by Christopher Tharp
It was a 100cc Chinese make – a glorified scooter, actually – the type of four speed bike that is ubiquitous throughout Southeast Asia. The horn was burned out, along with the electric starter and both turning signals. The tires were bald. Neither the speedometer nor the gas gauge […]

By Dave Mondy
Phenice bends over and grabs the pool table.
Then she bends lower — so her posterior is the highest point on her body. And she shakes it, in that amazing way you see on rap videos.
She shoots a sly smile my way, as if to say:
This is for you.
And the problem is: I’m the […]

By Peter Bronski
A hot, dry wind whips across the arid Arkansas River valley, blowing sand and dust between my teeth. I tip my head forward into the harsh sun, shading my eyes beneath the brim of my cowboy hat. Peering out from under its crushable, brown felt, I survey the others idling about outside the […]

by Dave Mondy
I am trying to go into a strip club but I can’t.
They line both sides of the street here, jammed up close like a chorus line, and each time I get within 5 ft. of a door, I have an episode. My stomach roils, my hands shake — I’m spilling beer all […]

by Ryan Kearney
It’s my first night out in Cuba and already I’m surrounded by women who want to sell themselves to me. I just don’t know it yet.My friend Christian and I have followed a 39-year-old Danish man to an ornate mansion-cum-nightclub on the suburban outskirts of Havana, and with him are two young Cuban […]

by Jeff Vize
I had been traveling with Charlotte for nearly six months when we arrived in her native France. I had begun my trip in Japan, where I had spent the last year working, and met Charlotte in China a mere two weeks into my journey. Our initial meeting was pure luck – she barged […]