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 […]
Breakfast of Champions in Taiwan
One thing that never stopped surprising me about Taiwan is how you can be strolling down a sidewalk one moment and the next, you are suddenly in the middle of a busy restaurant. And I don’t mean just outdoor seating, which is common enough around the world. I am talking […]
Little Teapot Short and Stout
If your country historically has rocks and water in close proximity to each other, I will probably end up writing a post about it. Let me explain. Anywhere in the world where there are rocks and water, there will usually be deposits of clay, created by the breakdown of igneous […]
The Mist, the Cloud, the Tea, and the Sunset: The Trails of Shizhuo
The hardest part of any itinerary is usually not where to visit or when, but for how long. There are always disagreements online over how much time each place deserves, with some people claiming to have fully explored everything in one day, while others take a week. And when it’s […]
The Unexpected India
India was our best trip and our worst trip. Nine years later, I’m still shocked that, while still being relatively new international travelers, we had enough courage to pick India as our second Asian country to visit. We wrote extensively about 16 unforgettable days in India that included, among other […]
Six Wonders of the World: Part II
Start with Part I here for the Colosseum, Chichen Itza, and Taj Mahal. 4. Christ the Redeemer By the time we visited Brazil in 2015, Christ the Redeemer was firmly established as one of the New Wonders of the World, and the tourists were certainly aware of it. From our […]
Six Wonders of the World: Part I
We were on a mountain in Peru, looking down at a gorgeous green valley, peppered with ancient stone constructions. “I can’t believe we are finally at Machu Picchu!” Victor said, “Congratulations! You have now visited all “New Seven Wonders of the World”!” “I have?” I asked, unsure. “Well, let’s see. […]
First Visit to the Land of Enchantment
“Did you see what the license plate on our car rental says?” I asked Julia as we were pulling out of the Albuquerque airport parking lot. “What?” “Land of Enchantment.” “Well… that’s promising…” Julia said, but I could tell that she wasn’t sold yet. For many, New Mexico is the […]
More Hiking Mistakes: Banff and Jasper National Parks
Our previous hiking post about the Gap of Dunloe ended up being a list of mistakes we made while planning and executing the four-hour hike over some of Ireland’s most beautiful lands. Now that we got back from hiking in Banff and Jasper National Parks, I am tempted to repeat […]
The Last Two People On Earth or Last Day In Grenada
“I have an interesting idea for our last day in Grenada.” Victor said, “Our flight is at 3 pm, and the airport is located right next to a beach. How about we go there early in the morning, spend a day at the beach, and then just… walk to the […]