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
Finding Paradise in Vietnam: Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
Six Senses Ninh Van Bay is a beach getaway destination for the rich and famous and is Vietnam’s most exclusive resort, being accessible only by boat. Six Senses Ninh Van Bay is situated north of Nha Trang on a calm bay with a golden sand beach and surrounded by tall boulder-strewn mountains. A total of 58 personal luxury villas are nestled along the beach, hilltops, and rock formations, each coming with a private plunge pool and butler service. Guests come here looking for privacy, relaxation, tranquility, and luxury. On our recent trip to Vietnam, we had the very exciting opportunity to spend a night at the Six Senses Ninh Van Bay and experience this exclusive resort for ourselves. We’ll share all the details and photos of our stay and tell you how you can arrange your own luxury stay at this little piece of paradise. Even if this is out of… Read the rest
Fresh Fish for Breakfast: Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul
On our first full day in Korea, we made a morning visit to the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul. Its official name is Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is Seoul’s oldest and largest indoor seafood market, housing over 700 vendors with fish brought in daily from fishing ports all over Korea. Throughout the day, you can find on display hundreds of edible underwater critters from sea cucumbers to sea bass, including every possible type of seafood of Korean origin as well as plenty of imported seafood. While it attracts plenty of tourists, this is a real wholesale fish market with hundreds of serious buyers and sellers conducting business throughout the day. The major transactions happen in the early morning at the wholesale auctions, which begin around 1:00am and are generally over by dawn. Yes, you have to get up real early… Read the rest
Afternoon Tea in Ho Chi Minh City: Taking a Break at the Caravelle Saigon Hotel
If you are planning a trip to Vietnam, you may not be thinking about places to go for afternoon tea in Ho Chi Minh City. For most people, Vietnam does not conjure up images of high tea, but you’ll be surprised by how many of the old grand hotels—and some of the shiny new ones—are offering up some pretty fantastic afternoon tea menus. We found afternoon tea to be a much-needed respite from the heat, the crazy motorbike traffic, and the hustle and bustle of this clearly booming city. One of the grande dames of old Saigon, the Caravelle Saigon hotel, had just recently revamped their afternoon tea menus about a month prior to our trip, and we just had to stop by and have tea here. The Caravelle Saigon hotel now offers three tea menus—Traditional English, Vegetarian, and Vietnamese—and yes, after not being able to decide, we just had… Read the rest
Five Ways to Enjoy the Traditional Hanok Houses in Seoul South Korea
During our recent trip to South Korea, we fell in love with the look of the traditional hanok houses in Seoul. These traditional Korean houses are built in a specific architectural style designed to maintain balance with the surrounding environment (mountains, lakes, space, land contours) and are constructed using elements such as long curved roofs and alternating ondol and maru flooring that help keep the home warm in the winters and cool in the summers. Once built primarily for the ruling class during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), these simple homes were later associated with lower class families who could not afford more modern housing. Many were torn down or left to decay as most city-dwelling Koreans moved to high-rise apartment complexes. Recently, hanok houses have become very trendy as not only are they historical and beautiful, they are also very eco-friendly and sustainable using natural building materials (wood, clay, paper, stone)… Read the rest
Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh: Staying in Jacqueline Kennedy’s Suite
If you are looking for a luxury hotel in Phnom Penh Cambodia, you do not need to look further than Raffles Hotel Le Royal. Not only does Hotel Le Royal provide all the services and amenities you’d associate with a modern luxury hotel, but it is also a historical landmark, having welcomed royalty, writers, dignitaries, journalists, and discerning travelers since 1929. Between 1970 and 1975 many journalists working in Phnom Penh stayed here prior to being forced to evacuate by the Khmer Rouge, and part of the film The Killing Fields about real-life Cambodian photojournalist Dith Pran and American journalist Sydney Schanberg was set in the hotel. Built during French colonialism, the hotel is a mix of French, Khmer, and Art Deco styles with dramatic black and white tiles, a grand teak staircase, high ceilings, and claw foot bathtubs. Setting foot in this hotel is a bit like stepping back in time as the original look of the… Read the rest
Our Search for a Cat Cafe in Seoul South Korea
While in South Korea last week, we visited our first cat café in Seoul. Cat cafés first gained popularity in Japan (although according to Wikipedia the first was opened in Taiwan in 1998) and then spread across Asia. They are now starting to spring up in Europe and other places. These are essentially normal coffee or tea shops, with the exception that they contain a number of cats (typically 10 to 30) that patrons are allowed to pet and play with during their stay. So the price of your latte generally includes as much cat watching and loving as you wish, although in some cafés you have to pay by the hour. The intended purpose of these cafés is to let people who are not allowed to have cats or dogs in their apartments, dorms, or homes come spend some quality time with some furry critters while sipping some coffee. It is… Read the rest
Best Restaurants in Paris for Lunch: Save Money on Michelin Starred Restaurants in Paris
