a travel blog
Visiting the Alsace region of northeastern France was a bit of a last-minute decision, but it ended up being one of our favorite parts in Europe—and even of the whole trip. First of all, the scenery was simply breathtaking: rolling hills, an array of autumn colors from fading greens to deep reds, expansive plains and farmlands that would stretch for […]
One of our trip’s highlights had rather inauspicious beginnings: a restless sleep on an overnight train, an unexpected 5 am wake up call, almost being whisked away by a souvenir hawker instead of our guide, and pouring rain—when we were about to go trekking for 10 kilometers. We were in Sapa, a town in the far north of Vietnam, and we […]
Cambodia has awesome temples, but it also has beautiful countrysides—and one of our favorite activities in Cambodia ended up being a bike tour through the green and verdant countryside around Battambang. Battambang is the country’s second biggest city after Phnom Penh, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it upon arrival. It has a very small town feel, and we could traverse the city center in […]
Before coming to Cambodia, I thought Angkor Wat was just that—Angkor Wat. But it’s actually just one temple of dozens in the area where the ancient Khmer city of Angkor use to exist. We were glad that we purchased the $40 three-day pass to allow us plenty of time to explore many different sites. And we happily did this exploring […]
We spent an unforgettable day at Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for retired and injured elephants. Going into the day, I knew virtually nothing about elephants and their role in the tourism industry, except that elephant shows and riding are common tourist attractions in Thailand. But we learned many chilling facts about how elephants are treated—their trainers basically torture them […]
While we loved the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, I won’t deny that it was a pleasure to escape the city life for a week and chill out on some beautiful Thai islands. However, we were wary of visiting the islands during the rainy season (roughly June to October). But despite some drizzles and storms, we had a lovely and […]
While our canyoneering and whale shark adventures stood out as top highlights of our entire trip so far, my favorite part of the Philippines was getting to see my parents visiting from the U.S. and reconnect with lots of my extended family whom I hadn’t seen in six years. And one of the best days we all had together was […]
I almost had to miss out on this adventure due to tummy issues the night before (an unfortunately too-common occurrence during our travels), but I’m so glad I was feeling better in the morning because canyoneering was one of my favorite things we’ve done on the trip so far. What is canyoneering? It’s an activity where you descend a river […]