Back to Asia: Discovering Taiwan
The last time we were in Southeast Asia was in 2019, which now seems like a lifetime ago. Our first trip to that region was Thailand in 2013, followed by India in 2014, Japan in 2016, China in 2017, Cambodia in 2018, and finally Vietnam in 2019. On our first […]
France Flashback: Châteaux of the Loire Valley
If you’ve ever skimmed our blog, you already know our usual pattern: go to a country, spend two weeks there, enjoy the hell out of it, swear we’ll return, and then never set foot there again. It happens every single time, no matter how earnestly we insist that this time […]
A Year in the Windy City: Unique Things to Do in Chicago
With 2026 underway, we’re excited for all our upcoming trips this year. But globetrotting aside, our own city of Chicago offers enough adventures to fill a whole calendar. We love being tourists in our own backyard, exploring it even after decades of living there. And because we are always obsessed […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands: Unlikely, but Possible
After getting back from the U.S. Virgin Islands, we calculated our total expenses for two people for six days, one week before high season, and it came out to $1,875 for everything, including flights, accommodations, a rental car, food, and all entrance fees. Nowadays, whenever you don’t know how to […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands: America, But Not Quite the America You Know
“So, did we travel internationally or not?” We asked ourselves this question recently after returning from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Before the trip, we felt we weren’t traveling outside of the United States. The USVI is not a country. It’s a territory and part of the United States. The “U.S.” […]
Money, Money, Money
The biggest headache in planning the Cuba trip wasn’t the itinerary, flights, or visa. It was money. Due to the official embargo, Cuban banks do not recognize U.S.-issued debit and credit cards. So, paying with credit cards and withdrawing cash through ATMs is absolutely not possible for anyone using American […]
How to Sneak into Cuba
There were two types of reactions to my last post about visiting Cuba and bringing gifts of hygiene supplies and medicine: “Did you really have to bring soap and pills with you? I thought Cuba had everything by now…” Or “Wait… You went to Cuba? Is that legal? How did […]
More Souvenirs: Part II
Last month, we wrote about some unique souvenirs that we brought back from our travels. Today is Part 2 of that post. African masks, Egypt In our collection, we have eight African masks, which is a lot, considering we haven’t really visited Africa yet. The only nominal African country we’ve […]
An Honest Conversation in Havana
There is a conversation that happens in every country we visit. The locals earnestly ask, we honestly answer, the locals are thrilled, and by the end of it, everyone is happy. But this one time, it went off script. “How do you like Cuba?” the taxi driver asked, flashing us […]
Our Own Museum of Travel
Our condo is a museum of our never-ending globetrotting. African masks, religious statues, souvenirs, and mementos from all over the world constantly fight for shelf space with the cats. The more we travel, the more things we bring home. Our minimalist way of life directly conflicts with the constant desire […]
Unexpected Food Capital of South America
How come Peru has two restaurants in the top 10 restaurants in the world list, while the U.S. has none? This was the question we puzzled over while boarding our flight to Lima. The answer was found shortly thereafter, during our nine-day crisscrossing of the land of the Incas, alpacas, […]