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Travel — go far, go often, go now.

Neké Akua from behind in a teal embroidered kaftan, hands raised in a heart shape before the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Neké Akua in a blush and gold traditional Thai costume, seated at the foot of the mosaic-tiled spire of Wat Arun in Bangkok under a bright blue sky.
Neké Akua in an elaborate gold Balinese headdress and pink-and-gold sarong, fan in hand before a carved wooden door.

Every trip starts the same way — a flight I book before I let myself think too hard about it, and a notes app list that's half packing, half regret.

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Japan, where I actually lived rather than just visited. South Korea, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa, Portugal, France, England, Thailand, Bali, Dubai, Qatar, Canada, Puerto Rico, and a long list of others, long before any of it was content. Half of it happened before I ever thought to film it — I was just living my life. These are the trip reports I wish someone had written for me — what the flights actually cost, which day I’d cut, and the one restaurant worth the walk.

The Non-Negotiables

  • One bag I can run through an airport with.
  • A restaurant reservation before I book the hotel.
  • If it doesn't survive three time zones, it stays home.

From the shop

See the full list

the map room

Everywhere I’ve Actually Been

Pick a country. You get that trip’s photographs, the clips that survived the camera roll, and what I’d tell a friend before they booked it.

“Where I went, what it cost, and whether I’d go back.”

Neké Akua · on travel

The Reel, Not the Highlight

Sound on

  • Paris

    The Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa's crowd, and the moment it got real.

  • Cape Town

    Dinner in Cape Town, drums came with the table.

  • Bangkok

    Wat Arun to gridlock traffic, inside twenty seconds.

  • Dubai

    The whole skyline switched on, from the water.

  • Jamaica

    Dinner, and the room doing its own thing behind me.

Written About Travel

  • Neké Akua in a pink slip dress against the split yellow-and-magenta walls of Bo-Kaap, Cape Town.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Neké Akua in a pink dress beside a white staircase against a magenta Bo-Kaap wall.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Neké Akua in a red ruffled gown at a hotel's brass revolving-door entrance.
  • Neké Akua in a blush and gold traditional Thai costume, seated at the foot of the mosaic-tiled spire of Wat Arun in Bangkok under a bright blue sky.

    Bangkok, Thailand

  • Neké Akua holding out the train of her magenta gown so it sweeps across the road, standing barefoot in front of a Balinese split gate beneath a wide blue sky.

    Bali, Indonesia

  • Neké Akua in a knotted denim shirt and jeans leaning against a red telephone box, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament rising behind her.

    United Kingdom

  • Neké Akua on a bamboo raft in a Jamaican-flag swimsuit, poling down a jungle river lined with tropical greenery.

    Jamaica

  • Neké Akua on the dunes at golden hour in an orange kaftan with gold beadwork and a matching patterned headscarf.

    Dubai, UAE

  • Neké Akua in a white dress and long braids, leaning on a boat railing at night with a lit-up waterfront skyline and a giant observation wheel behind her.

    Dubai, UAE

  • Neké Akua laughing poolside in a rust-orange cut-out swimsuit and floral kimono, backlit by late afternoon sun.

    Tulum, Mexico

  • Close portrait of Neké Akua in a red and gold embroidered outfit and a jeweled gold headpiece, looking back over her shoulder against a soft gray stone backdrop.

    Bangkok, Thailand

  • Neké Akua in a magenta gown on a Bo-Kaap street in Cape Town, Lion's Head rising behind the neighborhood's pink and white houses.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Close portrait of Neké Akua in a fuchsia slip dress against a teal Bo-Kaap wall, tucking back her braids.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Neké Akua in a fuchsia slip dress and a friend in emerald green, laughing against Bo-Kaap's yellow-and-purple facades in Cape Town.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Close profile of Neké Akua in a fuchsia slip dress against a hot-pink Bo-Kaap wall, braids catching the light.

    Cape Town, South Africa

  • Neké Akua in a red polka-dot dress and black fascinator, glancing back with the Eiffel Tower rising behind her.

    Paris, France

  • Neké Akua in a rust one-piece and floral kimono, laughing in a sun-lit tangle of palm fronds in Tulum.

    Tulum, Mexico

  • Neké Akua in an elaborate gold Balinese headdress and pink-and-gold sarong, fan in hand before a carved wooden door.

    Bali, Indonesia

More to Explore

Let’s Be Friends

Once a month I send the things that didn’t make it to the grid. The hotel I’d actually rebook, what I’m cooking on repeat, the one thing I bought and don’t regret.

No spam. Just what I’m loving each month.