Ahhh….Fiji. This has to be one of the most beautiful places we have been to yet. No wonder it is such a popular location for filming movies. Movies such as “The Blue Lagoon” and “Cast Away” were filmed here. During our short stay in Fiji we took a tour out to Modriki Island (also called Monuriki Island), the filming site …
Stinky tofu, pig’s blood soup, and chicken feet, oh my!! We ate some weird things while in Taiwan and believe it or not, we even ate out of a toilet. Our two weeks in Taiwan was a culinary adventure and tons of fun. We wandered through night markets, ate at delicious Japanese restaurants, and feasted on Dim Sum. Here is …
Add Taroko National Park to the list of beautiful places in Taiwan. This national park, located on the eastern coast of Taiwan very close to the city of Hualien, is a huge draw for visitors to Taiwan. It was a huge draw for us as well, as our family can’t resist hiking trails, rock scrambles, and beautiful vistas, things Taroko …
Before our trip around the world I knew very little about Taiwan. It wasn’t even on our radar as a destination for our journey around the globe. While browsing through hotels on Trip Advisor, tourism advertisements and facts about Taiwan kept popping up. After the tenth advertisement, Taiwan captured my attention and I took my first look at the Taiwan …
Hiking Teapot Mountain was a fantastic experience. This hike would end up being our favorite in Taiwan as it had all of our favorite elements: stunning scenery, rock scrambles, steep ascents that required basic rock climbing skills, and an almost deserted trail. We saw hardly anyone else on this hike leaving us to wonder where everyone was. Why don’t more …
Our introduction to Taiwan was its largest city, Taipei. We spent five awesome days here. There is so much to do, with night markets to explore, Taipei 101 to climb, so many wonderful restaurants to choose from, and tons of day trips to take. This was yet another city that we all really liked. National Palace Museum Our visit to …
Recently, I have gotten a lot of questions about what a typical day is like for us. That is a little difficult to answer, as no day is ever the same. Having every day be different is one of the things that makes travel so exciting. Note: This post was written in 2015 during our trip around the world. After …
Hong Kong is an amazing city and one of our favorites so far. It is hard to beat this skyline…a forest of skyscrapers with a backdrop of mountains. The view of the city from Victoria Peak is hard to beat. With four days we were able to tour part of the city as well as take day trips to Disneyland …
Traveling through China can be a very rewarding experience but it does come with its share of challenges. With the right expectations and a little preparation (such as reading our China travel tips), a visit to China can be an amazing experience. Many people travel here on a tour, eliminating the challenges of arranging itineraries, transportation, hotels, and meals. As …
We spent several days exploring Shanghai while on our trip around the world. For part of our visit to China, we were joined by my mother, Kathy, and Tim’s mother, Valerie. While traveling, most of the time we feel like we fit in with our wardrobe. Traveling with only five shirts and several pairs of pants really limits the types …
We had one wonderful week to spend in the city of Beijing, China. For us, this was the perfect amount of time to visit Beijing’s main sights, pay two awesome visits to the Great Wall of China, and have some quiet time at our hotel at the end of the day. Our mothers joined us here, and from Beijing, Kathy …
On March 2015 my family and I visited the Great Wall of China. We had a week to spend in Beijing and the main thing we wanted to do here was to walk on the Great Wall. (This post was written by Kara). We visited the Great Wall of China twice. The first time we went with my grandmothers, Kathy …
The Great Wall of China…one of the world’s most iconic sights and one of the top ten things to do on many traveler’s bucket lists. We couldn’t visit China without seeing this amazing place. It was so amazing that we actually visited the Great Wall twice. Our first visit was to the restored section at Mutianyu. Several days later we hiked …
Zhangjiajie, China…a place you may never have heard of but have seen if you watched the movie “Avatar.” When we learned that there was a place on earth that served as the inspiration for one of its most scenic landscapes, we put it at the top of our list. Zhangjiajie…the Inspiration for the Landscape in “Avatar” This place is Zhangjiajie, …
The city of Zhangjiajie was not what Tim and I were expecting. For some reason, we pictured Zhangjiajie to be a quaint, scenic town, with small shops and restaurants, nestled at the foot of some of the world’s most unique scenery. We arrived by train, and instead of a small town we entered a large city, complete with numerous high …
This is what draws people from around the world to Yangshuo, China: the towering, leafy limestone peaks along the Li River. Yes, we loved Yangshuo, but it is great to get out into the surrounding countryside for at least a day if your schedule allows. We chose to visit the small town of Xingping, located just a half an hour …
Our adventures in China continue with an amazing visit to the town of Yangshuo. When you see paintings and artwork of China, this is the area used so frequently. Bumpy limestone mountains, fishing boats and bamboo rafts drifting along the Li River, small villages located in the valleys, this is a beautiful part of China. Arriving in Yangshuo We were …
To enter China from Vietnam, we chose to travel overland by taking the bus from Hanoi to Nanning. By traveling overland we saved the huge expense of airplane travel and we got to see parts of Vietnam and China that many travelers miss. Taking the Bus from Hanoi to Nanning Hanoi to the Border There are two buses that take …
The grand finale of our tour of Vietnam was a three day cruise on Ha Long Bay with Galaxy Cruise Lines. Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam’s most famous sights…thousands of small limestone mountains filling the bay, not far from the South China Sea. This is a popular tourist sight and another UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting thousands of …
Our family spent almost one month in Vietnam, giving us plenty of time to watch as the Vietnamese people celebrated their most important holiday, Tet. Tet is the Lunar New Year for Vietnam and falls on the same day as the Chinese New Year. For the Vietnamese, Tet is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve all rolled up in one. …