Bad Things
We arrived in Taipei on December 13th and left on the 18th to explore Alishan. On December 19th, 2025, a 27-year-old man threw smoke grenades and stabbed people in a Taipei metro station, killing three people and injuring eleven others. He then killed himself by jumping from a building. This […]
Taiwan: Shaking in Our Boots
It was an evening of our last day in Kaohsiung, and we were visiting the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. Temples in Taiwan usually have dragons painted by one set of doors to indicate that those doors are used to enter the temple, and tigers by another set of doors, which […]
Day Lilies, Yuli Noodles, and the Mountain Mist
Of the four days in the East, we spent three days driving up and down the coastal highway. These days were filled with stopping at ocean viewpoints, exploring the shoreline’s rugged geoparks, and learning about local indigenous culture. But as we navigated through this narrow stretch of land, sandwiched between […]
The Wild, Wild East: Taiwan’s Enigmatic East Coast
Like Alishan, we considered cutting the East Coast out of our itinerary entirely. The region was remote, and it was a logistical puzzle to plan. Also, it was the only place in Taiwan where we needed to rent a car and potentially drive through what looked on the map like […]
Food. Taiwan. Must I Say More?
I wanted to write about the top 10 dishes we ate in Taiwan and quickly realized that the list was way longer than 10 and each dish deserved its own blog post, and this would quickly spiral into Two Cats Backpack Eats Taiwanese Food for Entirety of the Foreseeable Future […]
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 […]