Travel Goals for a New Decade You’ve schmoozed your boss, scored some time off, and started packing. Before pre-trip excitement can really set in, however, you’ve got to choose where to go. Where to Save Money in 2020? We can’t all start the new decade flush with forget-you money. Some of us are consigned to…
There’s a phenomenon in travel we’re likely all familiar with. You get to a new place or country and only have a few days; you’ll never be here again. Time to rev up the stoke engine and see as many things as possible in your abbreviated time! There’s something to be said for this method…
What do a global gambling powerhouse and a population marching against their government by the million have in common? That would be their current inclusion in the People’s Republic of China and status as former European colonies. Macau and Hong Kong are very different in style and flavor, and yet so alike in their recent…
Most of this post will read as part historical sketch and part book review. However, I feel it does well to contextualize this post’s accompaniment, which you can read here. When people complain about China or refuse to do so under the banner of cultural relativism I feel compelled to throw my two cents into…
A quick warning to readers: The following anecdote is graphic as well as true. The squeamish may feel free to skip this initial section. Date: 2013 Qianlingshan park, Guiyang, China A mother takes her infant child into Guiyang’s famed QianLingShan park, known colloquially as ‘The Monkey Park’. As advertised, there are monkeys aplenty. People get…
Those who read my last post will understand that I didn’t exactly have the best time in Vietnam. But my answer to the above question? Absolutely. As stated succinctly by my friend Phil, this grimy city ****** us again and and again, but left us sort of missing it and wishing we’d had more time…
Who wants to be encumbered when travelling? We’ve all dreamed about it: leaving the phone and camera behind to see a destination in all its glory. To heck with interrupting your immediate perceptions with a screen. Wouldn’t it be great to just leave it all at the hotel and try to really connect with a…
Shuanghe Cave was officially found to be Asia’s longest cave in 2018. Until then it was simply a contender, with Mulu park in Malaysia boasting tentatively that Clearwater Cave was Asia’s longest. French caver Jean Bottazzi secured the designation when he discovered a new chamber connecting two known entrances to ‘different’ caves. Thus was the…
I’ve learned to be skeptical about destinations whose claim to fame is their imitation of other locations. Zhenyuan 镇远 in Guizhou, China, then, ought to have rung the alarm bell. Venice is one of a kind and its distinct Italian flavor makes it nearly impossible to imitate well. I’ve also learned to be forgiving, however.…
I’ve hated biking my whole life. Chances are it’s because I always owned $50 Walmart cycles that were heavy as they were ugly. Not a great combo when your cardio is lackluster. This, though, is a guide about biking across Taiwan’s East coast. Obviously I don’t hate it anymore, so why bring up the fact…