12FOOT3

Wadi Rum: Across Sand Dunes and Cultures

Hope — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:38:54 +0000

The kid driving us through the desert is 16 years old, and he’s a veteran 5 year smoker. He has 10 brothers and sisters, from his dad’s two wives. Like most of the rest of the world, he likes Obama, but not George Bush. And he makes a mean cup of sweet Jordanian tea. Hussein is [...]

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Petra: A great place to turn 38

Hope — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:39:03 +0000

One of the best unanticipated benefits of extended travel is spending major milestones in special places: anniversaries, holidays, and of course, birthdays. We spent my birthday drinking rice wine with members of a Sapa hill tribe after a 24 km hike through the Vietnamese mountains. Six months later, we were walking through a candlelit gorge [...]

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Madaba & the Dead Sea: Concrete, Mosaics, and Salt…lots and lots of Salt

Hope — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:12:25 +0000

It’s ON. The Middle East portion of our trip, that is. Sure, our last destination, Turkey, has a strong Muslim culture, but it’s tempered by both European and Asian influences. Landing at the Amman airport, we saw men sneak off to the bathroom to change from Western suits into traditional thawb (an ankle-length white dress [...]

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Turkey Photos

Hope & Jeremy — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:59:44 +0000

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Turkey Recap: The Land of Awesome

Hope — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:47:59 +0000

I’ve been trying to find words that can capture the incredible affection we’ve developed for Turkey, and I’m afraid that nothing I write can adequately describe how amazing this place is. Like our three other favorite countries (New Zealand, Taiwan, and Japan), Turkey feels magical somehow. Maybe it’s the jaw-dropping...

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Traveling in Turkey during Ramazan

Hope — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:05:43 +0000

You may know it as Ramadan, but it's Ramazan to the Turks. Ramazan is the Islamic holy fasting month, when Muslims refrain from eating, drinking (even water), chewing gum, and smoking during daylight hours. It's meant to remind Muslims of the difficulties the less fortunate face, and to teach compassion and charity.

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Van: Where we get taught a lesson in Turkish hospitality

Hope — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:45:47 +0000

There comes a time in every travel blogger’s life where you fall behind on your blog (four months in our case). And there comes a time when something so unexpected happens—something so amazing that it manages to infuse your cynical spirit with pure faith in the goodness of this world—that you feel like you can’t [...]

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Ani & Kars: Blasé Busters!

Hope — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:07:19 +0000

As an around-the-world traveler, you tend to hear a lot of the same questions: What are your favorite countries? How much does a trip like this cost? Where do you do your laundry? But every once in a while, you’ll get a query that really stops and makes you think. Do you become blasé about [...]

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Ayder: Drama in the Kaçkar Mountains

Hope — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:31:20 +0000

If you’ve been following along, you know by now that Turkey has got it all: a wandering coastline bordering lucid blue waters, a cosmopolitan city wrapped around a chewy historical center, snowy white rock springs so lovely that visitors are moved to strip down to their Speedos (in a Muslim country no less), and a [...]

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Cappadocia, Dude

Hope — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:21:52 +0000

It’s not often that party banter will bring you half way around the world. Before we left on our trip, we met a California surfer at a party, and after finding out he had been to Turkey several times, we asked the obvious question: “What we shouldn’t miss in Turkey?” His answer: “Cappadocia, dude.” Even with...

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The Turkish Mediterranean (Patara, Kaş, & Antalya): “In like milk, out like rosé”

Hope — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:25:24 +0000

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Mediterranean?” Heat. Blue. Yachts. Olives. And…Turkey? Yup, Turkey shares that same incredible blue sea…the same glorious shining sun…that same fresh, delicious cuisine…and all at about a quarter the price of those Western European countries. When we were in Istanbul,...

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Pamukkale and Hierapolis: Making you feel sorry for Russians in Speedos since 2009

Hope — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:49:06 +0000

Note: This post is dedicated to Sharon, who showed us incredible photos of Pamukkale waaay back in August of 2008. They were so incredible, in fact, that we said, “Holy crap! We have to go there!” OK, remember that thing I said about us not being “ruins people”? I take that back. It turns out that [...]

