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 […]

Spilling the Tea about Alishan

Victor loves coffee, and this blog is a clear testament to that. There are so many posts about coffee tours, coffee shops, coffee destinations, conversations about coffee over coffee, and even hiking through coffee plantations. Yet if you were to go through our kitchen, you’d find at most two bags […]

In the Sea of Clouds

When we travel, we usually try to avoid pre-planning everything. By rigidly scripting every activity down to the minute, you can easily deprive yourself of genuine travel experiences, instead just following the “script”.  But that doesn’t work with sunrises and sunsets, especially if you want to catch them from a […]

Hugging Trees in Alishan

Alishan was giving me a headache. Trying to fit this mountainous forest into our itinerary was a challenging task. No direct trains from Taipei. No direct buses. Renting a car and driving up there? Maybe. But that wasn’t ideal. The most reasonable option was to get to the city of […]

Another Day, Another Istanbul Market

By Victor / May 5, 2023

In two prior posts, I described our thrilling shopping adventures at the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district.  Yet, the market that we fell in love with the most was located away from the tourist hordes-on the Asian side of the city.  It’s hard to characterize […]

Let’s Spice it Up: More Shopping in Istanbul

By Victor / April 27, 2023

In the last post, I described the fun of visiting and bargaining at the Grand Bazaar.  And although my parents and I enjoyed the craziness of this behemoth ancient market, we found other markets in Istanbul that we loved even more. Several days before visiting the Grand Bazaar, we spent […]

Trying to Beat the Market: The Grand Bazaar Experience

By Victor / April 20, 2023

I love markets in Asia.  Bright colors, pungent smells, cacophonic sounds-visiting a market in Asia is always a chaotic and exotic experience.  Every time we come to Asia, I get excited about getting lost in the labyrinths of markets and discovering local crafts, delicious and cheap food, and friendly vendors.  […]

Taxicab Confessions in Tallinn

By Julia / April 14, 2023

When we are traveling and have questions that no guidebook or a quick Google search can answer, we always look for a local to chat with.  In Latin America or Southeast Asia, it’s easy, just find a friendly vendor, chat up our Airbnb host, or find a friendly expat in […]

Sugar and Slave Watchtowers

By Victor / April 6, 2023

Tobacco and sugar.  Two exports-in addition to rum-that Cuba is most known for.  After spending three days in the tobacco-growing Piñar del Rio province, which included visiting a tobacco farm and learning about the cigar-making process in Viñales, we headed to the region that was once dominated by sugar production. […]

Get Addicted to Viñales – Tobacco and Rum

By Victor / March 30, 2023

In previous posts, Julia already described all the bouncing joy, painful blisters, and occasional aggressive biting of our horseback riding adventures in Viñales.  While Julia’s most powerful impressions in Viñales happened on horseback, I found myself awed in the most unexpected of places – a tobacco farm. We arrived in […]

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