Bad Things

We arrived in Taipei on December 13th and left on the 18th to explore Alishan. On December 19th, 2025, a 27-year-old man threw smoke grenades and stabbed people in a Taipei metro station, killing three people and injuring eleven others. He then killed himself by jumping from a building. This […]

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 […]

Exploring Herzegovina Beyond Mostar. Part I.

By Victor / August 14, 2025

Earlier this year, we (almost) visited seven countries in five days. Wait … we did what? Because we constantly preach against hopping from one country to another and usually prefer a slow, immersive way of travel, I think we owe you an explanation. No, we didn’t drastically change the way […]

War in Sarajevo: Tunnel of Hope and Roses

By Julia / August 8, 2025

The first thing I noticed after getting off the plane in Sarajevo was the mountains. Towering on all sides, they dominate the horizon, their steep slopes cloaked in lush alpine forest. These mountains have shaped Sarajevo for centuries, restricting its growth to the narrow valley, while positioning it along key […]

War. What is it good for. Mostar Edition.

By Julia / August 1, 2025

Any time we mentioned we were traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first question was always the same: “Isn’t that the place with the war?” Yes. But the war ended 30 years ago. It’s safe. Don’t worry! That answer was usually met with a head shake and a muttered comment […]

Bosnia and Herzegovina: One Country, Two Regions, Three Nations

By Julia / July 24, 2025

What is a country? It’s a strange question, especially from someone who has traveled extensively.  But the answer is not quite as simple as a glance at a political map might suggest.  We have been to countries that no longer exist (Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, USSR), regions that used to be countries […]

Smuggling Molcajete

By Julia / July 16, 2025

One of my most impractical dreams, born from years of travel, is this: I want to decorate each room in my house in the style of a different country.  The bedroom would be designed like a chamber in an Indian palace with ornate fabrics, carved wood, and a hint of […]

Dancing with Chinelos

By Victor / July 2, 2025

The old, battered bus bounced along the road with dusty Mexican countryside rolling past the window. Google Maps on my phone showed we were approaching our destination: Yautepec de Zaragoza. Before the trip, I never imagined going to this small town in the middle of nowhere. And here we were, […]

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