Beach Blanket Java
Having discovered in Bali that Dorothy is actually a mermaid, it became incumbent upon us to make sure she stayed moist. Apparently, a couple of weeks is as long as she can go out of…
Temples & Textiles
Once again, fabric beckoned. After our visit to Tenganan to see their double ikat geringsing, we planned a visit to Sidemen to see songket brocades being made. The Besakih Temple was close enough to Sidemen…
Day Tripper
As lovely as it is to bob in the water, you just knew we couldn’t go a full month with nothing but ocean for entertainment. To what I’m sure will be absolutely no one’s surprise,…
They Call Him Flipper…
I’m of two minds regarding writing about snorkeling. On the one hand, swimming with the fishes is objectively amazing. It’s as close to visiting another planet as we’ll get. Maybe not you. You’re young. But…
Splish Splash
While many of our trips have been focused almost exclusively on culture, we’ve been careful on our Southeast Asia tour to make sure we visit places with natural splendor. And water. I think we’re both…
Hill Country
After our visit to Cát Bà and Hạ Long Bay, we took one more excursion from Hà Nội. We visited the mountainous northern region of Sa Pa, home to the Mountain Hmong, with a side…
Cát Bà: So Long, Hạ Long Bay
You know Hạ Long Bay. Maybe not by name, but by iconic representation. It’s like Bayon Temple in Cambodia. The name probably causes a puzzled look, but once you see a picture of those massive…
Kompong Khleang – An Aquatic Time Capsule
Tonlé Sap lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. It is renowned for its biodiversity, having been named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997, and is ridiculously productive, providing a full 60%…
DTour To AgriCulture
Chicago’s most obvious benefits are Chicago-centric: museums, galleries, restaurants, neighborhoods… The less obvious benefits are regional. Chicago is hard by a ton of really interesting places and beautiful sights. The Indiana Dunes are an hour…
Essaouira, Land of Many Vowels
Don’t get me wrong. We love Marrakech. But we don’t love everything about Marrakech. It feels like Morocco is on a ton of people’s bucket lists, and Marrakech is at the top of the bucket. It’s also easily accessible…