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Selçuk and Ephesus: Doin’ the Ruins

Hope — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:54:36 +0000

Selçuk is a very common stop on the Turkish backpacker route and it’s not hard to see why: it’s located on the Aegean but it’s pretty much the midpoint between Istanbul and the Mediterranean coast (located 9 hours from Istanbul and about the same from Fethiye), and it boasts some of the best-preserved Greco-Roman ruins [...]

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I know, we’re lagging!

Hope — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:03:49 +0000

…but we fly back to the US in a week and we’re busy eating up every last morsel of our travel pie. So, this means postings might be light in the next week as we hike our way through Patagonia. If you want to know exactly where we’re headed in the next 7 days (and [...]

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Istanbul: Kebap with a side of Humble Pie

Hope — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:38:52 +0000

Ask any traveler about their experiences abroad and you’ll invariably get responses citing the opening of eyes, hearts, or minds. Travel IS the process of opening—exposing yourself to the influence of The Other, seeing great beauty through the eyes of another, and allowing yourself to be altered irreversibly by it. Talk about great beauty!...

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Another Thanksgiving without Turkey (but with thanks!)

Hope — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:44:01 +0000

Last year, we were in New Zealand looking forward to the year ahead. This year, we’re in Buenos Aires (with Martina!), immensely thankful for the year we were given. We are thankful for this experience, we are thankful for our friends and family that supported us throughout this trip, we are thankful for the technology that [...]

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Istanbul: Three years of of art school training out the window

Hope — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:20:47 +0000

After 3 years of art school and 2 years working at a boutique graphic design studio, there is one rule that emerges: a rule so highly regarded in the industry that ignoring it would be like asking Thomas Keller to pair his fine steak with Two Buck Chuck. That rule is: OBEY THE WHITE SPACE. Any accomplished [...]

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Turkey Landing: Istanbul hostel reminds us of the value of a good night’s sleep

Hope — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:14:23 +0000

12FOOT3 POP QUIZ Q. Turkey is: A. amazing B. magical C. some synonym for “amazing” or “magical” D. all of the above If you answered “D”, then you agree with 99.99% of the people we encountered before and during our trip. To put it mildly, Turkey was hyped. And despite our attempts to stifle our excitement...

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Map Pimpified

Hope — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:46:33 +0000

Once again, we’ve updated our map! Gone is the dumb timeline thingy—Jeremy has replaced it with a much more user-friendly list, including information on our dates and length of stay, as well as links to our blog posts and photos (on Flickr) from each destination. If you don’t see blog and photo links for a [...]

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Ireland Photos

Hope — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:24:47 +0000

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Ireland Recap: Pubs + Music + Guinness = A winning combination

Hope — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:49:00 +0000

We were totally charmed by Ireland, but for very different reasons than we expected. We thought we would be taken by the Irish landscape—Jeremy loves himself some rolling hills dotted with sheep—but it turns out we were even more taken by the feel of the place. We loved the strong musical culture. We loved the [...]

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Dublin: A 2:30AM Wakeup Call, Followed by a 4AM Wakeup call, Followed by…

Hope — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:07:10 +0000

I finally started drifting off about 1:30AM, after another night gathered around delicious Guinness pints with our friends Chi-Chi, Conall, and Mariam. A bunch of random musicians had gathered in the pub to spontaneously play some tunes for the benefit of the pub’s patrons, and their music still played in the back of my mind [...]

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Dublin Day Trip: Howth Cliff Walk

Hope — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:33:52 +0000

We arrived in Dublin a day before we were to meet our friends Conall, Mariam, and Chi-Chi, so J and I decided to get out of town and head up to the Howth peninsula (about 9 miles north of Dublin) for its famous cliff walk. It seems we got a cosmic payback after all those [...]

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Galway & County Clare: Music to my Eyes

Hope — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:43:16 +0000

As a visually-oriented person, most memories of the places we’ve traveled come back to me in snapshots: that incredible field of wildflowers near Milford Sound in New Zealand, beautiful children trying to sell us trinkets at the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia, the infinite abyss of ocean off Shirahama in Japan. Despite my visual leanings,...

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Athlone: My Big Fat Irish Boat Christening Party!

Hope — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:08:36 +0000

“So, um, I’m sure you guys aren’t interested, but the day you arrive in Ireland, we’re having a christening party for the boat I just bought. My whole family is going to be there and we’re just going to hang out on the boat and play some music and stuff. No big deal.” Captain Conall on [...]

