Bhutan, this tiny country located in the Himalaya mountains, has just recently opened its doors to tourism. As of 1974 Bhutan began to allow tourists to enter. It wasn’t until more recently when tourism really began to boom here, and tourism has now become a leading source of revenue for this country. The Daily Tariff Bhutan believes in offering high-quality …
Do Roosters Crow in the Rain? Our Story from Pokhara, Nepal
Pokhara, a small city located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Kathmandu, is a popular tourist destination in Nepal. This city is located on Phewa Lake at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains and is the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit, another very popular trek in Nepal. Pokhara is known as the adventure capital of Nepal and this is …
This is Kathmandu, Nepal…a Photojourney
Kathmandu, Nepal…how best to describe this crazy city? Chaotic, dirty, loud…but Kathmandu is also exotic, beautiful, and captivating. The streets are dusty and dirty. Even though you want to look up at the thousands of signs over your head and in the windows of the shops, you must always be looking down to avoid stepping in potholes, on burning …
Trekking to Everest Base Camp with Kids
Trekking to Everest Base Camp (EBC), a bucket list item for many travelers, is not just an adventure for twenty or thirty year olds. It is possible to trek to Everest Base Camp with kids, as we proved in October 2014. Tyler and Kara were 10 and 11 years old when we trekked to Everest Base Camp. Kara had turned 10 just three …
How I Survived Altitude Sickness
My family and I hiked to Everest Base Camp (EBC) trek. The day after reaching EBC, my Dad, Indra (our EBC guide), and I tried to hike to the summit of Kala Patthar. When we were almost at the top, I got altitude sickness. It was terrible, and now I will tell you about how you can get it, what …
The Everest Base Camp Trek in 12 Days
Trekking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal was one of the highlights of our trip around the world. In fact, this trek was so important to us that we planned the entire year around this two week adventure. Trekking to base camp was more challenging than we anticipated, both physically and mentally, but was absolutely worth it. While traveling through …
A Photo Tour of Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Our visit to the United Arab Emirates was very brief, really just a layover between South Africa and Nepal on our trip around the world. The UAE is a country that Tim has always dream of visiting, these cities born from oil and paved with gold. We had three days of luxury before heading to Nepal, a country on the …
Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai, South Africa
In this post, Tyler writes about our experience shark cage diving in Gansbaai, South Africa. On September 10, 2014, our family went shark cage diving. It was a really great experience, one of the best in Africa, and we all loved it. We drove to the office of White Shark Ecoventures in Gansbaai, South Africa, where we would meet our …
Elephants, Ostriches, and Cheetahs, Oh My! Animal Encounters on the Garden Route of South Africa
The Garden Route, a stretch of coastline along the southern coast of South Africa from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, is home to a huge number of game reserves and animal sanctuaries. These animal sanctuaries, similar to zoos, offer opportunities to get up close with their animals. Our animal encounters with the elephants, lemurs, ostriches, and cheetahs were some of the …
Hiking Robberg Peninsula in South Africa
The hike around Robberg Peninsula is rated as one of the top things to do in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. It is a 9 km hike around a peninsula jutting out into the Indian Ocean. On this hike we climbed up and down the rocky coastline, hiked past a colony of seals, and wandered on a second, smaller peninsula made …
Tranquility in the Southern Drakensberg Mountains
The Drakensberg Mountains, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, cut through the eastern portion of South Africa. The mountain range starts at Blyde River Canyon, located just west of Kruger National Park, and heads southward, through the smaller country of Swaziland, and ending near Lesotho. For four nights we stayed at the Umzimkulu River Lodge in Underberg, located in the southern …
Driving the Sani Pass into Lesotho
For some more adventure and a chance to visit another country, our family of four went for a drive over the Sani Pass into Lesotho. This mountain pass, not very well known by most in the US, is a big tourism draw for South Africa. The Sani Pass is a winding dirt road that takes drivers up and over the …
Awesome iSimangaliso Wetland Park in St. Lucia, South Africa
iSimangaliso Wetland Park, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Africa, is located just north of St. Lucia, South Africa. We spent several days in St. Lucia, using one of these days to tour the park. This was a huge change in scenery from where we have been, as we were now staying on the east coast of South Africa, …
Why Kruger National Park Should be on Your List as a Budget Safari Destination
Kruger National Park, the largest national park in South Africa, and one of the largest parks in the world, is South Africa’s premiere safari destination. Spanning 200 km from north to south and 50 km from east to west, Kruger is home to the Big Five (elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, lion, and buffalo) as well as a multitude of other animals …
Sleeping with Lions in Tamboti Camp, Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is South Africa’s largest and most famous wild animal park. There are many rest camps to choose from during your stay. Here is our experience at Tamboti Tented Camp. About Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is home to the Big Five (elephant, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, and lion) as well as other popular animals such as cheetah, …
Cycling with Zebras in Eswatini
The Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) is a very small country located entirely within South Africa. Eswatini is a monarchy, ruled by King Mswati III. Sadly, this country has the highest HIV infection rate in the world, with 27% of adults infected with HIV. It is a poor country, with many people living in one room cinder block …
Crossing the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zambia
While visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, we walked across the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zambia. This sounds easy enough to do, but while planning our trip there was a lot of conflicting information about what visas and vaccinations are necessary in order to do this. If you have the same questions, here is some information to help you plan your …
On Safari in Chobe National Park, Botswana
Chobe National Park in Botswana is the place to go to see African elephants. We spent the most amazing three days here on safari. During the day we took boat trips on the Chobe River and went on game drives in the park, searching for elephants, lions, giraffe, and numerous other African animals. At night we slept in tents around …
Cycling Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa
The city of Johannesburg was our arrival point in South Africa. We had one day to spend here before traveling on to other places. Now we were a party of six, as Kathy and Valerie, our Moms, arrived in Johannesburg on the same day as us. They will be traveling with us for over two weeks as we tour Botswana, …
A Visit to Dachau Concentration Camp in Munich, Germany
Dachau Concentration Camp was the first of the Nazi concentration camps. It is located near Munich, Germany. A visit here is an incredibly moving experience and a valuable history lesson. Here are some things you should know while planning your visit. Dachau was the Nazi’s first concentration camp and was the only concentration camp to have existed throughout the entire …