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Hiking Teapot Mountain in Taiwan

Hiking Teapot Mountain was a fantastic experience. This hike would end up being our favorite in Taiwan as it had all of our favorite elements: stunning scenery, rock scrambles, steep ascents that required basic rock climbing skills, and an almost deserted trail. We saw hardly anyone else on this hike leaving us to wonder where […]

Taipei, Taiwan in Photos

Our introduction to Taiwan was its largest city, Taipei. We spent five awesome days here. There is so much to do, with night markets to explore, Taipei 101 to climb, so many wonderful restaurants to choose from, and tons of day trips to take. This was yet another city that we all really liked. National […]

A Typical Day for the Earth Trekkers

Recently, I have gotten a lot of questions about what a typical day is like for us. That is a little difficult to answer, as no day is ever the same. Having every day be different is one of the things that makes travel so exciting. Note: This post was written in 2015 during our […]

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 […]

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 […]

Walking on the Great Wall of China

On March 2015 my family and I visited the Great Wall of China. We had a week to spend in Beijing and the main thing we wanted to do here was to walk on the Great Wall. (This post was written by Kara). We visited the Great Wall of China twice. The first time we […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]