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UK Photos

Hope — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:07:37 +0000

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UK Recap: A Pleasant Surprise

Hope — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:59:28 +0000

Color me humbled. Here I was thinking the UK wasn’t exotic enough for two around-the-world travelers who just spent 6 months in Asia. But the beauty of cosmopolitan London, the romanticism of the English countryside, and the history and general awesomeness of North Wales did a lot to change my mind. Just goes to show, [...]

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Northern Wales (Conwy and Caernarfon): Where Jeremy’s Inner Child Has All His Wildest Fantasies Realized

Hope — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:48:58 +0000

We all have a little kid inside of us, don’t we? Hey, I’ll admit it: my inner child still loves playing dress-up and eating the heads off of gummy bears. Well, Jeremy showed me exactly what his inner child always dreamed of when, on a whim, we decided to head up to Northern Wales for [...]

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The Cotswolds: Yes, it does get more “English” than Oxford!

Hope — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:57:50 +0000

[ring ring] Cotswolds B&B Keeper: Six-five-zero-seven-seven-three? [Author's note: I spoke to at least three B&B owners in the Cotswolds who answered the phone like this—by reciting their phone number. Weird!] Hope: Hello? Is this Warwick House Bed and Breakfast? CB&BK: Indeed it is. H: I was calling to see if you had any double rooms...

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Oxford: Does it get more “English” than this?!?

Hope — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:58:19 +0000

After 10 days in London, we rented a car to explore the English and Welsh countryside. First stop: Oxford, where our friends Nas and Jen (who we know through Grace and Susan), agreed to host us for the evening, which was very generous, considering they have a (very cute) 9-month-old (Nya) to run around after! I’m [...]

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London (Part 2): City of Diversity

Hope — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:38:44 +0000

I was mistaken when I thought that London wasn’t exotic enough. Though after 6 months in Asia, I suppose even white bread and vanilla ice cream can seem like curiosities. I just couldn’t get over the diversity—Europeans, Africans, Russians, people from the Middle East…all of them rushing around in this busy city. One of our [...]

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London Calling (Part 1): A shaky start

Hope — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:51:30 +0000

I didn’t want to go to London. Can this photo scream “London” any louder? It’s not that I wasn’t interested—I’ve never been there (Jeremy has) and I was curious about the place, but just not now. I didn’t feel like it was very exotic—the UK is a place we could travel with kids later on in life, [...]

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China Photos

Hope & Jeremy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:11:14 +0000

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China Recap: What goes down must come up

Hope — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:59:57 +0000

Oh, the highs and lows of traveling through China! There were definitely some lows (see Qingdao: Confronting Identity in a German Town in China and Yangshuo: Anatomy of a Scam), but the peaks and the valleys seem to flow into one another so that you’re no longer sure what hurts so bad and what hurts [...]

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You say Engrish, I say Chinglish

Hope — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:15:11 +0000

Traveling through China is: Fascinating. At times frustrating. Shocking. Challenging. And funny. Yes, the moments of occasional agony will be broken up by daily chuckles and frequent delight. After the frustration has faded from the mind, one memory will persist: the Chinglish. Chinglish tends to fall into one of three categories; the first being...

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Taishan: 6,660 steps for 60+ more years sounds like a good deal to us

Hope — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:21:16 +0000

Northern China’s answer to Huangshan is Taishan, one of China’s 5 most famous mountains. Tons of famous Chinese people—including Mao Ze Dong and Confucius—have summited this holy Taoist mountain, which, frankly, is no small feat, given that the central route up Taishan is pretty much a sweaty Stairmaster workout of 6,660 steps. It is...

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Qingdao: Confronting Identity in a German Town in China

Hope — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:05:58 +0000

Since Tibet was out as our next destination, where to next? Mongolia? Train tickets were sold out for the entire week. Xinjiang? Tickets also sold out (and thank goodness we didn’t go because the deadly protests in Urumqi broke out a few days later). Here’s how we decided on our next stop: we consulted Weather [...]

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The Decision NOT to go to Tibet: Responsible Travel in China

Hope — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:08:54 +0000

During the second half of our China trip, Jeremy and I planned on visiting Tibet. The landscape, the people, coupled with our increasing interest in Buddhism, meant that this “autonomous region” in Western China held a strong allure for us. But there are realities to travel in Tibet (besides the obvious political ones), and after [...]

