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 […]
When the Night Falls: Night Markets in Taiwan
A few days before our trip, I was talking to someone who had previously visited Taiwan and their only piece of advice was straightforward and without mincing words: “Do not eat street food there.” This was completely unexpected. If they’d said, “Don’t go there under any circumstances,” that would have […]
Back to Asia: Discovering Taiwan
The last time we were in Southeast Asia was in 2019, which now seems like a lifetime ago. Our first trip to that region was Thailand in 2013, followed by India in 2014, Japan in 2016, China in 2017, Cambodia in 2018, and finally Vietnam in 2019. On our first […]
All Aboard the Booze Train!
After visiting blue agave fields, our tour continued at the Jose Cuervo distillery known as La Rojeña. Choosing to visit Jose Cuervo over any other distilleries in the area was an easy decision. Jose Cuervo is the birthplace of tequila mass production and one of the oldest distilleries in Latin […]
We Drink Tequila in Tequila (Mexico)
For many people, tequila is one of the most recognizable products of Mexico-the country’s brand. And that’s why when we visited the state of Jalisco, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the town of Tequila, known obviously, for tequila. Located just 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara, Tequila was […]
Part II: How We Lost Our Luggage and Minds in Barcelona
Read “Part I: The Train Ride from Hell” here. After spending the entire night being tortured by bright lights, uncomfortable seats, and unruly passengers, we finally reached Barcelona. It was early morning, cloudy and chilly, and we barely had an hour of sleep last night. Shivering, we ran down the […]
Part I: Spain – When Everything Goes Wrong
Part I: The Train Ride from Hell We started seriously traveling around 2008, so the trip to Spain in August of 2010 came pretty early in our traveling career. We were in unfamiliar territory with just a few international trips under our belts, no knowledge of Spanish, and rudimentary 2010 […]
Part II: Buenos Aires – Through the Eyes of Locals
Read “Part I: Buenos Aires – Travel Like a Local, Travel with a Local” Buenos Aires met us with blooming jacaranda trees, their beautiful violet flowers carpeting sidewalks and lawns. It was a warm spring morning, as is traditional in the southern hemisphere in November, as we started exploring this […]
Part I: Buenos Aires – Travel Like a Local, Travel with a Local
In January 2012, right after returning from our two-week trip to Egypt, Julia and I sat down to discuss our travel plans for the upcoming year. I was only days away from starting a new job at a large law firm and was understandably nervous about taking any time off […]