Paris is one of those cities that encourages you to splurge, whether it be on fashion, fine art, or good food. Given all the Michelin starred restaurants in Paris, we typically splurge on one great meal on each trip to this great city. We have found that one way to save money and still sample some of the best restaurants in Paris, is to avoid dinner time prices and go for a fabulous lunch instead. Many of the best restaurants in Paris offer great gourmet prix fixe lunches for half the price of their dinner menus. Now, none of these lunches come with a price tag that may be acceptable for budget travelers, but this can be a great way for those with a more moderate budget to enjoy a three-star meal. We’ll give you a list of some of our picks for best lunches from Michelin starred Paris restaurants, tell… Read the rest
indeegear: Unique Collectible Travel Accessories
Looking for a unique travel accessory? I was really excited when I first heard about the indeegear luggage belt sleeves on Twitter, and am pleased to now have the opportunity to review these unique travel accessories. The sleeves provide an innovative and creative way to not only make your luggage stand out, but they can also serve as fun collectible souvenirs of your travels. The travel sleeves remind me of a fabulous mix between charm bracelets and those old-fashioned travel labels that are evocative of luxurious steam ship and train travel from the Golden Age of Travel. Adding these individually designed embroidered sleeves to your suitcase, camera case, laptop bag, or backpack is a great way to make a statement and express your individuality. Keep reading for our full review of indeegear luggage belt sleeves, an exclusive reader-only discount code, and even the chance to win a travel sleeve yourself!… Read the rest
Top 10 Things to Do in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco CA
For such a compact and populated city, San Francisco sports a number of green spaces, including the famous Golden Gate Park. Most visitors are surprised by the sheer size of Golden Gate Park, which is 20% larger than New York City’s Central Park, consisting of over 1,017 acres of land. Golden Gate Park is the city’s lungs and is more than just a giant patch of grass destined for picnics and frisbees. Where else can you see great art, ride a carousel, row a boat, observe American bison, stand in a Chinese pavilion, smell exotic flowers, and sip Japanese tea all in one day? Spending a day in Golden Gate Park is easy, but given all the options, choosing what to do can be difficult! We’ll tell you why a visit to San Francisco should include a visit to this sprawling green space and share 10 things you might consider… Read the rest
The Tiny Town of Beilstein Germany: The Sleeping Beauty Along the Mosel River
Beilstein Germany is a tiny town sitting along the peaceful Moselle River (a.k.a. Mosel River in English). Beginning in France, the Moselle River enters Germany near Trier and meanders to Koblenz where it flows into the mighty Rhine River. While not nearly as popular as the Rhine Valley, the Moselle River Valley is a delightful place to visit as both sides of the river are dotted with castles, vineyards, and cute little villages. We sadly only had two days to explore this area, and we chose to stay in Beilstein, known as the “Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle” because of its historic inaccessibility and beautiful setting. We’ll tell you about our explorations in Beilstein, share some tips on getting there, and give you some pros and cons of staying there versus the picturesque and popular Moselle town of Cochem. We’ll also provide a list of accommodation options in both Beilstein… Read the rest
Travel History: Marco Polo, the World’s First Great Travel Writer?
The Italian Marco Polo is probably the world’s most famous traveler and one of the world’s first travel writers. The famous Venetian is believed to have left Venice at age 17 to embark on a 24-year journey through the Persian Gulf and Asia, spending much of this time in China in the court of the great Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Polo’s book, Description of the World, offered one of the first detailed descriptions of the then mysterious eastern cultures to Europeans and would even inspire Christopher Columbus. The world that Polo described seemed quite strange and unbelievable to most readers, and even today many historians question the veracity of many of his stories. Some historians even doubt whether Marco Polo existed at all. Intrigued? I was very interested in learning more about this famous man and will share what I found during my research about the man, his amazing travels,… Read the rest
Travel Blogging with a Purpose: A Need to Give Back
For those of you lucky enough to be able to travel frequently, do you ever feel a need to give back? We enjoy travel blogging and our blog is mainly focused on dispensing travel tips, advice, and stores from our travels around the world. However, we also feel a need to try to give back to the world. I just realized this week that while we have posted a page about our upcoming charity travel efforts and mentioned them in a couple of guest posts, we have not really discussed them in any of our own blog posts. So I thought we’d take the opportunity to share our upcoming summer plans to help support a charity and test our fitness by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. While we are heading to Asia (S. Korea, Cambodia, & Vietnam) for the first time in four weeks; our planning has been slow as… Read the rest
A Visit to Grasse France: Creating My Own Perfume
Grasse France might be the sweetest smelling city in Europe, widely known as the perfume capital of the world. Known for its leather tanning work in the Middle Ages, this hilly French town would eventually become the center of the French perfume industry after it began manufacturing perfumed gloves in the 16th century and farming a number of flowers used for fragrances. Grasse still enjoys an international reputation in the perfume industry and is the home of dozens of fragrance companies. Even the flowers used for making the world-famous Chanel N°5 are grown and harvested here. In addition to the perfume industry, Grasse also provides travelers a break from the crowded Riviera coastal towns and offers a glimpse of the real Riviera away from the tourist route. We spent a full day and night in Grasse and we’ll share what you need to know to plan your own trip to… Read the rest