May 28, 2015

Scuba Diving Around Beautiful Koh Phi Phi in Thailand!

So I’ve been spending a few days hanging out in Ao Nang, Krabi province in Thailand this week. The area is beautiful, punctuated by almost vertical limestone cliffs and mountains that run from the mainland right up to the ocean’s edge. Krabi is also very accessible as there is an international airport with direct flights to Bangkok, Singapore and a few other places. Given I just spent the time to finally get scuba certified, I figured I should give a dive a shot outside the loving sweet embrace of my instructor, Big Joe. I went to a couple dive shops…

March 29, 2015

Getting Scuba Certified in Beautiful Gili Trawangan, Indonesia!

I finally did something I’ve been saying I was going to for years now, got my open water scuba certification. I’ve been to countless places that are known as “dive meccas”, just to putz around kicking sand on the beach or snorkeling on the surface with scuba divers flipping me the bird 30 feet below…I had enough. Well, that has all changed my friends, because I am officially “licensed” to take my haggard ass to 18 meters below sea level, that’s almost 60 ft! Why have I been putting off my scuba certification for so long? I don’t really know,…

March 23, 2015

An Urban Oasis in The Heart of SE Asia – Singapore!

This is my 3rd time traveling in SE Asia, and every time I’ve seemed to just chalk off Singapore. It’s too expensive, it’s too developed, etc. were the excuses I used to tell myself in the pursuit of more off-the-beaten-path destinations. Well, now I’m older, and after traveling for a few months in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, I was craving a bit of order, acceptable amounts of traffic, fast internet, cleanliness, etc., and boy does Singapore deliver on all of those fronts. It’s truly an oasis in a part of the world, that is for lack of a better…

March 3, 2015

Staying Boutique in the Historic China Town of Singapore – The Naumi Liora

I had the pleasure of spending one night at the Naumi Liora Hotel this past week in the historic China Town neighborhood of Singapore. In a city that’s more famous for its gleaming skyscrapers and contemporary architecture, the Naumi Liora respects where it came from, but doesn’t miss out on what Singapore has become – a modern, discerning, world-class city. The Naumi Liora is located at 55 Keong Saik Road, a traditional heritage street showcasing beautiful Chinese shop houses which have basically all been transformed into sexy hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and bars/lounges. What’s special about the street is that…

February 28, 2015

Kuala Lumpur – A Breath of Fresh Air in Southeast Asia

I just spent a full week in Kuala Lumpur (KL to locals), the capital of Malaysia and a true megapolis, home to over 7,000,000 people. Anytime I hear “capital city” in Southeast Asia, I automatically imagine hell. Concrete edifices hastily thrown up, brutal traffic, non-stop noise and sweltering heat. But, I’m very happy to say that KL was none of that. Locals will complain about traffic, but they just don’t know how good they have it. I would imagine most have never stepped foot in Manila, Jakarta or Bangkok if they think that. In fact, Kuala Lumpur was one of the…

February 11, 2015

The Hippest Hotel in Cebu, The Henry!

Located in Cebu City, Philippines, The Henry Hotel is truly something unique in a city that is caught between rapid no-rules growth and and a relaxed island vibe. This is my 3rd time in Cebu. Why the hell do I keep coming back to a place where traffic is even worse than in Manila, the streets kick up dust as motorbikes whiz by, trucks belch past and depressing poverty is squeezed into the spaces that the city’s wealthier residents aren’t occupying? I don’t know either, but I think it’s the people. The Cebuanos are the warmest people I’ve ever met.…

February 9, 2015

Does Boracay, Philippines Live Up to The Hype?

The most heavily marketed beach destination in The Philippines by both the media and the tourism board is the infamous, Boracay Island. Travel & Leisure even voted it the second-best island destination in the world after another Philippine island, Palawan. I’ve been to the Philippines three times, and every time, I’ve made an excuse to not visit Boracay. “it’s too expensive”, “it’s too commercial”, “it’s going to be like Ibiza”, etc. Well, after being in Manila for a month, I wanted to get away to try and do something new, and Boracay had my eye. I have wanted to learn…

January 12, 2015

Exploring The Bygone Escolta District in Manila

Manila, the Philippines was at one point known as, “The Pearl of The Orient”. It has a storied history of over 330 years of Spanish rule, 50+ years of formal American imperialism, a few years of Japanese rape/pillage and has been a crossroads of local cultures in Asia for millennia. This has influenced Filipino culture tremendously from their cuisine punctuated with Mexican notes (Spain reached the Philippines via Mexico on the Manila-Acapulco Trade Route), language (Tagalog is a mix of native words, Spanish and English) to their physical appearance which can range from indigenous to completely Caucasian. The most popular…

January 3, 2015

Riding the Mae Hong Son Loop on a Motorcycle!

good motorcycle for the Mae Hong Son Loop

I just completed the Mae Hong Son loop, a bad ass 600 km, 4 or 5 day road trip (depending how fast you want to go) in the mountainous province of Mae Hong Son in northwest Thailand. The route is popular with motorcycle enthusiasts like myself for its beautiful mountain and bucolic scenery, very well-maintained roads, technical passes and of course, nice places to rest for the evenings with cold beers and chill vibes. Most people start in the popular city of Chiang Mai (2nd biggest city in Thailand) as you can fly there easily and find multiple shops to…

December 22, 2014

Exploring Historic Phuket Town, Thailand

The lion share of people who go to Phuket, Thailand can be categorized pretty easily. You have lots of dirty old men heading to Patong Beach to get raucous with pros, Russians who plan to bake in Speedos on Karon or Kata beach, and backpackers who are there to spend one night before or after visiting one of the islands. I have been to Phuket three times now and have explored pretty extensively. It’s actually an island, but is connected to the main land by a bridge. I seem to find myself there more often than not because they have…

November 24, 2014

One of The Coolest Museums in The World: Museo Soumaya in Mexico City!