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Xian: Melting in the middle of China

Hope — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:27 +0000

I can still remember the first time I heard of the Army of Terra Cotta Warriors: it was in one of my Dad’s 1980’s-era issue of National Geographic. The image of all those soldiers, each one with his own unique facial hair, clothing, and even shoe tread, stayed with me through the years, so I [...]

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Beijing, Part III (The Food!): Duck, duck, dumpling

Hope — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:48:22 +0000

Since I already wrote a book about your typical homestyle Northern Chinese fare when we were in Taiwan, I’m not so much going to explore the What (as in What is good) of Beijing cuisine, but rather, the Where (as in Where we ate). The food in Beijing is the best we had in China [...]

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Beijing, Part II (The People!): Letting it all hang out

Hope — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:15:57 +0000

One thing you have to give the Chinese credit for: they don’t hide anything. Part of it is that so much of their lives are lived outdoors. Just walk around the city, and you’ll see so many little intimate moments that are a part of everyday life around here. A nap in the shade. How many more [...]

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Beijing, Part I (The Sights!): That’s One Capital City

Hope — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:44:16 +0000

Note: There is a LOT to see and do in Beijing. I mean, it’s almost ridiculous. Not only are there incredible modern and historical buildings to tour, but the culture in China’s capital city is rich and full of life. So for this special city, we’ll be taking a different approach. In a 3-part series, [...]

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Beijing Landing: We prepare for everything BUT a pleasant surprise

Hope — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:05:56 +0000

To be clear: It’s not that Jeremy and I were hesitant about returning to China, but I wouldn’t say that we were excited about it either. It’s always a bit of a downer leaving a country you really enjoy, and after our rude transition from magical New Zealand to Australia, we knew we had to [...]

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Japan Photos

Hope & Jeremy — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:24:38 +0000

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Japan Recap: In the Land of Expensive, you get what you pay for

Hope — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:16:10 +0000

If you like your culture with a dash of comfort, or your peace with a little quiet, then Japan is the name of your travel game. Japan felt like an oasis in the middle of crazy, chaotic Asia, and we found a lot of similarities between the culture here and the one we fell in [...]

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Japanese Food: Where I use the word “perfect” 3,487 times in a single post

Hope — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:41:58 +0000

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: Japanese food is amazing. For any foodie whose palette prefers the fresh over the rich and the pleasure of a perfectly ripe vegetable over the heaviness of a cream sauce, Japan is your culinary heaven. (Though they do have some pretty rich dishes too…ramen, I’m looking [...]

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Tokyo (Again): B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Hope — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:01:18 +0000

Traveling around-the-world on around-the-world tickets is a really affordable way to do an extended trip…but what you gain monetarily, you lose in convenience. The main restriction is that traveling overland counts as a leg, and since you’re only allowed 16 legs on your trip, it makes sense to try and fly out of the same [...]

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Maptastic!

Hope — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:37:24 +0000

Hiya! Just a quick note to let you know that we’ve added a couple of features to our map. Now, when you click on a destination on the map or a portion of the timeline, not only will you see a link to all blog posts mentioning that destination (provided I’ve blogged about it), but [...]

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Hida Takayama: R.I.P. Michael Jackson

Hope — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:00:01 +0000

“Hey, did you guys hear the news?” I was sitting in the communal kitchen of Zenkoji temple, another shukubo (temple lodging) where we were laying our heads for a short stay in Takayama, a town near the Japanese Alps. In the kitchen eating breakfast next to me were an American teacher from Connecticut and a young [...]

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Naoshima: Oh the pictures I could have taken here!

Hope — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:44:47 +0000

It’s hard to know what to do after a family member’s death, especially when you’re traveling. It doesn’t feel right to dwell on the event, but it doesn’t feel right to just move on to the next town, either. In this way, I feel like Jeremy and I were blessed to be in Japan during [...]

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Shirahama: Swimming in Grandpa Bob’s Ocean

Hope — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:05:38 +0000

When we told our friends and family that we were going to go through with this 1+ year around-the-world idea, reactions fell all across the spectrum. The great majority of people were supportive, a lot expressed jealousy, but a few seemed concerned. How could we possibly make it a whole year sleeping in a different [...]

