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Where To Find The World’s Best Chocolate
Most of the “Top 10 Chocolates” or “Best Countries for Chocolate” have lists that are mostly made up of European countries like Italy, Belgium, France and Switzerland. While I’ve had some phenomenal chocolate in these countries, none of them made my list of places where I’ve come to find some of my tastiest confections. Since these high end chocolatiers are working with beans that come from a narrow region that flanks either side of the equator and the trees grow best in tropical weather, you won’t be seeing any of your fancy French chocolate made completely locally. So, where can you find some of the best chocolate? Much like a…
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The Palawan Debate: Coron or El Nido?
The Palawan province of the Philippines has quickly risen to the top of the travel lists as THE place with the best beaches. We are taking about lists that feature beaches all over THE WORLD, beaches that Instagram filters are made to mimic. The Philippine Islands are full of amazing vacation destinations so if you don’t get a chance to Palawan you still will have a wonderful vacation but if you do have a few days on your itinerary to fill, I’d highly recommend visiting. I was skeptical that this little chain of islands could have what CN Travel or Travel & Leisure have promised but after the weeks I…
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Peru on Wheels: Peru Hop Review
Don’t Be A Typical Tourist… There is so much more to Peru than Machu Picchu and the Instagram-made famous Rainbow Mountain. I challenge you to take some time out of your itinerary to explore a little more and find out how diverse and amazing Peru can be. I ended up taking a long weekend trip into Bolivia and then back into Peru, up the coast ending in Lima on Peru Hop, a bus company that specializes in taking tourists on set routes where they are in control of their own schedule. Seeing Peru on wheels, taking more public and sustainable transportation was a great choice for me to be able…
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Bai Tu Long Bay Cruise, A Better Bay than Halong?
We climbed onto the small transport boat, our little group loaded onto the ferry that weaved through nautical traffic jam, both commercial fishing vessels and larger sail boats awaiting guest to travel through Halong Bay. I surveyed the clusters of ships and smiled to myself, happy to see us slowly leaving the rest behind in our wake. After much research and debate, we were on a Bai Tu Long Bay cruise and opted to choose this over the wildly popular Halong Bay cruises in the area. Bai Tu Long Bay was our destination this weekend, located northwest, it is a different bay within the same area as Halong in the…
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The Best Place for Laos Waterfall Trekking
Laos Waterfall Trekking My foot sank deeper into the mud, I could feel it oozing through the small holes in the mesh of my running shoe. The same synthetic material used for breathability was ironically choking itself in the soft earth below. There were a small group of us, two other hikers and our two guides so there was no problem for the group to wait as I wriggled myself free. I twisted my ankle out slowly as to not completely loose my shoe in the muck, like a suction cup with a pop I released my imprisoned extremity and quickly moved to more terra firma. It had been raining…
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A Love Letter to Luang Prabang, Laos
The bike bell chimed, initiated by the weakened wooden boards running along the rickety bridge, I bounding along towards the other side of the river, trying to focus on the path ahead while simultaneously keeping tabs on the precarious situation below me. It was a cool morning, my linen pants flapped faster than the speed at which I was cautiously crossing the Nam Khan. Bouncing along my eyes squinting as they adjusted to the low light at dawn, trying to avoid the flattened bike tire from spending too much time within the joints of the adjoining boards. Wobbling over the threshold, I breathed an unintentional sigh of relief immediately as…
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Hiking Norway: My Body & My Self in Lofoten
I looked ahead, scanning the rocks to find a stable place to land my footing. The “trail” isn’t easily marked like I’m used to. Norway is famous for having open land, where you can walk or hike, creating your own path & forging ahead to your destination. Norwegians have a tendency to follow the start of a path, giving you a sense of the right direction, then large sections of it can disappear and confusingly reappear. So, like detective work you need to decide if the trodden grass or mud in front of you is truly THE trail or if it’s a jumping off point a more experienced hiker has…
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Hitchhiking, Fish Museums and Cinnamon Rolls: A week in the Arctic
I reached down and placed my hand along the edge of the tattered luggage wheel, the plastic already hot to the touch from rotating violently along the gravel road. It was Sunday evening and the last bus had already gone through town, forcing me to start a long 10km walk to the next village with all of my things. I was about 20 minutes down the road when one of the black wheels tore from the bottom of my roller luggage and wobbled around the corner off the shoulder of the road. I had already been out hiking most of the day today, and with fewer and fewer passing cars…
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A Traveler’s Guide to Havana
A Traveler’s Guide to Havana “Time gives poetry to a battlefield,” ~ Graham Greene, Our Man in Havana The pulse of the country introduced itself as how I thought it would be, frozen in time, chaotic yet charismatic. While the city met a lot of my expectations, there were still surprises. I had mixed emotions about Havana, it was fascination and frustration all wrapped into one confusing ball of feelings. Here’s a traveler’s guide to Havana to make sure not to miss out on the musts and to navigate through all the emotions. Finding your ‘hood There are some distinct neighborhoods in Havana, even if you aren’t aware of the…
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Food Fight! Cuban Food vs Cuban-American Food
I found the same reaction each time I told someone I was going to Cuba. The initial questions all seemed the same and then the topic of food usually comes up in conversation. Much like everything about Cuba, the food scene is complicated. Here is why I think there is a difference about Cuban food and food in Cuba. “How excited are you for the food? You’ll probably find the best Cuban Sandwich.” Since I don’t know many Americans that have spent time in Cuba, I could only go with what I’ve read online and much like Yelp reviews, the critics varied in opinion. Bland, boring and basic were some…
