Rest of World is 3 years old today! In dog years, we’re finally old enough to drink in the U.S., and also in Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Cameroon.🍻

What a ride it’s been: Since May 2020, we’ve published over 1,000 stories from over 100 countries outside the West, in a former tech-media dead zone where just five years ago, you’d be lucky to find a few good news articles in English each month. (Trust me, I looked.) We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve learned from our startup mistakes, and along the way we’ve received recognition for our pioneering approach to international tech journalism.

We want to thank you for our remarkable audience growth over the past year. Every story you like, read, share with a friend, or discuss with a work colleague: That powers our ability to reach new readers, and ultimately drives impact.

As a founder, nothing makes me prouder than the surprise I feel every day when I open restofworld.org. And thanks to your belief in our mission, a tech publication exists that captures a mere fraction of the astounding, colorful, confounding, thrilling, and deeply unpredictable digital world that we all share.

In our first three years of publishing, we’ve just scratched the surface. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Rest of World.

P.S. Now that summer is nearly upon us, I asked our team what they’re thinking about for their vacation time. Here’s what they told me:

Russell and Durga are off to the races, literally. They’re heading to Meghalaya, India to bet on South Asia’s booming-yet-ancient sport of teer. Jane S. prefers goal-oriented vacations, so she “might go to Colombia to thwart the plans of influencers ransacking the Amazon with illegal gold-mining.” 

Sarah is joining Yi-Ling on a trip to Düsseldorf to “eat the best Chinese food in Europe, of course.” While Anup is heading to Siberia, “because nothing says adventure” like a 40-hour drive to a Chinese border city after negotiating a fare with the driver. 

A gaggle of us are heading to Southeast Asia, albeit with very different ideas about what’s relaxing. Viola: “I’ll go work as a guest model in a kaftan-selling livestream studio in Indonesia.” Tess is off to Sumatra to help protect the last wild elephants. Vicki: “I’m planning to relocate to a coworking space in Malaysia and be waited on by robots.” And French Polynesia will welcome Nilesh and Damilare, where they plan to online-shop in the middle of an ocean.  

Mexico City’s tech bazaar will soon see similarly minded Mithila (“I’m going to drink micheladas and buy drones.”) and Jane O. (“I want to drink spicy beers while I get my iPhone repaired.”) Kevin, too, is motivated by cuisine: “I’m opting for the village of Sangkosh in Nepal to savor some of YouTube star Kanchhi Maiya Bhandari’s dishes.” Whereas Itika is seeking a different vibe — she’s heading for an “extravagant and oddly satisfying” holiday in Shimulia, the YouTube village of Bangladesh.

For his summer, Eli said, “Oh, I’m definitely heading to Batumi to learn Georgian and party with all the foreign tech workers.” David is heading south “to Mexico City to shop for TikTok-themed piñatas.” And Lily has plans to bargain-hunt in Kuala Lumpur’s red-hot used car market. 

Cengiz is a practical traveler, on a hunt for a custom suit in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk market. Alex is also a planner, who says, “One night of samba on the streets of Rio and I’ve come to appreciate why I’ll need this party-finding app when I come back for Carnaval.” But Ravi just wants some fun — he’s heading to the global capital of geek culture, Akihabara in Tokyo, to “spend all of my money on old games. All of it!” Andrew, too, has a party in mind: heading to Guangzhou, China for “a rowdy wedding reception after watching groom & groom get married in Utah over Zoom.” As for me, I’m on the next plane to Phnom Penh to check in with my favorite viral TikTok monks.

Thanks for being a Rest of World reader!