Most folks who have visited Indonesia 1.) are Australian and 2.) have only been to Bali. And so it is said that to truly see Indonesia—the world’s fourth largest country—you must leave Bali and venture out among its 17,500 other islands. We plan to visit possibly as many as 50 countries during our trip, and […]
China Budget and Tips
Our spending in China came in at a grand total of $1,112 for two people over 10 nights. Our visa costs and decision to see most of the important sites put upward pressure on that number, but cheap dinners and public transit helped us keep it still generally on the cheaper side (at $55 per […]
Uncovering China’s Ancient Wonders in Beijing and Xi’an
Nǐ hǎo, roamers! We’ve just wrapped up 10 days in China. Our experience in the nation’s capital city Beijing followed a distinct J-curve. Our initial excitement was quickly extinguished by a heavy dose of culture shock and government censorship. Thankfully, our experience steadily improved as we acclimated and culminated with one of our all-time favorite […]
Japan Budget and Tips
We have finally emerged from behind the Great Firewall of China! Not only were Google and Facebook blocked, but our blog sites were as well during our 10-day stay. So here comes a quick succession of posts from the last two weeks! I’m going to write some summary thoughts about each country we visit in […]
Temples and Tofu, Geishas and Green Tea in Kyoto
Kyoto is regarded as Japan’s cultural epicenter, and with 17 Unesco World Heritage Sites and more than 2,000 temples and shrines packed within its perimeter, it is no wonder why millions of tourists flock to this former capital of Japan. We saw many more westerners here than in Tokyo (perhaps because there were fewer locals […]