A little over a year ago, Alison and I threw our stuff into a 5×10 storage unit in Charlotte, NC and boarded a one-way flight to Bangkok, with basically no other plans. It’s been almost two months since we returned from our 12 month round-the-world jaunt and the time at home has afforded some reflective…
Nicaragua has 19 volcanoes (of which nine are active) that serve as a beautifully picturesque backdrop up and down the pacific coast of the country. You can’t look away from the ocean without spotting one in your peripheral. But these beauties aren’t just for good pictures, they are also a heck of a lot of…
As with many gems we’ve stumbled upon during our travels, we had never heard of Semuc Champey before some fellow travelers told us to go there. The promise of natural turquoise pools, waterslides, unexplored caves, and whitewater beer tubing was just too much to pass up. So our plans to return to Belize after visiting…
New Zealand is all about adventure and exploration. With only 4.5 million people in a stunningly beautiful land mass the size of Colorado, there is plenty to be discovered and not a lot of people to get in the way. There’s a reason they filmed Lord of the Rings here. It’s a big playground complete…
There are a lot of ways to get around this great big world of ours. Some like to hit all the hot spots, tagging all 897 of the self-proclaimed “eighth wonders of the world.” Others will literally go to the ends of the earth to place the first human footsteps on an unnamed mountain or…
We showed up in Asia as the dumbest guys in the hostel room, assuming we could continue streaming Netflix, WatchESPN, HBO Go, and all the other media comforts of home while travelling outside the US. A few of the below messages quickly put us in our place and we realized we’d be without them for…
Halong Bay is one of the “must dos” in Southeast Asia. Located in the Gulf of Tonkin, the bay is famous for abrupt karst rock formations caused by millions of years of geomorphology (thanks google) that jut out of the sea beautifully and randomly. The rock formations and resulting caves are uninhabitable and have thus…
Hostels can be a great accommodation option while traveling. They are cheap, generally clean and an awesome way to meet new people! Many hostels have common areas which serve as a wonderful place, outside of your hostel room, to hang out with other travelers. We have found websites and apps such as Trip Advisor and Hostelworld to be useful in reviewing…
“This bank charges a transaction fee of $5 for using this ATM. This charge is in addition to any fees that may be assessed by your financial institution. Are you sure you want to continue with the transaction?” Seeing this message 2-3 times a week followed by an obligatory press of the “Yes” button can…
One of the primary tourist attractions in southern Laos is Wat Phou, the site of ancient ruins located just outside Champasak in between Pakse and the 4000 islands. The ruins date back to the Khmer empire in the 5th century and the area was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sounds awesome, right? So how…
Beaches & Backpacks 