By Christine Cantera

Since Sunday morning I have been breaking the First Commandment and worshipping at the altar of MY NEW PURSE. It is a stunning, breathtaking vintage Kelly bag (not Hermes, but even BETTER) of the most luminous and creamy brown leather. AND I GOT IT FOR 20 EURO at Porta Portese.

By Philip Goldman

I started every trek the same way. I would gather all the travelers around and make my speech, “Look, this is real jungle we’re going into. It’s not Disneyland. You need to respect that. There are wild animals here. Snakes (I let it sink in)… elephants (sinking in)... and tigers (sunk)… I want you to stay together at all times. Do not, for any reason, wander off by yourself,” I made Significant Eye Contact with each traveler, “Do? You? Understand?”

When they acknowledged the gravity of the situation sufficient to my liking, I’d begin the hike.

By Philip Goldman

[Dateline: Bangkok] Thousands of Thai Nationals have taken to the streets, armed with high-powered squirt rifles, hoses and buckets – completely soaking everything in their way. Songkran, the three-day, nationwide Thai Water Festival has begun. All business and traffic has come to a standstill. Please remain indoors or inside your cars, unless you are prepared to get seriously wet.

By David Grigorian

I was born in my home country Armenia, which shares its border with Turkey and Iran. With my hearing loss undetected for eleven years, I couldn’t interact with other kids on the regular basis.

By Jeremy Boedigheimer

This blog will contain the entries for the travel writing contest. They will be posted as they are received. We might have a little delay between when the pieces are received and when they are posted due to day jobs and that kind of thing. If you don't see your piece up in 48 hours send e-mail to bestvoice@deeptravelers.org to check what has happened.

Thanks and keep those entries coming.