Getting My Ears Picked in Taiwan
One of the pleasures of going to Asia, at least for me, is the massages. Everywhere from Thailand to Vietnam to Cambodia, the massages are excellent, cheap, and widely available. From restorative foot massages after a long day of hiking, to full body deep tissue rubdown that leaves me in […]
Kaohsiung 高雄市: My kind of town
“Please just point to it on the map. Don’t try to pronounce it!” Julia pleaded with me as we approached a ticket counter at the Tainan train station to buy tickets to our next destination. The day before, she was chatting with her massage therapist and tried to tell him […]
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 […]
Surrounded by Van Gogh
Earlier this month, we visited the hottest show in Chicago-The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. The installation lets visitors explore masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh through 360-degree digital projections and an immersive light and sound show. Sitting in a large hall surrounded by changing images of the artist’s works, we were […]
A “Ruined” Vacation in Mexico
Soft light of the early morning sun gently streamed through the trees as we made our way through the jungle. Waking up early and driving in a half-asleep state for two hours from Puerto Morelos was totally worth it. We were rewarded with the chance to explore the ruins of […]
Did I Do That?! Driving in the UK
Please start with our previous post to learn how and why I ended up driving through rural England. In May 2018, we flew to London to spend 5 days in southwest England. By the time we walked out of Heathrow airport, it was three hours later than we planned. The […]
“You Almost Killed a Man!” or Why I No Longer Drive on Our Trips
We were in a tiny Peugeot, in a small Spanish city, staring at a road, going up the hill. The car was manual, the hill was steep. Victor, who happened to get a traffic ticket two days before we left for our trip and thus didn’t have his driver’s license, […]
Welcome to Glastonbury, UK or Why is Everyone Naked?
It was late afternoon, and we were having tea. But it was not just any tea, and it was not just any afternoon. We were in Bath, one of the most beautiful cities in England, surrounded by rows of elegant houses built in a classical Georgian style, housing world-class museums, […]
Top 5 Beaches in the Riviera Maya, Mexico
Yes, you read this right. We’re writing about beaches, and we’re ranking them! You can now safely unsubscribe. This travel blog is hopelessly ruined. In all seriousness, we are not beach people and rarely spend our vacations on a beach. In a normal year, you are more likely to find […]