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, […]
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 […]
Probably Robbed in Brazil
“We are going to Brazil!” we excitedly announced at a picnic with friends a few years ago. One of our friends, Will, a giant 6’4” former U.S. Army Officer who grew up in Brazil, looked us up and down. “You are probably going to get robbed.” He flatly stated. The […]
High in the Mountains, High on the Beaches: Jamaica
There were three things I knew about Jamaica before our trip there: Bob Marley, legalized weed, and beautiful beaches. I was wrong about one out of three. No, this is not a post unraveling a giant conspiracy theory that Bob Marley was actually a Puerto Rican or a tedious list […]