Soles of a Nomad

A boyhood dream of tracking tigers leads instead to a nighttime rhino charge — and a chaotic run for survival in Nepal's Chitwan National Park.

In Nepal's sacred Pashupatinath, I watched life end on the ghats—and saw two boys collect a dead man's belongings from the river. What disturbed me most wasn't death itself, but what it made me question about my own life.

Traveling with kids means planning ahead for the tough days. In Battambang, Cambodia, we created one perfect day—kayaking lazy rivers, hiking to mountaintop temples, and watching thousands of bats stream into the night—before facing a long travel day. A joyful reminder of why we travel together.

Traveling through China meant breakdowns, sweat-drenched buses, and one very angry duck. Sometimes, you don't cry because you're sad—you cry because travel.