Take Your Big Trip | Travel Advice, Inspiration, and Stories

Topkapi. Check. Hagia Sofia. Check. The Grand Bazaar. Check, check and may checks may bounce because of all my purchases. All easily reached from Sultanahmet district, these top destinations are all what you do on your first day. But what about your second day? Here are five must see highlights to tackle after the big [...]

Originally published on June 5, 2009 during my Big Trip to the Middle East. By today, B and I were a little worn out after three solid days of sightseeing and dedicated today to casual neighborhood walks and the Turkish Bath – the Hamam. In the morning after yogurt and olives for breakfast, we walked [...]

Originally published on April 9, 2010 during my travels in Vietnam. Usually I love exploring cities when I travel. It’s a maze, a mystery with plot twists in small streets, helpful characters and cheating villains (both of whom I’ve met my share of as a tourist). This morning, I was not feeling it. Actually I’ve [...]

Originally published on March 30, 2010 during my third Big Trip around Southeast Asia. Sitting with J at 7 o’clock at night and gorging on delicious pizza pretty much erased memories of the entire day sightseeing in Vientiane, which was a very good thing. During the day we had some unfortunate experiences, including an expensive [...]

Originally published April 12, 2010 during my third Big Trip I’ve just been grifted. In Saigon. I was thinking of writing my blog entry on the train ride and my impressions of the city, but no, I don’t care about that any more. I’ve been grifted. I don’t think many people can say that. I’ve [...]

Nha Trang is on Vietnam’s central coast and is beach-rific. I arrived on April 7 at 8 a.m. after a very early start in Hanoi and a bumpy take-off with Vietnam Airlines. The weather is hot and the sun very bright. Right away, I found a hotel right near the beach, thankfully with air conditioning. [...]

My impression of the Vietnamese people who work in the tourism industry is like my impression of those in North India (see Delhi scam stories from first blog). They like to share falsehoods rather than that rare traveler gem – the truth. As in, “What will the weather be like at Halong Bay?” “Sunny and [...]

Luang Prabang is quiet, quaint and polite. It’s the well-traveled librarian older sister of party girl Vang Vieng and loyal, happy Vientiane. Luang Prabang is on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Song rivers, which stretch throughout Indochina. It’s spotted with Wats (temples) that are hundreds of years old and [...]

J and I actually considered NOT going tubing on the Nam Song river after our Bucket o’fun night out in Vang Vieng. We actually tossed around ideas, between our two twin beds at the Orchid hotel, of staying in, having a massage, and nursing our hangovers. But no! We were in Vang Vieng, the town [...]

Lonely Planet screams warnings about not buying “scam bus trips” from Bangkok’s Khoa San Road to Siem Reap. Duly warned, I went to the Internet to find exactly how to get to Siem Reap and The Blog Travelfish.org published a helpful article detailing how to make the trip using public transportation and by-foot border crossings. [...]