Today was a long travel day from Vinales to Cienfuegos. After bidding farewell to our host Sisa and giving Sophia one last pet, we headed out of Vinales at 8am. Our route took us back east towards the outskirts of Havana, and then southeast. Our stop for lunch was at another family run restaurant, this time at the 56km marker. The fried chicken was phenomenal. What was odd about this restaurant was that it had a table displaying various toiletries. The toiletries were sealed with cling wrap, and most of them looked imported. There were hefty price tags on them. Apparently, importing toiletries and reselling them at a significant markup is a thriving business for some workers on their own account. After lunch, we drove for a bit before making a rest stop in a town ... read more

Forgive Me, O Travel Gods, For I Have Sinned... ...I am traveling on a package tour. My first since I was a teenager. I realized early on that I preferred to make my own decisions and what to do and where to go, and that I liked figuring how to get around. My resolve to avoid package tourism was reinforced in 2014 when I took advantage of Incheon Airport’s free stopover tours of Seoul. I regretted that decision because I didn’t feel like I made a connection with the place. So, how did I end up on a tour? Jeff’s parents - Jeff Sr. and Peggy - very kindly sponsored a family trip for the four of us to Cuba. We all wanted to experience Cuba before it truly emerges from isolation and American brands saturate ... read more

This blog covers a day trip I took from Tokyo to Kamakura, a UNESCO World Heritage Site south of Tokyo. The rest of my Tokyo shenanigans are covered in a separate entry. On September 29th, I woke up bright and early and made my way to Shinjuku station to catch a train to Kamakura. At Shinjuku station, I witnessed the Tokyo hive mind at work during the rush hour. Shinjuku is the world's busiest train station; hordes of people were coming and going, but they seemed to know exactly what to do to not inconvenience others. Even though the trains were crowded, boarding and disembarkation was orderly. Two different lines operated from the platform I departed from. There were colored lines on the platform floor representing the two routes; commuters knew where to wait in line ... read more

I trekked in rebel territory. But, before we go there, I shall regale you with a woeful tale of my planning fail. The Planning Fail As you may recall from my last entry, I flew south from Mandalay to Heho, my jumping off point for Inle Lake. I had initially intended to go to Kalaw from Heho Airport to do a three day trek from there to Inle Lake, but I changed my mind because it rained most of my last full day in Mandalay and I realized I did not want to deal with rain and mud for three days. As it turned out, it did rain a fair bit during the three days I was at Inle Lake. But, this decision left some slack in my schedule. While I was at Ostello Bello in ... read more

On The Road Boat To Mandalay To get to Mandalay, I took a boat up the Ayeyarwady River on a ten hour trip north departing Bagan at stupid o'clock. At 4am, I stumbled out of bed, showered, packed, and met my pre-booked driver who took me to the pier at Nyaung U in time for my 5am check in at the boat. The boat departed at 5.20am with just seven passengers. This is one upside of traveling during the low/wet season - empty hotels and tourist transport. The top deck of the boat was comfortably laid out with rattan deck chairs. We each had lots of space to ourselves. After setting off from Bagan, I watched the sunrise over the Ayeyarwady, then I settled in for the long ride, observing the riverside communities and other boats ... read more