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Koyasan: The Way of the Buddha is Not Spoken

Hope — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:20:02 +0000

It’s 6 o’clock in the AM, it’s cold, I’m hungry, and my hips are sore from sitting Indian style for an hour first thing in the morning. Why am I doing this to myself? Because we’re staying at Haryoin Buddhist Temple in Koyasan, a holy mountain retreat area in Japan, and we’ve decided to drag [...]

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Kyoto, Part II: And the Hits Just Keep on Coming…

Hope — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:58:11 +0000

Here’s a convoluted statement for you: there are many reasons why Kyoto is amazing, and one of those reasons is simply because there are so many reasons! To clarify: the variety of things to do and environments to explore in this city is just astonishing. Urban life? Check. Temples? We covered that in the last [...]

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Kyoto, Part I: Be Still, My Beating Heart

Hope — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:23:57 +0000

Picture it: It’s sundown, and Hope and Jeremy are walking down a Hanamikoji, a ridiculously picturesque cobblestone street in Kyoto. The street is lined with tea houses and exclusive restaurants, and all of the buildings are constructed in the traditional Japanese style, with thin wood slats backed by rice paper screens. Hand-dyed noren...

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Tokyo: Tsukiji Fish Market

Hope — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:28:43 +0000

When you think of Japan, you probably think of sushi; and when you think of sushi in Japan you probably think of Tokyo’s famous fish market. In addition to being the world’s largest wholesaler of fish, Tsukiji is a full-on tourist destination, one of the few that actually lives up to the hype. Visiting Tsukiji can [...]

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Tokyo: Peace, Quiet, and Futuristic Toilets

Hope — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:21:07 +0000

One thing that has really delighted us on our travels is the fact that our assumptions about a place have very often been completely wrong (particularly in Asia). We thought Taipei would be dirty and crowded. Wrong—Taipei is a clean, modern city that holds it’s 2 million residents comfortably. We thought China’s streets would still...

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Intro to Japan: Tokyo bestows us with super hero powers

Hope — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:55:21 +0000

We step off the plane in Tokyo, and we discover something extraordinary: we have x-ray vision! At least, that’s what it felt like, seeing the world without smog. It was like someone flipped the switch on our retinas from regular broadcast to HDTV. As we get closer to the city, we discover another super sense: our [...]

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Shanghai and Closing Comments on China Part One

Hope — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:17:03 +0000

Oh Shanghai…sweet, sweet Shanghai. Actually, as a city, we weren’t that fond of Shanghai (more on that later), but we were nonetheless relieved to be back. You see, Shanghai was the final stop on the first leg of our China tour. We had been in the country for almost a month, though it felt like [...]

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Route Map Updated!

Hope — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:56:20 +0000

View as we fly into Beijing from Tokyo. Apologies for the dirty window! Hiya! Just a quick note to let y’alls know that we’ve updated our route map! Our original plan was to fly to Jordan after China, but we just discovered that it’s going to be “capital H” Hot there right now. So we’ve added [...]

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Three Gorges Yangzi River Cruise: Chinese Immersion School

Hope — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:10:42 +0000

“China is kind of gross.” This is what Jeremy said to me after our 64 hours on a Chinese boat followed by 5 hours on a local bus. This is not to say our cruise down the Yangzi River (which, strangely, is actually called Chang Jiang in Mandarin…you’d think it would sound more like “Yangzi”) through [...]

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Chongqing: Duck Tongues, Pig Brains, and some TLC

Hope — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:08:25 +0000

As I mentioned in my previous post about Chongqing, we came here for the boat trip, but we stayed here for the people…my aunt’s peoples, that is. Not only were we set up at my aunt’s sweet apartment (she is currently living in the States with my uncle), but she had at least 3 sets [...]

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Chongqing: Watch out, World…there’s a new kid in town

Hope — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:34:30 +0000

We hightailed it out of Yangshuo and jumped on the overnight train to Chongqing, in Western China. We got on the train at 1PM and arrived in Chongqing the next morning, so we had plenty of daylight hours to enjoy the view…and what a view it was! Guangxi province has an incredible landscape…full of the [...]

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Yangshuo: Anatomy of a Scam

Hope — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:34:04 +0000

J and I are on our own again, and here’s where the story really gets interesting. Not that China wasn’t interesting before…it’s just that we’re now no longer on the 5-star hotel circuit. ‘Nuff said, right? Our next destination was Yangshuo, a town near the city of Guilin in Guangxi province, famous for its karst...

