Your Guide to Interactive Travel
Theoretically, I’m the type of person who shouldn’t buy travel insurance. I’m young and healthy, I have an emergency bank account to help cover unexpected expenses, and I have a large stash of frequent flyer miles I can draw on if I need to fly home in the middle of a trip for problems back home. But despite that, I just bought another year of
This post is originally from December 2015, but as other bloggers are sharing their stories of reducing travel, I want to re-share mine. It still holds true, years later. * * * I’m not sure precisely when my travel mindset changed, but sometime over the summer, I started putting more effort into “real life” and settling at home. I realized I
My friends looked at me a little funny when I mentioned I added Nanjing to my China plans. Why not Xian, or Chengdu, or anywhere most visitors go to? And on top of that, I spent the night instead of just taking the bullet train from Shanghai to Nanjing for the day. But I really wanted to see Usnisa Palace and once I decided on that,
I never thought Nanjing, China would be on the list of most magnificent places I’ve been. For the most part, the city is dreary, smoggy, and grey, especially in winter. But Usnisa Palace in Niushoushan Cultural Park is so stunning that it raises the entire city up a notch, to a level normally held for opulent palaces like Versailles or the Alhambra. And while the
I gained 6 pounds my first month in Buffalo. I was determined to try all the iconic Buffalo foods, some of which I hadn’t had since I was a little girl. I stuffed my face with wings, sponge candy, and half a dozen cup-and-curl pepperoni pizzas. When you eat all that in a month, you can probably guess what comes next. I admitted I had
Independent travel in China is easier than you think thanks to high speed rail. Unlike buses, it’s easy to figure out and for the most part, trains run efficiently on schedule. As of 2019, there are 200+ departures on the train from Shanghai to Nanjing, making it incredibly easy to add in a side trip. The Fastest Shanghai to Nanjing Train Although you’ll find a
Over the years, I’ve read dozens of guides about where to to find cheap flights. Here’s the problem: most of them give old advice that probably isn’t true anymore. Tips like buying on a Tuesday seven weeks before your trip might save $15 and that’s all fine and good, but realistically I think you’d rather buy extremely cheap flights and save $150 or even $1500.
Bioluminescent kayaking is straight out of a science fiction novel. The water illuminates when you dip your paddle in the bay while fish seem to glow in the dark. It’s such an odd and incredible experience that I’ve done it three times — and Mosquito Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico is the best place to do it. Even though I had witnessed bioluminescence in other
It sounds crazy to leave one island for another, but that’s exactly what I did last week. There are two small islands off the east coast of Puerto Rico, each with major claims to fame. Vieques, the largest island other than Puerto Rico itself, is home to the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. On the other hand, Culebra consistently wins prizes for having one of
In a somewhat atypical trend, I’ve been to a lot of beaches in the past year (after years of going to none!). After enjoying Costa Rica, Barbados, and now Puerto Rico, it’s safe to say I’ve got packing down to a perfect science. With the right tropical vacation packing list, you can take advantage of some fun in the sun, even while squeezing it all
