Aloha! I’m in Maui right now wrapping up a 4 days trip out here with The BF. Strangely, it seems that The BF and I can never really have relaxing trip. For the four days, we woke up everyday at an obscene hour to head off to some adventure. Yesterday, The BF and I headed to Molokini for a 5 hour snorkling trip. I’ll save the information to that for another post, but let’s just say there aren’t many pictures since I was too busy doubled over the side railing spewing freshly churned  fish food off the side of the boat. Hey, anything to help the fish population.

Since a good number of the people on the boat were my new barfing buddies, there was a lot of seasickness tips being shared. Here are a few tips for the land animals headed out to sea:

1. Dramamine: I really hate to put this one up, since I took one and it FAILED me. But perhaps it saved me for a fate worse than barfing WHILE snorkeling. Yes, give The BF props for swimming through vomit. I’ll never ask for anything again. However, dramamine usually does help me a lot for air and car sickness.

2. Ginger: Someone had recommended something called ginger gravel (sp?) to me (can anyone tell me what it is?). I may be spelling it wrong, but that’s what it sounded like to me. She said that it was a good alternative to pharmaceutical pills. Other things like ginger ale and ginger candy were constantly being eaten on the boat.

3. Ice: It sounds weird, but sucking on ice helped me. One of the crew of the boat mentioned that it helped her. It helped me enough to stop barfing, but it definitely took a little while. Perhaps it was helping me cool down a little or just hydrating me, but i sucked down 2 cups of ice and i felt a lot better.

4. Eating breakfast: I ate a little bit before we set sail, but in retrospect I really should’ve eaten a good breakfast first. It sounds weird, but I think being on an empty stomach made me more tired and everything I barfed out was just juice and a tiny muffin. Sometimes dry heaving and bile is not the ideal choice in barfing.

5. Open air and horizon: After the 4th time I hurled, I sat outside at the very front of the boat and watched the horizon. This didn’t work for me initially, but after I got everything out of my stomach I was able to eat lunch and suck on more ice. Surprisingly, that really helped me enjoy the rest of my trip.

Here’s a great site that shares some seasickness prevention tips. Happy sailing!

I’m normally a pretty healthy person, so I really try to make it a point to stay healthy even while on vacation. Who the heck wants to come back and have to lose those 5 lbs from vacation eating? Of course, I’m not perfect, but I try my best to keep some healthy habits on vacation.

Healthy Tips while on vacation:

1. Share Meals: I’ve definitely been guilty of over eating while on vacation (let’s not even speak of my trip to New Orleans! Why is the food SO good there??). So my BF and I try our best to share meals. That way, we’re never too full that we can’t go sight seeing. It also cuts back on costs.

2. Veggies and Fruits: This sounds ridiculous, but we always try to get in a side of veggies to balance out our meals. Also, if we had a very heavy meal before, our next meal will be much lighter and with more veggies. It’s tough on the body to eat a Philly cheese steak for lunch and then ribs for dinner. Trust me, I’ve tried.

3. Fiber Pills: Who wants to be backed up for 3 days while hiking up Machu Picchu? NOT ME. It’ll keep you regular and your insides happy. Check with your doctor first.

4. Water: These days, I rarely have any flavored drinks and prefer water. Be sure to have plenty of water. Don’t let bathroom breaks hinder you from drinking that H20. I’ve also heard that a lot of people mistaken dehydration for hunger. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. It’ll really make a difference in your energy level.

5. Active Activities: Most vacations are so jammed packed with walking that I don’t think about this too much. However, sometimes when it comes down to renting a golf cart to tour the gardens of Versailles and walking Versailles…. pick the latter. Another great way to see neighborhood is to include a quick early morning run around the hotel while your travel buddies sleep in.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

UPDATE:  Congrats to the winners, Denise, Alice, and Nancy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week I’m giving away THREE copies of Fodor’s Thailand Guide with side trips to Cambodia and Laos, 11th Edition.   It has tons of gorgeous full color pictures and would be a great  resource to have! Check out the “8 Essential Experiences” to have in Thailand on Fodor’s.

If you’ve seen the movie The Beach, you’ll know exactly how gorgeous Thailand is! Interested in winning? In the comments section, share with me which movie has you dreaming about a destination! Giveaway ends this Friday at 8pm pst.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(Ferry Building @ Embarcadero)

When I first moved to San Francisco, I really had no idea where and what all the neighborhoods were. So as a tourist, it’s really helpful to have a sense of the different types of neighborhoods so you can customize your visit.