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Dad Wraps Up Our Heartiest Tour* Adventure

Hope — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:57:48 +0000

* Yes, that’s really what our tour was called. In 1986 I went to China to see my grandmother with my mom. My grandma was 90 years old and it had been 38 years since we left China to Taiwan. When I was 2 years old she took care of me for a year at Xi-An [...]

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Xiamen: Time to say goodbye

Hope — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:37:48 +0000

The final stop on our two-week trip through China with my parents was Xiamen, a city located on the southwest coast of Fujian province. Xiamen is a city, but it’s very different from other Chinese cities. First of all, because Xiamen is coastal, the air quality is supposed to be quite good (though it was [...]

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Wuyi Shan: Comin’ round the mountain

Hope — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:21:18 +0000

After saying goodbye to Eddo in Shanghai, we headed off to Wuyi Shan (Wuyi Mountain), in Fujian province. Our introduction to Wuyi Shan was kicked off quite ceremoniously by The Scariest Dinner We’ve Had So Far. We were taken to a restaurant specializing in “local delicacies”, if by “local” you mean...

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NEW Feature! Resources page!

Hope — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:21:25 +0000

We’ve added a Resources page, covering both general travel and country-specific websites that we’ve found to be helpful. Check it out! You can also navigate from the handy menu bar at the top of this page.

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Hangzhou and Suzhou: Look closer

Hope — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:55:09 +0000

Our looooong day in Hangzhou was followed by a much more leisurely morning exploring a floating village called Wu Zhen. The tour group arranged a boat trip through the village for us, which was quite picturesque and relaxing. As we floated down the canal, we saw many old homes that are still inhabited by families [...]

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Hangzhou: One looooong day

Hope — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:23:11 +0000

Next stop on the Meng(hermann) Tour of China…Hangzhou, a large city most famous for its large lake, Xihu (West Lake). We met up with the Frank and the rest of the tour group here, who had already been traveling together for a few days. We got off to a great start—our first meal together was [...]

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Hongcun and Xidi: A glimpse into the China of Yestercentury

Hope — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:54:20 +0000

After two beautiful days spent on Huangshan, we headed down the mountain and drove through Anhui Province’s gorgeous countryside towards two historical villages: Hongcun and Xidi. Though the two villages are clearly set up for tourism now, they still offer a glimpse into how life was once (and, to an extent, still is) lived in [...]

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Huangshan: Eddo Guest Blogs China!

Eddo — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:21:21 +0000

Note: Hey everyone, let’s give a warm welcome to Eddo! My little bro shares his thoughts as the family travels Huangshan…I love that even though this post is about a mountain, he manages to nerd out on urban planning. Kudos, Eddo! As an urban planning nerd/activist, I’ve always been interested in the growth and [...]

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Shanghai in 24 hours

Hope — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:43:31 +0000

After a whirlwind 4 days in Taipei with my parents involving a lot of eating, packing up our stuff and feeling sad, and getting our faces lasered (seriously—me, Momma, and Poppa Meng all had moles removed), the Mengs & Menghermanns boarded a plane for Shanghai! My parents graciously helped organize a tour with Frank, the [...]

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China: It’s a new day

Hope — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:01:25 +0000

Now, before we get into all the incredible things we’ve seen in China (and we’ve got a LOT to show you), I thought a little intro to the country was in order. If any country deserves a post dedicated entirely to it’s (mis)conceptions, it’s China. I have to admit, we were a little worried about [...]

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Taiwan Photos

Hope & Jeremy — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:15:35 +0000

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Taiwan Recap: Formosa RoCs!

Hope — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:11:03 +0000

When we told people that we were spending two months of our trip in Taiwan, a lot of them had the same reaction: “WHY?!?” Many people couldn’t understand why we would want to spend such a large portion of our of trip on such a tiny little island. Well, guess what? After two months on [...]

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Dad’s Thoughts on Taiwan

Jack — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:50:05 +0000

Note: A few days before we left on our China tour, my parents flew to Taiwan to meet up with us. My Dad has (unbelievably) not been back for 23 years!!! Their social schedule immediately filled up, and we were whisked from restaurant to restaurant, invited by various shu-shu’s and a-yi’s that have known my [...]

