Chicago is a dope city. It's one of my favorites in the U.S. I stayed at Wrigleyville Hostel in Wrigleyville, which is the sports and nightlife neighborhood in the city. I accidentally went on the weekend of the Chicago Marathon, so some stuff was mad overpriced, but I took it in stride. The public transit system in Chicago is reliable and easy to use, so that's a great way to stay on a budget. I definitely recommend going to Chicago, but make sure you go when it's warm. I went in October and it was unseasonable warm, which was a pleasant surprise!

Chicago is so dope! The food, the culture, the sites are all awesome. I stayed at the Wrigley Hostel in Wrigleyville, which is Chicago's sports and nightlife area. I accidentally visited during the Chicago Marathon and things were overpriced, but I made the most of it. I would say visit Chicago, but definitely make sure you do so on a low-weekend and when it's not cold. I went in October and it happened to be unseasonably warm, which was great.

Lisbon was dope from the food to the history to the nightlife. All the Sangria you can drink, delicious seafood and beautiful weather. I stayed at a dope ass hostel too that had the best waffles I've ever eaten. My biggest issue with Lisbon was how overtly anti-black my experience was. It was really terrible and in the end it left me itching to go home, and it's not often that I'm keen to leave a travel destination. The blackface caricatures in the main square, and the Portuguese people at my hostel using nigger openly and saying things like, "Why would you want to have skin like a nigger?" after calling me beautiful was entirely too much. My final verdict? I'm definitely not going back, but I wouldn't encourage anyone to stay away because of MY negative experience.

Krabi is my favorite, but it's Phuket's less-well known sister. Many people think Phuket when they think of Thai Island Hopping, but Krabi is the better place to do that! Krabi is closer to Phi Phi, Railay beach, Ko Tup, Ko Poda and so many other islands to make day trips to. Krabi is also cheaper than Phuket because it's doesn't have the connotation that Phuket has. I flew down to Krabi from Chiang Mai for very cheap and spent about one week there. I stayed at a Greenview Village Resort with my girlfriend, and at a Slumber Part Hostel when my friends showed up. The resort and hostel were both cheap and really amazing. There was a free shuttle to take you down to the beach, free breakfast and plenty of tour booking opportunities thanks to the front desk at both places. We were even able to rent a motorbike from the resort we stayed at. As far as traveling while black, I only had one minor issue with a Chinese tourist who was taking pictures of my girlfriend and I, probably because I'm black and my girlfriend is Thai. It's worth mentioning that southern Thailand is on the border of Malaysia, which makes people Thai-Malay. They end up having dark skin just like ours, so I felt just fine in Krabi!