Uzbekistan: It’s Not Just Plov
Food is a big reason why we travel. It’s certainly not the only reason to suffer through an international flight, and we have enjoyed plenty of places that didn’t have a distinct or memorable cuisine, but when the food is good, the day is always made just that much better. […]
Ka-ra-kal-pak-stan
This was a real tongue twister. Ka-ra-kal-pak-stan. Ka-ra-kal-pak-stan. Now say it faster. Ka-ra-pa-kal… Damn. After spending nearly a month in the ancient Silk Road cities, the Fergana Valley, and the Nuratau Mountains, we thought we were finally getting a grasp on Uzbekistan’s diversity and complexity. We were starting to understand […]
Night Trains
Years ago, when we were staying on an island in Cambodia in a little bungalow on the beach, Victor walked off the bed platform in the middle of the night and fell down a few feet. He wasn’t fully awake and somehow didn’t hurt himself. When his mom heard this […]
Next on the Bucket List: Oktoberfest in Munich
I was chatting with my cousin, who lives in Frankfurt, Germany, and telling her all about our 36-hour trip to Munich just to attend the opening of Oktoberfest. “Have you ever been?” I asked her. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “We are not big drinkers at all!” “Neither are we!” I […]
People Live Here. Nuratau Mountains.
We were outside the Jizzakh train station, patiently waiting on our Yandex Go taxi driver, when another taxi pulled up. The driver, a tall lean man in his early seventies, leaned out the window, “Where are you heading?” We explained that we were waiting for another taxi and he nodded, […]
Gaudi’s Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning after a hellish overnight train ride that we still remember more than 10 years later. Bleary-eyed and groggy, our zombie-like entrance into the city was less than glorious. But that didn’t matter after all. We were in Barcelona. The city of Lionel […]
Walking on Not-Very-Thin Ice in Argentina
Start From The Beginning: Hiking in Argentina We arrived in El Calafate a bit beat up from two days of hiking in El Chalten. My blisters had blisters, all my hiking socks were dirty and torn, and my supposedly waterproof brand-new hiking shoes were very much soaked through. But none […]
Hiking Into the Sky, Patagonia, Argentina
Start with Part I of Argentina Travels to figure out who Ayala is and who we are. “First hike in El Chalten,” Victor said, “Is twenty-six kilometers. Next day, we’ll take it easy and do nineteen. The following day, we get to El Calafate and hike up a glacier.” “When […]
Free Wheeling Through Albania
As we planned our Albanian trip, the first question that popped up was “How will we get around?” Private transportation for two weeks was too expensive, and public transportation was too inconvenient for our overbooked itinerary. The only viable option was to rent a car. But I had my doubts. […]
Albania: Buzzed in Berat
Our guidebook passionately warned that Albanian red wine was utterly terrible and recommended sticking with white wines only. We are not big wine drinkers at all, but what we did want to see were the Albanian wineries. Of course, the best part of any distillery or winery tour is the […]
Where To Next?
“Next week is going to be our 100th blog post!” announced Victor, who likes to keep track of useless statistics such as his billable hours, NFL scores, and how many times each cat throws up a hairball. I was planning to post about that time Victor, his mother, his aunt, and […]