1. Fisherman’s Wharf: This is obviously where the famous Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square and Boudin’s Bakery is. With that said, this is a huge tourist trap! The parking is atrocious and expensive (i once paid $25 for 3 hours in a lot!). Is it worth visiting? If you’re a first time visitor, always. Jump on the SF’s Muni F line and sit back on one of their historic street cars. Walkable.

2. Financial District: This busy neighborhood houses a lot of big financial companies on the west coast. It’s fun to get caught up in the hustle and bustle on the week day, but it’ll be a ghost town on the weekends. Walkable.

3. Union Square: Another popular tourist and shopper’s destination. Hands down, this area is the best shopping area. If you can think of a store you like, there’s probably a 3 leveled one here in the neighborhood. After a tough day of shopping, head over to the Westfield food court and get some fresh cream puffs from Beard Papa. Walkable.

3. SOMA: An acronym for SOuth of MArtket, SOMA is a youngish area filled with lofts, furniture stores, art spaces, tech companies, and warehouses. The Museum of Modern Art housed here near the Yerba Buena Gardens. Personally, I don’t think there’s much to see after 4th street, unless you’re going to the famous Folsom Street Fair… which… well… you’ll probably see more than you want to see.

4. Civic Center/Tenderloin: As Dave Chappelle puts it: “There’s nothing tender about the Tenderloin”. There are a few bars, art galleries, and Vietnamese restaurants that are worth going to, but it’s definitely a tough neighborhood. The Civic Center also houses city hall, the SF opera, and the Asian Art Museum. Is it the best area to walk around in? Probably not.

5. Nob Hill: Be prepared with your good walking shoes! Nob Hill is one of the hilliest neighborhoods in San Francisco, but it houses a lot of SF landmarks. You can still see a lot of the old buildings from SF’s early gold rush history.

6. The Mission: Personally, this is my absolute favorite neighborhood in SF. A slightly down and out neighborhood, this quickly gentrifying area has a lot of great (and cheap!) dive bars and restaurants. Grab an ice cream cone from Bi-Rite Creamery and head over to Dolores Park and people watch. If the day is nice, you’ll be able to catch a great view of SF from the top of the hill. Walkable.

7. Chinatown: Aside from NYC’s Chinatown, SF’s Chinatown is actually really interesting and full of Chinese people (I’m looking at you DC Chinatown. Where are all the Chinese people there?)! I personally don’t think that the Chinese food is very good here, but Golden Gate Bakery (nob hill?) makes the best egg tarts in the city. It’s shockingly good. Walkable.

8. The Castro: Surprisingly, this neighborhood isn’t very big, but it’s definitely a lot of fun and great people watching.  This vibrant area is  SF’s LGBT neighborhood. It is also the place that Harvey Milk got his start and where the historic Castro Theater is housed. The restaurants are good and the bars are plentiful. Walkable

9. North Beach: Adjacent to Chinatown, this area is the little Italy of San Francisco. A very cute neighborhood has lots of cute restaurants and bars. After a long brunch at Mama’s On Washington Square, head over to City Lights Bookstore and soak up all of it’s literary goodness. Walkable

10. Embarcadero: On a sunny day, this waterfront area has a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge and the water. Locals and tourists alike head to the Ferry Building every Sat morning for the best farmer’s market EVER. Things might be a little expensive, but you can graze from stall to stall for free samples. After, head over to Hog Island for fresh oysters and a grill cheese. Walkable

11. Haight-Ashbury: The famous Haight is what people always think about when they think about SF in the 60s. Today, it’s still fun walking from boutique to boutique (although a little more touristy). Walkable

12. Japantown: A small Japanese neighborhood, Japantown is a good place to get some mochi, ramen, and little Japanese knicknacks. Tired from a long day? Head to Kubuki bathhouse and soak in their same-sex communal bathhouse for the rest of the day. There are also free walking tours starting at Japantown’s pagoda.  Walkable.