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Taichung: Re-NOON-iun!

Hope — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:16:05 +0000

For 2 years prior to leaving on this trip, I worked at an awesome design studio called NOON in San Francisco. A few years back, a guy named Allen joined our little family as a freelancer for a few months before returning to Taiwan to do his required military service (he is a Taiwan citizen). [...]

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Taipei Wanderings with K & P

Hope — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:23:56 +0000

Note: We’re in China! Or, more correctly, The Meng’s are in China…on an EATING tour (hide the women and children)! J and I met up with my parents (in Taipei) and my brother (in Shanghai), and we’re touring around central and southern China together for the next two weeks. This is my Mom and Eddo’s [...]

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Clothing: A long-awaited gear post!

Hope — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:01:08 +0000

Today is the halfway point of our trip, can you believe it? What better way to celebrate than finally writing a gear-related post…something we’ve been planning on doing for, oh, the last 6 months. Enjoy! ********************* HERS Those who know me know that I loooove clothes. I love making them, I love wearing them, I love shopping...

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Wai Guo Ren’s: We’re Big in Taiwan (Kara’s Taroko Gorge guest post!)

Kara — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:35:40 +0000

Note: We have a special treat for you today! Kara wrote this awesome guest post about the 3-day trip we took to Taroko Gorge. Thanks to K for lending us her voice…and thanks again to K & P for coming out! It means so much to us to share this adventure with you. We love [...]

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Taiwanderlust, Jiufen Edition: Big heads and stinky tofu

Hope — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:07:59 +0000

Last week, my best friend Kara and her husband Patrick flew from New Jersey to come see us. I can’t tell you how exciting it was not only to see some familiar faces, but to be able to share this amazing travel experience with people that we love. This year-long journey is obviously a huge [...]

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Chinese is hard: Efficiency = Confusion

Hope — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:13:00 +0000

Note: Because posts without photos are boring, and because I am a typography nerd, I will sprinkle this post with images of various Chinese characters we’ve found while in Taiwan. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are not just in Taiwan to play, but also to study Chinese (me for reading, writing, and some [...]

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Taiwanderlust: Alishan Edition

Hope — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:29:18 +0000

A few weekends ago, Jeremy and I took our first big overnight trip in Taiwan to Alishan National Scenic Area. Independent travel is not a big thing in Taiwan—probably because there aren’t that many Western travelers here, and Chinese people like the ease of a tour group. So, I was a little intimidated by all [...]

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Taiwanese Food: Does this post make my butt look big?

Hope — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:50:51 +0000

While we were in Chiang Mai suffering over the food, I comforted myself with the thought that in a week we would be in Taipei, feasting like a King and Queen—the Royal Couple of Noodle-vania, as it were—and even though I’m in Taipei right now I still salivate at the mere thought of those chewy, [...]

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Taiwanderlust: Cao Ling Historical Trail and Jiaoshi Hot Springs

Hope — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:15:44 +0000

Before arriving in Taiwan, I had no idea that the country was full of serious hikers. I guess I thought—like my own family—that the only hobby people from Taiwan really took seriously was eating. But it totally makes sense, this little island is blessed with a rugged coastline and a seriously mountainous interior (with [...]

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Life in Taipei: Long on addresses and politeness

Hope — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:54:38 +0000

Taipei is an awesome place to live. Really. I mean, the food is great (don’t think there’s not a post on that topic coming!), there is almost no crime to speak of (in fact, the only arrest we’ve heard of is a man who caused a riot by emptying a sack full of money in [...]

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Tomb-Sweeping Day: Yay Ancestors!

Hope — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:21:45 +0000

About a week after we arrived, my grandfather came back to Taiwan from a multi-week trip to China (and he has since gone back to the States, where he now lives most of the year). A couple of years ago, he had an operation that damaged some of his vocal chords, and he couldn’t really [...]

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Taipei: Home Sweet Home-away-from-home

Hope — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:50:54 +0000

We’re in Taipei! Actually, we’ve been here for about 3 weeks…I’ve been lagging on finishing up the SE Asia posts. Taipei is the city where my parents grew up; like many Chinese nationals, my grandparents moved to Taiwan around 1949 because of the Communist Revolution in China. If you are an ABC (American-born Chinese), like...

