Boarding Passes & Barstools

Where travel isn't always curated and the best stories are swapped over questionable drinks in off-the-beaten path locations

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A collared African elephant stands in shallow water along the Zambezi River at sunset, its trunk curled with grass as it steps onto the riverbank surrounded by green vegetation

How I Almost Got Deported With a Wallet Full of Useless Swiss Francs: A Victoria Falls Travel Story

You don’t grow from the curated milestones. They’re just headlines. You grow from the strange, uneven, misaligned footnotes you stumble into along the way.

Doug Jenzen

4 days ago8 min read

What starts as a burnout spiral becomes a 3-week, 5-continent journey in search of peace, quokkas, and purpose—fueled by miles, wine, and whimsy.

If Beyoncé Were a Clock, She’d be in Switzerland or Things to do in Zurich on a Layover

Because choosing what not to carry into the next chapter of your life requires trial and error.

Doug Jenzen

Nov 2418 min read

Monkeys and a Mannequin That’s Seen Some Things: A Panama Travel Story

History, biology, and human ingenuity intermingle in the most unexpected ways—each stop on the journey offering a story worth telling.

Doug Jenzen

Mar 3016 min read

Suriname: Drug Smuggling and a Singing Russian Priest

Who you travel with matters, except when it doesn’t.

Doug Jenzen

Mar 1013 min read

Kindly Desist from Urinating in this Area with Phil Collins

There’s a quote by David Brooks I recently read: “We have a notion that the happiest people are those who have aimed their life toward...

Doug Jenzen

Feb 212 min read

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Take the World Home

Detours, Oddities, and Unplanned Adventures

Welcome to Destination Unknown, the blog where bizarre detours—think a pencil museum in Uruguay or a refreshing cold shower in Uganda—become epic lessons in life. I trade traditional bucket lists for offbeat, budget-friendly journeys, armed with dry humor, a love for wildlife, and a passion for museums. Come along for an unpredictable ride that proves the journey is always more entertaining than the destination.

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Man holding a golden eagle on his gloved arm at an eagle hunter site in Mongolia, with wide open steppe landscape, mountains,

Home: About Me

Boarding Passes & Barstools

How I Almost Got Deported With a Wallet Full of Useless Swiss Francs: A Victoria Falls Travel Story

If Beyoncé Were a Clock, She’d be in Switzerland or Things to do in Zurich on a Layover

Monkeys and a Mannequin That’s Seen Some Things: A Panama Travel Story

Suriname: Drug Smuggling and a Singing Russian Priest

Kindly Desist from Urinating in this Area with Phil Collins

Take the World Home

Detours, Oddities, and Unplanned Adventures

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