11. Sunset/Richmond: Both Sunset and Richmond district has a lot to offer, but it is mainly a residential area. I’ve combined these two neighborhoods because the beautiful Golden Gate Park separates the two districts. GG Park is a great place to walk through and is even home to buffaloes (seriously!). After visiting the DeYoung Museum and the California Science Museum, head over to either of these two neighborhoods and grab a bite to eat.

12. Hayes Valley: This neighborhood is ridiculously cute. It has lots of great brunch places and small boutiques.Walkable

So many more neighborhoods! (Marina, Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, Potero Hill, Alamo Square, etc etc) There’s tons of other neighborhoods I didn’t cover, but if I did this post would be huge! Have fun and explore SF’s many many diverse neighborhoods.

(all photos courtesy of Kevin W: thanks!!)

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(Source)

Just read this interesting New York Times interview with Ben Bachelder a contributor to Digihitch.com. Personally, I would never consider hitchhiking because I’m a big wussy, but would you? Sounds like a great adventure, huh?

Q: First things first. Is hitchhiking dangerous?

A: Yes. But I’ve got to qualify that. It’s dangerous in the sense that you’re putting your life, your trust, in someone else’s hands. But that could also be said for a lot of other things: like your trusting that the cars are going to stop at a stop sign when you’re crossing the street; your trusting that the pilots are not going to fall asleep at the stick of the plane…

Check out the full interview here.

Additional Reading and Resources

Digihitch.com- Hitchhiking, backpacking & Budget Travel

Hitchhikers.org-The worldwide hitchhikers agency

The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide- Douglas Adams (Book)

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted! Life was a little hectic in La La land, but everything has finally slowed down. I haven’t been traveling too much lately, but I have been able to enjoy a little bit of the S. Californian life. I’ll be posting on that soon!

There’s been lots of great deals lately. Every time one pops up, the BF and I look at each other and for a brief second there’s a silent understanding that one of us is going to leap across the room to grab out credit card and book it ASAP. But it seems to always end in sadness…. financially responsible sadness.

I saw this slide show on The New York Times titled: Why We Travel. Check it out. It’ll put the travel bug in you!

I thought about why I travel and it always comes down to a few things for me:

1. Gained Perspective: Whether it’s Baltimore or Cuzco, I always gain new perspective about life and the world around us.

2. The FOOOOD: Travel with an open mind and an open stomach, I say. Who knows, you might make a great memory or two. I once shared a bag of fried crickets with a few of my closest friends while driving down a dirt road in countryside of Cambodia. How’s that for a memory.

3. Unpredictable Spontaneous Life Changing Events: The BF and I actually met on vacation on a boat in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Sure, he had a terrible haircut courtesy of a local barber and ignored me for most of the night despite repeated attempts on my part to chit chat, but 2 years and 3 cities later we’re still together.

4. New Friends: I’ve found that travel is a quick way to make new friends. Whether through the travel adventures itself or through conversation. There’s been quite a few times where I entered a conversation with: “Oh! You’re going to…?”

5. The Fun Factor: Of course, traveling is FUN!!!! Whether it’s  sitting on a local tour bus with aging octogenarians in tour of Taiwan or searching all day for the best egg tarts in Macau, traveling is FUN. For me, I can never predict what my experiences will be!

The BF and I recently went to Seattle, WA to attend a wedding. Since I’ve never been there before, I made sure that we saw as much as I could in the one free day we had. It turns out that the very chill Seattle is a great city! We hit a lot of must see tourist sites and ate at a lot of local places.

Tips for Seattle in One Day:

1. Breakfast at Macrina Bakery & Cafe: We had to wait 40 minutes to eat at this little breakfast/brunch spot, but we figured that it must be worth it if the locals are waiting for it. The savory egg sandwich served with roasted potatoes is surprisingly tasty! We also had the French toast which is served with a side of chicken sausage. Definitely a popular item on the menu.

2. Pike Place Market: Of course, no first-time visit to Seattle can go without a trip to Pike Public Market. A lively market place with fresh seafood (to be eaten or tossed in the air), it’s a great place to do some light grazing. Hit Piroshky’s Piroshky for a potato and mushroom stuffed bun and then meander your way to the first original Starbucks for a latte (it’s the one that’s crowded with tourist!).  Afterwards, with a cup o’ joe in hand, strike up a conversation with the local artist selling their craft or smell bouquet after bouquet of freshly cut pink peonies. It’s a great place to spend a few hours by the water.

