Bangkok rain, a twitchy driver on yaba, and me clinging to the back of a Suzuki-50 through flooded streets. Why choose a cab when a questionable motorcycle ride offers survival lessons, laughs, and a crash course in Thai street logic?

Visa dates two days off, no food or cups for vodka, and surrounded by smugglers far better organized than us — the border crossing between Mongolia and Russia makes us feel like true idiots abroad.

Visa dates two days off, no food or cups for vodka, and surrounded by smugglers far better organized than us — the border crossing between Mongolia and Russia makes us feel like true idiots abroad.

In Mongolia’s vast steppes, we find “Buddha’s Country”: breathtaking skies, nomads with cell phones, satellite dishes outside gers, and a revival of Buddhist culture. Modern tools blend with ancient traditions to give the countryside new strength.