These colorful handwoven Turkish hammam towels from sorbet ltd have us dreaming of Turkey! Ethan and I have been thinking about visiting Turkey within the next year and we were very delighted to have the opportunity to review a set of sorbet-colored hammam towel hand-woven in rural Turkey. These towels, also called peshtemal towels, have a long and important history in Turkish social life and have been worn as clothing, used in ceremonial bathing of brides to be, and today are mainly associated with their use in traditional Turkish baths or hammams. Recently, Turkish hammam towels have also been popping up on beaches, pool lounge chairs, yachts, and in travelers’ suitcases as these towels are not only beautiful but lightweight, quick-drying, and made of natural absorbent fibers. We’ve used ours mainly as beach towels on our travels, and we’ll share our review with you of our experience with these towels. Review… Read the rest
Archives for June 2014
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi: A Historic Hotel in Vietnam’s Capital
The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi serves the dual role of being both a historical landmark and a luxury hotel. Opened in 1901 by two French investors, the French colonial-style hotel soon became one of Southeast Asia’s most iconic hotels and today is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Vietnam, This grande dame has not rested on her legendary laurels but continues to modernize and innovate, undergoing massive renovations over the past few decades, including the opening of an award-winning spa in 2009. Honored to be the first Sofitel Legend property (only a handful of Sofitel properties carry this distinction), the hotel offers three restaurants, three bars, seven function rooms, an exclusive Club Lounge, a heated swimming pool, a health club, and the luxurious Le Spa du Metropole. A unique offering by the hotel is a daily guided Path of History tour that provides guests with not only an opportunity to learn more about the hotel’s history… Read the rest
Up at 4am: Early Morning Adventures in Hanoi Vietnam
One morning while in Hanoi Vietnam, we got up before 4:00am to go on an early morning city tour. Crazy, right?! Now, we are not early morning people by any means, but we trusted our guide and reluctantly got ourselves out of our comfortable beds to explore Hanoi at 4:00am. We are so glad we did as there are things that you only have the opportunity to experience early in the morning in Hanoi and few tourists venture out at these hours. We explored chaotic early morning markets, witnessed the changing of the honor guards ceremony, joined the local early risers for tai chi at Hoan Kiem Lake, searched for a magic turtle, and had breakfast with the locals in the Old Quarter. All that before 8:00am! Interested? We’ll give you a list of places in Hanoi Vietnam you might want to visit on a morning venture of your own and… Read the rest
Travel Advice: A Guide to Passport Photos and Visa Photos
Recently we’ve been needing to apply for several international visas for travel in Asia and Africa, which means we’ve been filling out application paperwork for each country and obtaining a lot of visa photos. Even though biometric passport and visa photos are just simple digital photos, most people have them taken professionally because they need to meet the country-specific requirements of the destination and in the case of passport photos, may be accompanying a person for a full 10 years. Ethan and I have each needed almost a dozen visa photos over the past several months, and we became very frustrated with the cost of passport and visa photos at our local drugstores. After paying almost $50 for 8 photos (ridiculous!), we started researching the various places where we could get visa photos taken and exploring the do-it-yourself options where you can take and print your own photos. After our research, we have… Read the rest
Exploring Vietnam: A Hoi An Day Trip
Hoi An is a postcard perfect historic riverside town that has been carefully preserved so that the Old Town looks as it did centuries ago; however, the town is hugely popular and the crowds might have you searching for some Hoi An day trip destinations. Hoi An is certainly a gem but we were feeling a bit claustrophobic in this UNESCO heritage town after a couple of days, so we decided to spend a day exploring the nearby area. We booked a day tour through eOasia which is an online booking website that consolidates local tours and activities in more than 12 different countries in Asia. The tour we chose included the temples at My Son, a local market, a local pottery village, and a relaxing cooking cruise along the Thu Bon River; however, there are also several other worthwhile day trip destinations in the area. We’ll give you some… Read the rest
Enjoy your Beach Vacation in Style with UjENA Swimwear Swimsuits
Like many women, I have struggled to find a swimsuit that fits me well. Several years ago, I spent one entire summer going through stores’ swimwear racks trying to find a one-piece swimsuit that would fit me. I finally gave up as they were all too long for me or just didn’t fit my body properly. However, when packing for our recent trip to Southeast Asia, I wanted to have a swimsuit that would allow me to move around a bit more and would be more conservative than my bikini. So I decided to give my search for a one-piece swimsuit another try, but I started my search online this time. An online search brought me to UjENA Swimwear. UjENA offers a large array of swimwear, including custom swimsuits and an exclusive size assurance policy. The family-owned brand sells and ships swimwear internationally, but all swimwear is manufactured in the… Read the rest