3. Underground Tour: Full? Walk off it off in a 90 minute underground tour of Seattle’s past.   The tour guide spiels out a very informative history of Seattle’s past when the city burnt down and the city decided to just built a new city right on top. Was it the most amazing tour ever? Probably not. There’s only a few ghost stories and a few deteriorating store signs, but we all agreed it was interesting to learn a little bit of history and see a unique piece of Seattle’s past., especially for $15.

4. The Harvest Vine: After a long day of walking around, we ended the day with a lovely dinner at The Harvest Vine. This Spanish/Basque restuarant dishes organic/ free-range/no-antibiotic/no-hormones tapas. Just take a look at the picture. Pork belly doesn’t get any sexier than that.

Additional Reading and Resources:

Travel and Outdoors- Seattle Times

36 Hours in Seattle- NYTimes

:: :: :: :: :: ::

My friend just sent me this link about Sakhr Mobile Speech to Speech Application for the iPhone. Basically, you speak into the phone and it will translate your sentance in to Arabic. It’s not out for the general public yet and I’m unsure if they translate other languages… but here’s to hoping that one day I’ll wander through the windy plains of Mongolia walk into yurt and ask for a double shot espresso w/o a Mongolian phrase book! (JK)

Thanks Kreisler!

:: :: :: :: :: ::

After a 4 day road trip through the beautiful and colorful state of Utah, I’m back! Our trip went something like this: drive 6 hours, attempt sleeping in a teepee only to realize it’s warmer to sleep in a car, hike through muddy hoodoos, hike a mountain, drive through natural “monuments” at sunset, star-gazing in pitch black darkness, trek through red rock canyons and pass out from exhaustion.  For four days, we did a TON and it was incredibly cheap! We went into this trip knowing that we were going to be as cheap as humanly possible, but we still had a really great time! This is a highly recommended trip for families, active groups, and couples who are looking for a budget trip.

Ways to Stay Within Your Budgets:

1. Car Rentals: Everyday, I put a bid on a car on Priceline.com. Since you can only submit one bid per day (w/o changing anything), I started at $8 and worked my way up. Truthfully, I couldn’t get a super ridiculously cheap deal, so I ended up with Hotwire.com. My rental car was still only $15 per day! After taxes, it came up to be around $22. Not bad!

2. Food- Meals at the grocery store: Honestly, we didn’t have very high expectations for great food on this trip. Perhaps if we were in Salt Lake City it would’ve been different, but since we knew we would be on the road most of the time we went to the grocery store a lot. We ate a lot of beef jerkey, deli sliced turkey, baguettes, tomates, bananas, and water. Our best meal was at a Denny’s at the Arizona/Nevada border! Consider your destination and you can probably save some money going to the grocery store.

3. National Parks and Federal Recreation Land Pass- otherwise known as an annual pass for all the national parks in the US. It’s only $80 and it covers the cost of one car entry fee. I almost broke even and I’m pretty sure I”ll be hitting a few more national parks in the next few months! It was a no-brainer for me. $10 for Seniors.

4. Request an economy car: Enterprise tried to hand me off an SUV despite the fact that I requested an economy car when I made the reservation. I insisted that they honor the reservation and waited for a economy car. After 2 hours, I decided to ask them to throw in some sort of freebie for the inconvenience. Initially, the rep refused and I had made up my mind to call corporate to file a complaint. However, he came around and threw in half a tank of gas for free. Lesson of the story? Don’t be scared to ask.  We saved $20 for the half tank of gas and $100+ for the extra gas we would have paid if we accepted the SUV.

Locations: Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, Arches National Park, Natural Bridges

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(source)

I’m heading off to the great polygonal state of UTAH! this weekend. Recently, Allegiant Airlines had an amazing one day sale to a bunch of cities in the US. The catch? They were all really booney cities. Anyhow, The BF jumped on it while I was out on a quick errand and I came home to find a ticket confirmation to Grand Junction, CO sitting in my Inbox. Grand Junction, it turns out, it relatively close to a few national parks that The BF’s always wanted to visit. SO, this great Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Natural Bridges National Monument.  With so much freaken nature, I set out to buy some bug repellent before I turned into a walking bug buffet.

The guy at REI was really helpful and recommended a few brands.

