Taiwan: Shaking in Our Boots
It was an evening of our last day in Kaohsiung, and we were visiting the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. Temples in Taiwan usually have dragons painted by one set of doors to indicate that those doors are used to enter the temple, and tigers by another set of doors, which […]
Day Lilies, Yuli Noodles, and the Mountain Mist
Of the four days in the East, we spent three days driving up and down the coastal highway. These days were filled with stopping at ocean viewpoints, exploring the shoreline’s rugged geoparks, and learning about local indigenous culture. But as we navigated through this narrow stretch of land, sandwiched between […]
The Wild, Wild East: Taiwan’s Enigmatic East Coast
Like Alishan, we considered cutting the East Coast out of our itinerary entirely. The region was remote, and it was a logistical puzzle to plan. Also, it was the only place in Taiwan where we needed to rent a car and potentially drive through what looked on the map like […]
Food. Taiwan. Must I Say More?
I wanted to write about the top 10 dishes we ate in Taiwan and quickly realized that the list was way longer than 10 and each dish deserved its own blog post, and this would quickly spiral into Two Cats Backpack Eats Taiwanese Food for Entirety of the Foreseeable Future […]
Breakfast of Champions in Taiwan
One thing that never stopped surprising me about Taiwan is how you can be strolling down a sidewalk one moment and the next, you are suddenly in the middle of a busy restaurant. And I don’t mean just outdoor seating, which is common enough around the world. I am talking […]
El Chorrillo or How I Walked Through a War Zone
When I travel the world, I always try to catch a soccer game-whether it’s kids playing on the streets of Buenos Aires, a high school game in Iceland, joining in on a game on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, or attending a professional match in the best-known stadiums in […]
Fumbling Around The World FAQ
We are often asked the same questions by different people any time we mention an upcoming trip. Usually, it goes something like this: Q: Oh, wow! That country! Do you have relatives or friends there? A: Nope. Q: Do you speak the local language? A: No, not at all. Not unless it’s English, Russian, or slowly spoken Spanish. Q: Why […]
The Happiest Pizza on Earth
We were in Kampot, walking around the main touristy street, when I noticed a strange abundance of Italian restaurants, to be more precise – pizza restaurants. All the menus displayed pizza and pasta and a few other Italian/Western dishes, alongside traditional Khmer cuisine. Every restaurant had the word “Pizza” in […]
Karlštejn Castle, Czech Canyons, and How I Almost Died.
Over the years, we’ve been in a lot of unfortunate, ill-fated, and plainly dangerous situations. We already posted about being attacked by monkeys and will soon write out how we visited Egypt in the middle of the Arab Spring, lost our luggage in Barcelona, and ignored all anti-mugging advice on […]
Southeast Asia – No Happy Endings
The only thing I love more than massages is cheap massages. Sure, a luxurious spa with relaxing music, aromatherapy, essential oils, and a highly trained therapist who will definitely not grope you in weird places is nice. I splurge on one every birthday. But it just cannot beat an hour-long […]
Iceland in a van
We had 6 days and about $1000 each. “The tickets to Iceland are super cheap!” Victor called out from the couch, “$400 round trip for around Labor Day.” In the back of my head, I could faintly remember an article I read about the recession in Iceland and how much […]