Given Mexico City’s size, you can be pretty sure there are its fair share of museums, and great ones at that. But, it seems the only places you see mentioned in the guidebooks are the older ones as they don’t get updated that frequently. But, if you venture a little bit outside the main core of the city, you’ll find plenty more, and one such museum that is most definitely worth the trip is Museo Soumaya. Located in Nuevo Polanco (the western part of the upscale neighborhood of Polanco), you can reach the Soumaya Museum by taxi or Uber in…

November 10, 2014

Mexico City’s Coolest Neighborhood: Roma Norte!

Updated May 28, 2019 When it comes to Mexico City, there are a lot of preconceptions and false truths. If you ask someone what they know or think about it, you’ll probably get, “dangerous, dirty, crowded”. While I myself had many doubts the first time I decided to go to Mexico City, I couldn’t have been more wrong and my initial trip was a completely eye opening experience. Mexico City is massive, and like any massive city, it has less desirable areas to visit…just like any city for that matter. Cities don’t operate without a strata of people in different economic…

November 4, 2014

Celebrating Halloween and The Day of The Dead in Mexico City!

Halloween and Thanksgiving are two of my favorite holidays. Why? Because there is no religion involved and it’s all about eating/drinking, dressing up like a fool (Halloween at least) and hanging out with friends and family. Mexicans, while often pretty religious, do know how to separate the two and if there is partying involved, you can best bet their piety will take a back seat to putting back cervezas, grubbing with a vengeance and singing/dancing with their amigos. 3 days not to miss in Mexico are October 31st, Nov 1, and Nov 2 in which Halloween (which everyone celebrates here)…

October 30, 2014

Back in One of My Favorite Places in The World: Mexico City!

If you’ve read my blog over the years, you’ll know that Mexico is one of my favorite countries in the world. A quick flight from the US, the land “south of the border” is chock full of so many things to do, see, smell, taste and experience, that it would honestly take you years of continuous travel to see it all. Often tarnished by the media (what isn’t these days?), the country really is safe to travel around for the majority of areas minus a few places near the border and some interior states. Infrastructure is modern and you can…

October 4, 2014

How Travel has Become Too Easy

When I first started traveling on my own in 2006, travel was still truly an adventure for me. From catching a bus to even something simple like putting food in my mouth, everything was a a stimulating, “new” and slightly difficult (in a good way) experience. You had to rely on the good graces of people, the curiosity of others like “what the hell is this Aryan kid doing in the middle of the mountains in the Philippines?” and what navigational tools you had at your disposal like paper maps. This was when travel was “real” to me. And it…

September 21, 2014

5 Reasons Why Europe is Better Than America!

I caught a lot of flak from the Europeans in my last post, Why Europe is Worse than America who couldn’t take a joke, so I rushed to get this one out before someone hacked my site or beat me up. While most of my reasons for why America is better than Europe are just small day-day-day “luxuries”, Europe’s reasons for being better than the good ole’ US of A are more utilitarian, practical and sustainable, so here you go! 1. People ACTUALLY use public transportation and don’t feel bad about it What the subway looks like in Philly… Unless…

September 13, 2014

7 Reasons Why Europe is Worse Than America…

Haa haa made you click! If you’re a Euro, you’re probably peeing your pants you’re so angry, and if you’re Canadian, you’re probably pissed too because I’m referring to “America” as the United States. I love Europe, but there are certain FAILS that should be addressed. But, don’t worry, before you think I’m just some pompous American prick, the next post will be “Why Europe is Better Than America”, so just take a chill pill and let’s do it! 1. You have to pay to use the bathroom in public places Why the hell should I have to pay to…

September 9, 2014

One of The Coolest Places I’ve Ever Been: The Adrspach Rocks!

It’s not often that I get to say this, but I am happy to do it any chance I get. Today I went to one of the coolest places I’ve ever been, the Adrspach-Teplice Rocks in the middle of nowhere in the Czech Republic. They are located in the extreme north of the country, just a few miles from the Polish border. What’s so cool about these so called, “rocks”. I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves… Occupying just a tiny area in between the even smaller towns of Ardspach and Teplice, these unique sandstone karst deposits…

August 30, 2014

The Best of All Worlds – Ghent Belgium!

Located in the northwest of Belgium, Ghent (or Gent) is a beautiful canal-laced city that is often overlooked on most people’s Belgium itinerary who often opt to blow through it via train from Brussels to Bruges. While my mom vehemently suggested I go to Bruges (I had only 1 extra day to spare after Brussels), I decided to give the “ugly” sister a chance, and I’m so glad I did… While Bruges might be the world-renowned UNESCO beauty, Ghent is most certainly no DUFF. Thanks to Belgium’s extremely easy-to-navigate and frequent trains, I just showed up at the central train…

August 25, 2014

2 Days in Brussels – The Capital of Europe!

After 12 days in Germany, it was time for me to head somewhere new. I had no plan after Berlin until a few days before when I was checking out cheap flights to wherever I could go without changing planes. I saw one pop up on Easy Jet (low cost European airline) to Brussels, Belgium so I thought, why not?! Brussels Airport is pretty massive and I’ve flown through it a couple of times in the past. This was the first time I’ve actually passed all the way through to the baggage claim, but I have to say, it’s a…