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 […]
Un Poquito De Español
Start with Part I: Why I Decided To Learn Spanish. While in Guatemala, we came across numerous schools where visitors can stay with a local family and take Spanish classes for 4-5 hours a day. These immersion programs are popular with foreigners, allowing people to learn or improve their Spanish. […]
No Hablo Español
When I was 22 years old, I made an unusual promise to myself. I decided that by the time I turned 40, I would speak Spanish. I don’t know why I made this promise. At that time, Spanish was irrelevant in my life. I had no exposure to the language […]
Fake Estonian in a Fake Village
We were sitting on the rocks by the Baltic Sea, laughing hysterically. “It was like a scene out of a sitcom!” I gasped between laughing fits, “Who does something like this in real life?” Victor buried his head in his hands, “I don’t know! I don’t know what I was […]
Soaking in Estonia
On the fourth day in Tallinn, we were in the back seat of a taxi, chatting with our Russian-speaking driver about the intricacies of the daily life of ethnic Russians in Estonia. “I’ve never been to this one,” he said as he pulled the car over. “Enjoy!” I peeked out […]
Santa Ana: Visiting the Coffee-Boom Capital of El Salvador
After spending a few days at a coffee finca on Ruta de Las Flores, we made it to Santa Ana. The city was once an important center during the coffee boom of the early 20th century. The central square with its imposing neo-Gothic cathedral, theatre, and city hall looked very […]
Take Me Out with the Crowd!
Part II We continue with our stories from the major U.S. baseball ballparks. For Part I, please start here. 6. Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati You realize Cincinnati is a baseball town when in a local art museum, just a few blocks from the ballpark, you see Andy Warhol’s portrait […]