I've been meaning to visit Hong Kong for years; it's only an hour and a half flight from Taipei! And while Americans need pre-arranged visas to visit mainland China, Hong Kong lets us in with just a tourist visa, making it a lot easier to visit. So with a four-day weekend for Children's Day and …
Tag: tourist
Trip to Okinawa
When I was 12 years old, my parents, sister, aunt, uncle and I traveled to Okinawa, a small island off the southern coast of mainland Japan. My father and aunt were both born there, as my grandfather was stationed on Okinawa following WWII (and there's still a large US military base there today). When I …
Taiwan… again
I knew when I first went to Spain that I might be backing myself into a corner. I wanted to stay in Europe indefinitely, but the Schengen countries don't make that easy. Most countries in Europe are part of the Schengen Area, which allows them to have open boarders. You don't get your passport checked …
Day trip: Sóller (bonus: Fornalutx)
Who doesn't love retro travel experiences, especially without any of the retro inconveniences? If you're looking for a thoroughly charming day trip from Palma, the old fruit train to Sóller is for you! While I generally prioritize budget experiences, I have to admit that this was a splurge, at 18 Euros for a one way …
Day trip: Valldemossa
I could do without all but the first week of snow in New England (it's nice to have a taste of winter wonderland before the drudgery of shoveling sets in), but there's no denying that Fall in New England is something special, no matter which side of the pumpkin spice debate you fall on. Since …
Thailand
Surprisingly, I had more than two weeks off for Chinese New Year, so a friend and I decided, pretty much on a whim, to go to Thailand! We flew into Bangkok (a roughly 4 hour flight from Taipei) in the evening and took an incredibly cheap taxi to our Air BnB apartment. It was too …
Put a Cork in it
With four days until I could move into my apartment, I decided to visit Cork. I picked it on a bit of a whim, but it’s a really lovely city. Of course, it’s also conveniently situated near Blarney, Blarney Castle, and the Blarney Stone. The town of Blarney is very small, with just a couple …