Sitemap - 2023 - Brent and Michael Are Going Places

The Beauty of a Terrible Jack in the Box Taco on Christmas Day

It's (Still) a Wonderful Life

Christmas in Australia Feels More "Ho Hum" Than "Holly Jolly"

Did I Do the Smart Thing or the Dumb Thing?

The World is Full of People Who Are Flat-Out Incompetent

My Favorite Food is Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 14

I *Really* Hate Wearing Sunblock (But I Also Really Hate Skin Cancer)

I Just Turned Sixty. No, I Don't Have Sixty Pieces of Advice.

"By the Time We Australians Get to the End of a Word, We're DONE."

The Weird and Wonderful MURIEL'S WEDDING is a Perfect Movie

A Chance Encounter on the Danube Gave Me Hope for the Future

Who Has the Best International Health Insurance: SafetyWing or Genki — or Someone Else Entirely?

Is It Ethical to Take a Cruise?

That Time a Woman Offered to Take Our Selfie — and She Turned Out to be a Chinese Annie Leibovitz

Everywhere We Go, We Find Ourselves in the Middle of a Huge Party

There Are Different Ways to Think About Money. But My Way Will Save You $6000+ a Year.

My Mom's Best Friend was a Boisterous, Chain-Smoking Alcoholic. And He Taught Me So Much.

That Time We Stayed in a Medieval Castle — and I Found a Secret Passage Down to the Dungeon!

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 13

Everywhere We've Been — and What We've Written About it!

Cruise Ships Are a Fantastic Way to See Alaska, Part 2

Cruise Ships Are a Fantastic Way to See Alaska, Part 1

That Time Someone Ducked Into Our Airbnb to Use the Toilet

What I Learned From Getting Trapped in Some Mud as a Kid

Is Vancouver, Canada, the Perfect City?

The Travel Lunatic: Alaska Is So Beautiful It Will Blow Your Mind

Six Surprising Reasons We Like Cruise Ships

It's Really Hard to be Healthy in America

On Mitt Romney, Dolly Parton, and Moral Reckonings

Travel Index

What If We Reviewed Everything Like We're Now Supposed to Review Airbnbs?

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 12

Scenes From a Weird and Angry America

The Travel Lunatic: They Call It the Wild West for a Reason

How to Build a Life

The Skunk in the Canyon

That Time I Slept with Fairy Penguins on a Beach in Australia

What's It Like to Stay in a Hotel for Two Months?

The Travel Lunatic: Tacoma Doesn't Stink!

Seven Surprising Things About America

When Nomad Travel Plans Go Sideways

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 11!

Oh, Sh*t, I Think We Just Blinded Our Friends' Dog!

The Travel Lunatic: Angelina Jolie's Favorite Jungle Hotel, An Overly Friendly Thai Boxer, and a Weird Waterfall You Can Walk Down!

My Father Just Died. Here's the Eulogy I Gave at His Funeral

Grading Thailand's Famous Mae Hong Son Loop

Twenty Years Ago, Everyone Thought My Gay Teen Novel Would Flop. They Were Wrong.

Thailand, We Have Notes

The Travel Lunatic: Did We Finally Go "Beyond Rangoon"?

Does It Make Me a Rube if I Admit I'm Not Crazy About Pad See Ew for Breakfast?

We Didn't Want to Come to Chiang Mai Because of All the Digital Nomads. We Were Idiots.

I Actually Love Getting Older, Thank You Very Much

Everywhere We've Stayed in the Last Seven Months — and What It Cost!

The Travel Lunatic: A Floating Village, a Bad Embassy, and My Literally Being Eaten Alive!

Can We See Ten Angkor Wat Temples in a Single Day?

On Being Blown Away by Travel Destinations I'd Never Even Heard of Before My Visit

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 10! (Including a $5000 Insurance Hack)

Seven Surprising Things About Cambodia's Angkor Wat

Does One Night in Bangkok Really Make a Hard Man Humble?

Which is the Best Travel Insurance: SafetyWing, World Nomads, or Genki?

DEBATE: Do You Really Learn More From Failure Than Success?

Michael Jensen and the Temple of Darkness

Off to Cambodia!

"We Asians Aren't Taught to Think for Ourselves"

The Weird Little Story of My Big Toe

Seven Surprising Things About Bangkok

The Thing I Want You to Know About My Mother's Death

My Quest for the Secret of Thai Cuisine, Part 2

My Quest for the Secret of Thai Cuisine, Part 1

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 9!

For 20 Years, I Regretted Leaving Hollywood. Lately, I Think I Made the Right Call.

The Touching Lesson Behind Istanbul's Love for Its Many — MANY — Cats

What Makes a Good Celebrity Autobiography?

In Malaysia, I Had Cosmetic Work Done on My Face (Part 2)

In Malaysia, I Had Cosmetic Work Done on My Face (Part 1)

Songkran is Thai For "Soak the Westerner!"

The Food of Penang, Malaysia: From "Hawker Centers" to the World's Least Expensive Michelin Star Restaurant

Social Media Is a Problem. Substack — and Their New "Notes" — Could Be Part of the Solution

When it Comes to Simple Living, Less Really Is More

Seven Surprising Things About Malaysia

How Do We Travel as a Couple and Not Kill Each Other?

ChatGPT Will Never Take Over Travel Journalism — or Anything Else Either

Should You Get Another Order of That Incredible Mushroom Dish?

This is Not Another Terrible Travel Toilet Story

What Are We Doing for Health Care Insurance in 2023?

The Incredible Beauty of Unlikely Friendships

Do Long-Term Travelers Really Need an "Onward Ticket" When Entering a New Country?

America Needs to Stop Its Insane Tipping Practices

There's No Such Thing as a "Perfect" Airbnb (But the Platform Is Still Pretty Great)

DEBATE: Are Fresh Mangos in Southeast Asia Better Than Sex?

Travel Has Been Completely Transformed by Technology. Is That Good or Bad?

Seven Surprising Things About Washington State's Olympic Peninsula

My Parents Only Wanted What was Best for Me. Too Bad They Had No Idea What It Was.

You *Can* Go Home Again — But You'll be Shocked by the Price of Olives

Amsterdam at Night is a Very Magical Place

That Time We Were in a Cabin in Alaska Surrounded by Grizzly Bears

The Water Meets the Sky at Iceland's Fabulous Sky Lagoon

London's Pubs Are Disappearing. Which is Too Bad Because They're Amazing.

Women Artists in Croatia Are Reclaiming Their History — One Mural at a Time

Sleeping With the Enemy: My Struggle with Insomnia

Just How "Out" Should Gay Travelers Be?

In 2022, We Spent $56,000 (While Traveling the World)

Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 8!

My Mom Was Wrong About Travel (But She Was Right About Cleaning the Kitchen Sink)

Seven Surprising Things About London

What Does it Mean that People Suddenly Love Movie and TV Villains?

Tired of a Dreary Winter? Let Italy's Cinque Terre Brighten Your Day — In Pictures

London's Crystal Palace Lives! (In my Imagination, at Least)

What is This Weird Emotion I'm Feeling? Could It Be...Optimism?