Now that even adventurous, independent travel is a proper industry, it sometimes feels like there’s little in the world that hasn’t been done before, whole trips predigested as a list of “destinations” before you even set out. That is, until you meet someone who has tossed out any idea of the “right” way to travel, and gone to a different part of the world to work, or just to roll around and see what happens. “Where Have You Been?” is a monthly NYC event for travelers with a different slant on the business of going elsewhere, and a good story to back it up. Every edition features one adventure story, one activism story, and one wild-card entry – told by the travelers, and accompanied by photos or video. Jeff Stark presides; he’s the man behind the Nonsense NYC list of “independent art, weird events, strange happenings, and senseless culture.” I hit up Wednesday night’s event at Bluestockings bookstore on the Lower East Side, which was packed to the door with the biggest crowd Stark says they’ve had yet. Traveling as part of a spectacle, instead of as an “invisible” pseudo-anthropologist, was the unofficial theme of the night: First up, members of NYC’s Black Label Bike Club told stories from a two-month tour they took on tall bikes through rural Thailand, without a plan, or even a good map. Try blending in when you’re riding one of these. Selena McMahan of Clowns without Borders was next, and shared some of her experiences performing for children in impoverished areas of South Africa hard-hit by the AIDS crisis. You can find out about the organization here, or check out Selena’s blog here. Stark closed the night with a hilarious story about an art piece gone, horribly, horribly wrong at Robodock, a festival that’s Europe’s answer to Burning Man. Next month’s installment sounds very promising, with potential tales including a visit to communities living in the shadow of Manila’s trash dumps, and a brush with death-by-wild-boar in France. Just make sure to get there early.

(Image via Selena McMahan’s’s photobucket)