Hong Kong is an amazing city and one of our favorites so far. It is hard to beat this skyline…a forest of skyscrapers with a backdrop of mountains. The view of the city from Victoria Peak is hard to beat. With four days we were able to tour part of the city as well as take day trips to Disneyland …
China Travel Tips: Things To Know Before Traveling to China
Traveling through China can be a very rewarding experience but it does come with its share of challenges. With the right expectations and a little preparation (such as reading our China travel tips), a visit to China can be an amazing experience. Many people travel here on a tour, eliminating the challenges of arranging itineraries, transportation, hotels, and meals. As …
Photo Tour of Shanghai
We spent several days exploring Shanghai while on our trip around the world. For part of our visit to China, we were joined by my mother, Kathy, and Tim’s mother, Valerie. While traveling, most of the time we feel like we fit in with our wardrobe. Traveling with only five shirts and several pairs of pants really limits the types …
The Best of Beijing, China
We had one wonderful week to spend in the city of Beijing, China. For us, this was the perfect amount of time to visit Beijing’s main sights, pay two awesome visits to the Great Wall of China, and have some quiet time at our hotel at the end of the day. Our mothers joined us here, and from Beijing, Kathy …
Hiking Jiankou to Mutianyu on the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China…one of the world’s most iconic sights and one of the top ten things to do on many traveler’s bucket lists. We couldn’t visit China without seeing this amazing place. It was so amazing that we actually visited the Great Wall twice. Our first visit was to the restored section at Mutianyu. Several days later we hiked …
Photo Tour of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Zhangjiajie, China…a place you may never have heard of but have seen if you watched the movie “Avatar.” When we learned that there was a place on earth that served as the inspiration for one of its most scenic landscapes, we put it at the top of our list. Zhangjiajie…the Inspiration for the Landscape in “Avatar” This place is Zhangjiajie, …
Not Your Typical Market Tour in Zhangjiajie, China
The city of Zhangjiajie was not what Tim and I were expecting. For some reason, we pictured Zhangjiajie to be a quaint, scenic town, with small shops and restaurants, nestled at the foot of some of the world’s most unique scenery. We arrived by train, and instead of a small town we entered a large city, complete with numerous high …
Cycling the Li River Valley from Xingping, China
This is what draws people from around the world to Yangshuo, China: the towering, leafy limestone peaks along the Li River. Yes, we loved Yangshuo, but it is great to get out into the surrounding countryside for at least a day if your schedule allows. We chose to visit the small town of Xingping, located just a half an hour …
Kung Fu, Calligraphy, and Exploring Yangshuo, China
Our adventures in China continue with an amazing visit to the town of Yangshuo. When you see paintings and artwork of China, this is the area used so frequently. Bumpy limestone mountains, fishing boats and bamboo rafts drifting along the Li River, small villages located in the valleys, this is a beautiful part of China. Arriving in Yangshuo We were …
First Impressions of China
We are finally in China and so happy to be here. China has been one of our most anticipated destinations of our one year trip around the world and it has been on Kara’s must see list for a long time. So far, we have been in China for less than a week and it is everything we expected and …
Taking the Bus from Hanoi to Nanning
To enter China from Vietnam, we chose to travel overland by taking the bus from Hanoi to Nanning. By traveling overland we saved the huge expense of airplane travel and we got to see parts of Vietnam and China that many travelers miss. Taking the Bus from Hanoi to Nanning Hanoi to the Border There are two buses that take …
Three Days on Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
The grand finale of our tour of Vietnam was a three day cruise on Ha Long Bay with Galaxy Cruise Lines. Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam’s most famous sights…thousands of small limestone mountains filling the bay, not far from the South China Sea. This is a popular tourist sight and another UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting thousands of …
Should I Travel to Vietnam During Tet?
Our family spent almost one month in Vietnam, giving us plenty of time to watch as the Vietnamese people celebrated their most important holiday, Tet. Tet is the Lunar New Year for Vietnam and falls on the same day as the Chinese New Year. For the Vietnamese, Tet is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve all rolled up in one. …
A Photojourney Through the Old Quarter of Hanoi
We spent a week in Hanoi during the middle of February, giving us plenty of time to get to know this city. Everyday we took a walk through the area, exploring the backstreets, watching people prepare and then celebrate Tet, the Lunar New Year. We walked on the train tracks, went shopping in the markets, and loved walking around Hoan …
What Traveling Through Asia Has Taught Us
We have now been traveling through Asia for over five months and still have several more to go. It has been quite the learning experience for our family…new foods, new cultures, lots of history to learn about. Most of it has been a wonderful experience although we have had a few difficulties along the way, just to keep things interesting. …
Wishing We Had More Time in Hoi An
I had read that Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s best destinations, but I had no idea how much we all would love it here. There is something in Hoi An for everyone…a quaint, old town perfect for strolling, shopping, and dining, awesome beaches for the kids, and a perfect mix of countryside and villages to be explored by motorbike. …
Da Nang, Vietnam. This Place Took us By Surprise
Da Nang, this small city in Vietnam, is located at the midpoint of the country, right on the ocean. Tour books don’t highlight this city as a worthwhile place to visit so I was planning on skipping right over it while in Vietnam. During our time in Hoi An, we visited Da Nang more than once, and we quickly learned …
Two Days in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city. It is located in the southern portion of the country, not far from the Mekong Delta. This city was called Saigon until 1976, when the name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Many local people here prefer the name Saigon over Ho Chi Minh …
A Day on the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
A trip to Vietnam would not be complete without a trip to the Mekong Delta. This is iconic Vietnam…flat fields of rice fields as far as the eye can see, wooden houses on stilts located along the river’s edge, men and women in small boats, selling their produce. I was so excited to get a glimpse of this Vietnamese way …
Our Experience on Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam
Our introduction to Vietnam was a quick visit to the tropical island of Phu Quoc. The four of us spent two days, three nights here, which would have been just enough time to enjoy the beaches and do a little sightseeing. Unfortunately, we hardly did anything here. I was just recovering from a nice case of food poisoning, a Cambodian …