In Bocas del Toro, you might feel like you’ve stepped into an episode of Survivor. Which is not surprising, since a season of the reality TV game show was filmed here. You’ll find dense jungle with tangles of vines and forest palms spilling out onto empty stretches of white-sand beach, surrounded by an extensive coral reef ecosystem — in fact, it’s home to 74 of the 79 different types of coral in the Caribbean. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

I was flipping through a magazine the other day and came across an article about “most embarrassing travel moments.” The winner was a woman who went bungee jumping and lied about her weight to the super-hot instructor, telling him she was about 10 pounds less than she actually weighed. As a result, when she jumped, she didn’t graze the surface of the river below — she plunged in waist deep and, when she rebounded out of the water, her top was gone. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling through Pakistan (the Karakoram Highway, anyone?), or you’re an armchair traveler interested in a different perspective on the politics of this region, pick up a copy of Granta’s recent compilation on Pakistan. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Granta

When you’re traveling solo, there will undoubtedly be moments when you doubt your decision. Like when you’re being interrogated by corrupt officials with large guns at a border crossing. Or when some guy keeps trying to grope you on a 16-hour bus ride. Or when you’re curled up on a mattress in a $1-a-night thatched-roof hut with stomach cramps and fever. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Y a T R a @ Flickr

He’s a man with a past. He’s intense, broody, dangerous. He makes you nervous, but you’re irresistibly drawn to him — perhaps against your better judgment. But you’ve seen another side to bad-boy Bogota. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

You step off the plane in Bangkok and you’re hit with 40 C heat and high humidity, and you have to deal with a 12-hour time change after sitting in a middle seat for half a day of your life beside someone who was snoring like a grizzly bear. And your tummy isn’t feeling so great. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

When I arrived in Bogota — the third-highest capital in South America — it was cold and rainy. According to my alarm clock (which has a handy thermometer) it was only 12 C in the middle of the night, so I was grateful for the bolsa de agua (hot water bottle) the hostel provided me with. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Teva

When I told people I was traveling to Colombia, the most common response was some sort of joke about becoming a drug mule. Unfortunately, this country has become synonymous with cocaine — and with violence, in the form of FARC guerrillas known for hiding out in the jungle and kidnapping people for ransom. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

I have a confession: Up until a few months ago, I didn’t own a smartphone. I was still using an old cell phone that required duct tape to keep it together and a pair of tweezers to remove the SIM card. I’m not a technophobe, but part of me resisted the idea of being “on” all the time. When I travel, I like to disconnect from the hectic pace of North American life. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Rough Guides

One of my friends, who just returned from India, was telling me about a woman he met who only wanted to eat “American” food while she was there. During my travels, I’ve met several people who refused to eat the local food — including one girl who spent a month in Thailand and ate nothing but steamed rice because she was afraid of getting sick. (She got sick anyway.) To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Wordridden @ Flickr