We could not have been more excited to arrive in Vietnam that night! Our flight arrived just before midnight and, although we had not booked a hotel room, we had read up on all the scams against tourists and felt like we handle ourselves…Turns out we overestimated our abilities a tad… Walking outside the small, deserted airport, we were ambushed by taxi drivers of all kinds, some legit, some not so. We knew the hotel we wanted to go to and agree to go with a driver who looks like the real deal, knows the hotel we want and agrees to take us for 10$. We get in his car and drive for about 30 minutes until we get to this dark alley. He tries to tell us the hotel is somewhere down this alley and ... read more

Our early morning flight took us to Dumaguete, an island in the Visayas area of the Philippines. From there we took a ferry 1 hour to the island of Siquijor, our destination for the next 5 days. We stayed at Islander’s Paradise, a guesthouse with bungalows that were right on the water’s edge with a perfect view of sunset. For the majority of our stay we were the only people at the guesthouse (it’s low season right now and this island is relatively untouristed)! It was perfectly relaxing and just what we needed! We spent our days sleeping in, snorkeling, swimming, reading, riding motorbikes and playing cards. We could not have asked for a better place to recharge our batteries! By the time we arrived on the first day, it was the afternoon and tide was ... read more

One day in Manila was enough pollution and congestion on the roads to make us feel sick so we headed out of the city bright and early to a small town called Taygaytay. We took a minibus there for 3$ each and in a van where you would expect to fit 8-10 people, they squeezed 18 people in, plus the driver! It was not the most comfortable 2 hr drive, but it got us there in good time. From Taygaytay we took a tricyle (motorbike with a side car attached for passengers) 30 minutes through some scenic countryside roads to Talisay, the main port for boats to Taal Volcano, our destination for the day. As with anything in SEAsia our tricycle driver had “a friend” who would give us the “best price” for a boat trip ... read more

Tea is an integral part of many Asian countries, particularly Korea, China and Taiwan. Since we had not made the trip to visit a tea plantation in Korea, we figured the lush countryside of Taiwan would be the perfect alternative. We woke up early on the morning of Sept 18, first taking the subway 1 hr, then waited for the bus that would take us to the tiny village of Pinglin. The bus ride to this village was 45 minutes long and went through the curviest, steep and narrow road we have ever seen! The driver, clearly knowing the road like the back of his hand, was flying around the corners, even in the thick fog, his barreled on, giving us the feeling of being on a roller coaster. Pinglin is well-known in Taiwan for the ... read more

We arrived in Taipei, Taiwan just after midnight Sept 14. We were lucky enough to be just in time to catch the last bus into town and arrived at our hostel around 2am. We stayed at The Meeting Place, a great, new hostel run by a really nice guy who used to be a backpacker himself. One of the better hostels we’ve been to, this place had a huge kitchen for use and large and numerous lounge areas with all kinds of mats and couches. Not to mention free laundry! Not having much of a plan together for Taipei, we spent a lazy morning getting acquainted with the city. We went to a fried dumpling place near our hostel and had a generous helping of delicious dumplings for under 3$ for the both of us! The ... read more