Of course, you will find many of the same foods we highlighted on the Foods in Istanbul, Turkey page, but one of the local specialties is...

Meat. Borek. Kabab. Fish. Manti. Turkish Delight. Coffee. Baklava. Let's go!! Pandeli Restaurant Pandeli Restaurant is just inside the...

We chose a visit to Ha Giang because we had read that Sapa was very touristy. We greatly enjoyed our time in Ha Giang. It had amazing hiking, wonderful weather, interesting homestays with ethnic minorities, and new foods at roadside stands. The best shopping I had was at our first homestay. We had a private guide and driver for our trip. We used YESD (Youth Employment and Society Development): https://yesd.org/ . We found this organization in our quest to volunteer while in V

Herring We love herring. If you like fish you should certainly eat it here. We don’t have any particular spots to recommend. Whichever...

Sanjocho Neighborhood We mostly explored food and necessities in Sanjocho (google map location), but there are also many clothing,...

Running in Kyoto There are two places in central Kyoto that I found good for running: the grounds of the Imperial Palace (aka...

Neighborhoods in Kyoto One of our long-term ideas is to spend 1-3 months a year in Japan – we love the food, culture and lifestyle. So,...

Arashiyama Arashiyama is a region of west Kyoto with many temples, shrines and other attractions. It’s a great day trip from central...

Tokyo Running Like any big city, Tokyo has its ups and downs when it comes to running. It’s hard to run in any city unless it’s very...

Vietnam – The Basics Want to know the basics like how to cross the street, make a call, or find local currency? We’ve got you covered. Posts on Vietnam : Hanoi: Things to Do , Food , Markets/Shopping Hoi An: Things to Do , Food (Hoi An and Hue), Markets/Shopping Ninh Binh Ha Giang Lan Ha Bay/Halong Bay Hotels in Vietnam Running in Vietnam Sim cards Most websites recommend Viettel first, then Mobifone or Vinaphone. TLDR: buy the cheapest, most convenient or best da

Thailand – The Basics Thailand in a nutshell – the old and the new side-by-side Posts on Thailand: Things to Do in Chiang Mai, Food in...

Running in Thailand Like the rest of Southeast Asia, it is hot year-round in Thailand. Even Chiang Mai, in the winter, is still much...

Running in Vietnam It is hot year-round in Vietnam – the lows when we were there were 23-25 oC and humid. I decided our 6-week trip to...

7 Things to do in and around Hoi An Day trips and local finds for you! 1. Hoi An Old Town – shopping, exploring, biking. Your hotel will...

Hoi An, Vietnam Shopping (with prices) Hoi An is a resort town. Like resort towns elsewhere in the world, it comes with resort prices....

Food in Chiang Mai, Thailand Like everywhere else in Southeast Asia that we visited, Chiang Mai has great food on practically every...

12 Things to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand Monk Chats, Doi Inthanon, Cham Cha Market, Visit Temples, Saturday and Sunday Walking Streets,...

Lan Ha Bay/Halong Bay Cruising, Vietnam TLDR: Halong Bay/Lan Ha Bay really live up to their reputation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. ...

Shopping and Markets in Hanoi, Vietnam (with prices) A good way to start shopping is to look online for prices (when you are in Vietnam). For example, I googled “North Face men’s pants” and the local vendors pop up first (thanks Google search engine). I find the best price and take a screenshot so that if I’m tired of bargaining or just need to remember the right price range I can pull it up. Showing a shop owner the price I can order it for online worked every time to secur

Our daughter wanted to improve her Spanish language before college started. She had her eye on an immersion program in the US. For the...