explore #travelgram #trip #Authortube #Bookworm #share #adventure
Shangri‑La y el sonido que permanece
Hay lugares que no se visitan: se escuchan.
Shangri-La es uno de ellos. A más de 3.000 metros, entre templos tibetanos, incienso y banderas que el viento deshilacha, el sonido parece tener otra densidad.
Los cuencos tibetanos no solo suenan: vibran, entran, resuenan.
Ahí descubrí que el silencio no es ausencia, sino preparación.
https://aventurapremium.com/shangri-la-cuencos-tibetanos/
#ShangriLa #Tibet
#CuencosTibetanos #Mindfulness
#TravelWriting #Viajes #Meditación #AventuraPremium
