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 […]

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 […]

Galloping Through Viñales

By Julia / March 16, 2023

“Do you know how to ride horses?” our Airbnb host in Viñales asked. “Yes!” I answered without thinking.  If I had thought about it, the answer would have been, “Yes, I sat on a horse twice this year while the owner led it up a mountain, so I can enjoy […]

Havana Ooh Na Na

By Julia / March 9, 2023

There are two pictures I can show people who want to know the impression Havana left on me, both taken on our very first day, the first few pictures in the city. The first is the view from the balcony of our Airbnb. The second is the inside view of […]

Top 20 Things to Do in Mexico City

By Victor / March 2, 2023

As we wrote before, Mexico City is one of our favorite cities.  We’ve been there half a dozen times, and every visit we discover something new and fun.  Here are our 20 reasons why you should visit.  1. Explore Zocalo and Centro Historico The city’s main square is the most […]

More Money, More Problems

By Julia / February 16, 2023

Please start with the previous post, “Money, Money, Money,” where we ask money questions about Cuba, and then continue here, where we answer them.   As we were settling into a colectivo (a shared taxi), one of the fellow tourists started rummaging through his backpack.  Unable to find what he […]

Money, Money, Money

By Julia / February 9, 2023

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

By Julia / January 26, 2023

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 […]

Subscribe to receive our stories in your inbox

Loading