I’m a freelance travel writer and guidebook author who has lived in the Middle East since 2007.
On this blog I’m going to be exploring long form narrative non-fiction, particularly travel writing. If you’re a bit bored of ‘top-ten places to poke your eyes out with a stick’ articles and blog posts stick around, you might enjoy it.
A little bit about me
I like deserts, and mountains, and am on a constant quest to find the perfect hummus. Sometimes I forget where I’ve been – once I forgot I’d been to an entire country (sorry Chile). I have love affairs with countries and regions. I used to be in love with India, and before that Colombia. Now I’m in love with the Middle East. I’m fickle like that. My top travel skill is I can pack a backpack in three minutes flat. My worst travel habit is that I constantly arrive over-early at bus and train stations. My superpower is I’m a ferociously fast reader. A maths teacher once told me that teaching me was like trying to rake water up hill. I still can’t multiply.
I’m an author for Lonely Planet and Footprint and my writing has been published by BBC Travel, The Telegraph, National Geographic, Wanderlust, and The Independent. You can view my portfolio and contact me at www.jessicaleetravel.com.
Jess
Road Essays 
Just stick me in your backpack….reading your travel stories is like coming home to where I haven’t been. Love it….
Good blog, I’m enjoying it very much (you write really well & it’s nicely laid out). Good luck with all you do.
Stole the words right from my fingers! I’m looking very much to following your writing as I have a thing or 10 to learn from you. 🙂 #travelwriter #lifegoals
funny, takes me several hours to re-pack my backpack, but, on the other hand, I really can do maths. superpower-less.
I’m not sure if I will ever get a chance to travel as much as you do. I like to join you in a virtual journey to experience what you do by following your travel blog. Thanks
Absolutely love your blog. You are a fantastic writer. Looking forward to reading more of your work.
like the style… great blog… 3 mins is REALLY fast!
Love your writing and blog! I’m excited to see what’s in store for 2014:)
Very nice blog and photo collection!
Can I have your job? 😀
What an amazing blog you have 🙂
wanna be other “you”.. seems awesome 🙂
really enjoyed reading your stories! Your post about bucket lists struck home- I’ve tried to make one many times and always fail. Now I don’t feel so bad. Cheers!
Totally caught our attention with this line in your intro:
“If you’re a bit bored of ‘top-ten places to poke your eyes out with a stick’ articles”
Ahhhh – LIKE LIKE LIKE! We have to follow 🙂
Love reading your essays – thank you for sharing!
I am really enjoying reading through your blog, and thus, have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award: http://polaroidsuitcase.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Happy writing x
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hahah you are funny. I like desserts too. I like reading you.
I recently went on a trip around Europe and I can say I’ve picked up that habit of arriving way too early for trains/planes/buses etc… better early than late I guess! My friend’s weren’t too happy when I dragged them out of bed to make a train though 😛 loving the blog though keep it up
Ha! Your math teacher may find a second career as a snarky poet–what a wonderful use of language!
gosh, I just love your site. You publish such great STORIES! That’s what this world is missing… Blogs with great stories. Thanks for your inspirational writing, I hope you keep it up. I’ve just started writing myself and have so far to go.
Yes yes yes! I’ve been looking for this blog without knowing that it existed. Aren’t these moments of discovery so perfect? and suspect? *raises eyebrows*
Hi there
I used to spend hours in the narrative non fiction travel section of the book store all the way back in the 1990’s and even the 00’s (do we even have a good name for that decade yet?). Although I’m a new blogger I must admit yours is the first one I’ve come across where a real travel writer has chosen to share content for free (as opposed to the 3,764,354 armchair travel bloggers). I find this amazingly refreshing and now have a new home to peruse what was always one of my favorite topics.
Damn, now I’ll have less of an excuse to leave the house since I’m too cheap top own a good device other than an obsolete phone. That’s because my wife and I have decided to retire early after my shitty company laid me off exactly one year ago.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your talents and providing some meaningful “travel” content. Although I’ve only been published once in a useless cultural magazine out of Calgary, Alberta, I am a writer in my parallel life. Having spent more time than I’d like to admit being the useless one in my marriage, I have spent a lot of time in the past attempting to become a travel writer. But I got overruled by the boss (Diane).
Anyway, although I lack the thousands of followers that the internet generation somehow gets simply by writing two sentences and calling it “travel writing”, I do consider my travel posts as stories, not just posts and I average a lot of reads per visit so maybe I’m doing something right.
I hope you take a few minutes and check out some of my posts on http://www.experimentalexptas.com. Now please excuse me while I get caught up on the stuff you’ve written.
Cheers
Rob, one half of RoDi (She’s the Di)
Hi Rob, I check http://www.experimentalexptas.com. It said, the site is not there. I cold not see anything, except advertising. Thanks
Thanks Risty for checking. If this is true (I’m on the road at the moment and can’t check) I’ll delete his comment as I don’t allow advertising (obviously except other blogs) on my blog comments.
love to read ur blog ….. (y)
Just came across your blog, and am finding it an inspiration, both as a traveler and a wanna-be writer!
Your blog is wonderful. Can;t wait to read them… Thanks for sharing…
Please post more often! I love reading what you’ve written — especially the piece about women’s safety and travel. I’m seventy-two and hope to keep traveling for years to come. I often travel alone — though not in places as exotic as Egypt. Still, I made a deal with myself that I’d be cautious but not fearful, and I know that whatever happens, it’s been worth the journey. Thanks for writing so well.