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, […]

Tour de World

By Victor / June 15, 2021

When we travel, we generally rely on all modes of transportation available to us. Through the years, we flew on domestic Brazilian and Peruvian airlines, took overnight trains in India and Egypt, rode subways in Mexico City and Barcelona, and bounced in packed minivans in Jamaica and Guatemala. We also […]

NAKED BATH JAPANESE GIRLS

By Julia / June 8, 2021

It’s always interesting for me to see which of our posts get more traction and which barely get a trickle of visitors.  I often find it to be completely unpredictable when some of my own favorite posts fly under the radar (example 1, 2, 3) while uninspired 20-minute write-ups are getting […]

There Is Always Room for More: Exploring Japanese Cuisine. Part II

By Julia / May 30, 2021

My last post was all noodles – soba, udon, ramen, but there is so much more to Japanese culinary traditions.  To expand our food horizons, we visited Dotombori Street in Osaka.  The name “Dotombori” refers both to the Dotombori Canal and to Dotombori Street, which runs parallel to the canal’s […]

Welcome to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Coffee Capital of the United States

By Victor / May 21, 2021

For many people, Milwaukee is and has always been the U.S. beer capital. The stereotype is understandable given the city’s history, but a little bit outdated.  Milwaukee’s breweries thrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and for a time, the city was home to the four largest breweries in […]

Eating Our Way Through Japan

By Julia / May 14, 2021

The first and only thing I used to think of any time anyone said the words “Japanese” and “food” in the same sentence was “sushi”.   I was faintly aware of noodles and tempura but have never been a big fan of either.  Sushi, on the other hand, has been my […]

Jamaica: The World’s Highest Coffee

By Victor / May 6, 2021

Last month, we did something irresponsible. Are you ready? We paid $15 for a cup of coffee. Yes, frugal backpackers who run this blog did that. Before you judge us for the splurge, all I can say is that we did it in the fancy, four-story Starbucks on Chicago’s Magnificent […]

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