Kaohsiung 高雄市: My kind of town
“Please just point to it on the map. Don’t try to pronounce it!” Julia pleaded with me as we approached a ticket counter at the Tainan train station to buy tickets to our next destination. The day before, she was chatting with her massage therapist and tried to tell him […]
Introductory Course: Taipei 101
All of a sudden, everyone knows what Taipei 101 is, after Alex Honnold scaled Taiwan’s tallest building with no ropes and no fear, live on Netflix. We were in Taipei a month before this death-defying stunt, and when Victor mentioned that we would visit Taipei 101, I had no idea […]
Hail Mary at Taoist Temple
“You enter on the right through the dragon door and exit on the left through the tiger door. And you never enter or exit through the middle door. That door is for gods.” We sat on a bench in front of a brightly colored Taoist temple with a rooftop looking […]
Taiwan: The First 24 Hours
The first 24 hours in Asia are crucial. This isn’t an easy 4-hour flight to Mexico City, where we get out of the airplane and hit the ground running, only occasionally stopping to marvel that just a few hours ago we were at home. It doesn’t have a mere 6-8 […]
When the Night Falls: Night Markets in Taiwan
A few days before our trip, I was talking to someone who had previously visited Taiwan and their only piece of advice was straightforward and without mincing words: “Do not eat street food there.” This was completely unexpected. If they’d said, “Don’t go there under any circumstances,” that would have […]
The Lycian Way: The Guide for the Unprepared.
In moments of blissful daydreaming, I often imagine what I would do if I had unlimited time and was in better physical shape. One thing that immediately pops into my mind is embarking on a long-distance hike. Wouldn’t it be great to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail […]
BRAAAAINS! It’s Not Just a Zombie Snack!
After snacking on sütlaç, Turkish coffee, and one bite of boyoz, while wandering around Kemeralti Market in Izmir, it was finally time for lunch. After a whole morning of delicious smells coming from various food carts and small cafes, Victor and I already had our preferred meals picked out. While […]
Izmir Food Special
When Victor visited Istanbul last year with his parents, he was so impressed with Turkish markets that he later wrote three blog posts on this topic (post #1, post #2, post #3). So obviously, while visiting Türkiye this year, we couldn’t skip Kemeralti Market in Izmir, one of the oldest […]
Leblebi, Leblebi Everywhere
In the evening of Day 6 in Türkiye, we were driving from Pamukkale down to Fethiye, after having spent the whole day exploring what Turkish people consider to be the 8th Wonder of the World. There’ll be a separate post about that later with some of the most surreal photographs […]
Getting Clean in Türkiye
My motionless body lies inside the octagon. I’m on my back, in a state of total disorientation, hardly registering what is going on around me. I feel neither my legs nor arms, and can barely hear any sounds. My eyes are closed, and when I squint them open, all I […]
Surviving the Apocalypse in Türkiye
After visiting the archeological treasures of Ephesus, one of the most famous and well-preserved ancient cities, in the morning, we were in the mood for something easy and delightful, with a bit of indulgently sweet on the side. And so, a stop in the village of Şirince, just 8 kilometers […]