Africa, Asia & Oceania Travel Specialist

Making friends in Bali

As a travel specialist covering Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, I plan trips well beyond my dedicated expertise in Europe, South America and Japan, with firsthand personal travel to Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, the UAE, Jordan, India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and French Polynesia, and booking experience across most.

In Egypt, standing inside the vividly painted tomb of Seti I remains one of the most striking moments of my travels, and a full day, and overnight, drifting the Nile aboard a traditional felucca gave the country's pace and scale a completely different feel. I also plan luxury Nile river cruises between Luxor and Aswan, and I'm looking forward to returning now that the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Avenue of the Sphinx, both under construction during my visit, have finally opened. In Jordan, walking the narrow canyon into Petra and watching the Treasury slowly reveal itself was as cinematic as it looks in photos. In Morocco, renting a car in Ouarzazate to drive the Draa Valley during spring bloom, hilltop kasbahs above the palm groves, was unforgettable. The UAE's modern architecture, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, remains genuinely striking in person.

Southern Africa left an equally lasting impression. In South Africa, I biked through the Cape Winelands past historic estates and Cape Dutch architecture, hiked Table Mountain, and in Kruger National Park, watched a lioness emerge from the bush and stood just feet from a bull elephant at a game lodge after dark, its eyes catching the lamplight. I also have booking experience across Kenya and Tanzania's safari circuits, and am planning to lead a group to Tanzania and Rwanda in 2027, ask me for details.

In India, several layovers in Delhi as a flight attendant eventually led me back on my own terms, tracing a route through Agra and Rajasthan. My most indelible memory is Jaisalmer, its honey-colored citadel rising from the desert floor at golden hour, as two women in vivid pink and yellow saris crossed the landscape ahead of me, baskets balanced on their heads, the light through the vivid fabric imprinted in my memory ever since.

China took me to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai repeatedly as a flight attendant, Hong Kong remains one of my favorite cities anywhere, before an independent trip in fall 2019 took me deeper: a quieter stretch of the Great Wall, the walled town of Pingyao, and Xi'an, home to the Terracotta Army and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, where the faces, dress and street food hinted at centuries of trade from far beyond China's borders.

Southeast Asia has given me some of my most memorable travel moments. In Bali, I dove the seas to the east, wandered the rice terraces near Ubud, and caught an unexpectedly quiet morning at Tanah Lot during a local holiday procession. In Thailand, I dove alongside a juvenile whale shark, one of the great highlights of my life, and in Cambodia, watched Angkor Wat emerge in silhouette at dawn, a region I can also plan as a Mekong river cruise for clients who prefer to unpack once. Singapore's hawker food markets remain a favorite, and Kuala Lumpur, full of incredible food and architecture including the Batu Caves and Islamic Arts Museum, deserves far more credit than it gets.

In Australia, I've attended Sydney Mardi Gras twice, and explored North Queensland and the Daintree Rainforest before diving the Great Barrier Reef, an extraordinary, fragile treasure worth experiencing. French Polynesia rounds out my Pacific expertise; while I haven't personally stayed in Bora Bora, it's on my bucket list, I've booked clients into its iconic overwater bungalows and know the properties well. I'll also be sailing to the archipelago in September 2027, a region well suited to luxury small-ship cruising.

As a certified premium and luxury ocean and river cruise specialist, I regularly connect these destinations to the right sailing, whether that's the Nile, the Mekong, the South Pacific or a luxury ocean itinerary through the Middle East or Southeast Asia.

If you're searching for a travel specialist for Africa, Asia, Australia or the Pacific near Chicago, Chicagoland, Ohio or the Midwest and Great Lakes region, I work with clients nationwide to plan unforgettable trips well beyond the usual destinations.