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SE Asia Recap: Hitting the reset button

Hope — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:23:15 +0000

Note: I had intended to do mini-recaps for each country we visited in SE Asia, and then tie it all up with one big, pretty SE Asia recap bow, but the country-specific recaps turned out to be quite in-depth, so I’ll keep this one short too. Wow, where to even begin? Well, if the measure of [...]

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Thailand Mini-Recap: Sweet and sour

Hope — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:55:40 +0000

Ever since I caught the travel bug on my first trip to Central America, I have wanted to visit Thailand. Something about the place held my fascination, though I had but a few expectations before we arrived: that the land would be beautiful (it is), that the people would be peaceful (they are, though the [...]

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Bangkok: When did we get so dirty?

Hope — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:07:51 +0000

We’ve come full circle…our final stop in SE Asia was the same place we started: Bangkok. As many backpackers will tell you, you really don’t want to hang out in Bangkok for too long. We did our best to avoid the place but we had some visa issues that needed some attention, so back to [...]

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Chiang Mai: We drop a bomb

Hope — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:16:57 +0000

It was kind of lame, but we did wander around some of the alleys off the main drag and there are families actually producing things like handmade paper and painted umbrellas (apparently Chiang Mai is really well known for these). ... So, there you go...that was our Chiang Mai experience: days spent lazily wandering in and out of beautiful wats, an...

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Laos Mini-Recap: Tastes like peaceful

Hope — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:18:25 +0000

If there is one thing you won’t want to do in Laos, it’s rush. We really didn’t get to spend enough time here or see that much of the country, but we were in Laos long enough to get the flavor of the place. And what exactly does Laos taste like? Dust. Sticky rice. Tranquility. [...]

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Luang Nam Tha: You win some, you lose some

Hope — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:17:46 +0000

While most people spend their days in southern SE Asia lying around on pristine beaches, drinking fresh fruit shakes, and snorkeling in warm ocean water, the north’s main activity is trekking, usually to hill-tribe minority villages. Multi-day treks are very popular in northern Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. We had such an amazing time on our...

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Luang Prabang: Get Ready to Chill

Hope — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:31:00 +0000

Our next stop after Vietnam was Laos. Traveling to Luang Prabang or Vientiane from Hanoi is a pretty typical route on the counterclockwise “Backpackers Tour of SE Asia,” so we were surprised to learn just how difficult it was to get over to Laos—the bus ride from Hanoi to Vientiane is 24 hours of guaranteed [...]

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Vietnam Mini Recap:

Hope — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:45:45 +0000

There’s no point in beating around the bun cha: we adore Vietnam. There are so many scenes imprinted on my mind from this beautiful country: high school girls riding their bikes home as their white ao dai (traditional Vietnamese uniform of Chinese-like dress worn over pants) flap in the wind, the toothless man rowing his [...]

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Sapa: Where the birthday fairy makes my rural fantasy come true

Hope — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:56:46 +0000

Somewhere around Hanoi, we made the hard decision to skip diving in Sipidan (we had been planning on ending our tour of SE Asia by diving in eastern Malaysian Borneo, reportedly one of the best scuba sites in the world right now). On the one hand, we really, really want to dive here before it [...]

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Halong Bay: Junkin’ It Up

Hope — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:53:47 +0000

We high-tailed it out of Hanoi and headed for the (relative) peace and quiet of Halong Bay, a very touristy (but beautiful) location about 3 hours east of The City that Broke Us. Halong Bay is known for its hundreds of islands with limestone cliff formations…it is quite an unusual place, and unlike anything we’ve [...]

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Hanoi: I rest my case

Hope — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:08:59 +0000

OK, I have to admit…I’ve been avoiding writing this post. Why? Well, I’m loathe to admit this too, but I’ll just come right out and say it: we couldn’t deal with Hanoi. And I feel terrible about it, because Hanoi was the one place in Vietnam where we had some insider info. Our friend Jenny [...]

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Hoi An: “Quaint” doesn’t even begin to describe it

Hope — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:19:17 +0000

While Dalat is kooky, Hoi An emanates pure charm. Hoi An is a small town in central Vietnam along the coast; most people come here for the tailoring—men can get a custom-made 3-piece suit (with an extra pair of trousers and 3 dress shirts) for US$90. Actually, you can get it made even cheaper than [...]

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