Bug spray options to keep those suckers off of you (not paid advertising, just wanted to share):

(source)

1. Ultrathon Insect Repellent: Originally, we were going to buy this product. The guy said it worked great and if we were going to the Amazon, we should definitely use this product. It also lasted 12 hours! He warned us that as soon as we applied it to make sure we washed our hands very carefully and be sure we didn’t get it in our eyes because DEET (an active ingredient) was a neurotoxin.

(source)

2. Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent: Considering the fact that I valued the last few brain cells I had left over (damn you early twenties me! why did you drink so much!), I opted for this plant based repellent. The sales rep assured me that it worked great (perhaps not as good as DEET is, though) but it’d serve our purpose. The down side is that only lasts for 6 hours and it smells very strongly of eucalyptus. So, I’m now upgraded from bug buffet to koala food.

3. Other methods: I’ve also heard of other methods of keeping the buggers away like avoiding using cosmetics with scents and perfumes. Listerine. Garlic. Sewing dryer sheets to the hemline of your pants. etc etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Additional Reading and Resources:

Protection against Mosquitoes, Ticks, Fleas and other insects and anthropods- CDC

10 Tips for Insect Repellent and Children- Kids Travel Doc

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Look what I just got in my email!!! It’s so beautiful… *snif sniff* it’s finally getting more popular… Virgin America now offer’s WiFi on planes now!!!!

” How much does it cost to beam the Internet from space onto your 400 mph laptop?
$7.95     for handheld devices (regardless of flight time)*
$9.95     for flights less than 3 hours*
$12.95     for flights of 3 hours or more*
*Surf as long as you like. Battery life? A trifle. We have power outlets at every seat. “

Other airlines that offer it are AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines,Air Canada

This service is typically offered for longer flights. I can picture my Twitter messages now:

“10 minutes down. Guy next to me took the arm rest. Maybe if I cough he’ll think I have the swine flu. muahaha “

“12 minutes down. Decided that I need the upside down hanging tomato planter in the AirMall catalog.”

“37 minutes down. Baby two rows up won’t shut up. I need a $5 dollar shot of vodka. Exact change appreciated.”

“43 minutes down. Woke up and had to slurp up my drool. Good thing my mouth was open.”

“56 minutes down. 10 minutes of turbulence just made me shat my pants.”

Additional Reading and Resources:

Wi-Fi returning to the airlines- Los Angeles Times

Cover your eyes: Not all airlines will filter Wifi- MSNBC.com

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Just read this article on CNN.com via Travel Companion about 5 tips for avoiding the latest hotel scam.  When hotels are overbooked, sometimes they’ll “walk” some customers to lesser hotels rooms. So that gorgeous ocean view suite with the beautiful french windows? SHAFTED! Go stay in the basement. Okay, maybe not that bad, but still the same idea. Anyhow, they offer a few suggestions on how to get around this if you get stuck in this. Read the article here…

:: :: :: :: :: ::

My wonderful BF plans a big trip every year for my birthday. As hard has he tried to keep it a surprise, I still found out a month before! Which, turned out for the best b/c it turned out to be a pretty intense and adventurous 7 day backpacking trip (and i’m not talking about those big packs, but rather a medium sized day pack!). We decided to travel light with only our backpacks since we’d be moving from hotel to hotel every day. For a seven day trip, it was extremely packed full of activities and I thought we really made use of our time there.

Seven Day Travel Itinerary for Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu:

Day 1: Lima
Monasterio de San Francisco
Plaza de Armas
Jiron de la Union to Plaza San Martin
Barranco- night life

Day 2: Lima
Museo de la Nacion $2
San Isidro- Museo Rafael Larco Herrera $8
Miraflores- Mercado del Indios
San Isidro- Bars

Day 3: Cuzco
Breakfast in Barrio of San Blas- they have tasty tasty pastries in this area
Museo de Arte Pre- Colombino $6
Qorikancha $4
La Catedral $5

Day 4: Sacred Valley
Pisac- Pisac Ruins
Pisac market
Chinchero
Ollantaytambo

Day 5: Sacred Valley
Ollantaytambo- hike the ruins
Moray Terrace $1.50
Salinas- Salt Pans $1.50
Ollantaytambo
Aguas Calientes

Day 6: Machu Picchu/Aguas Calientes
Machu Picchu- All day
Aguas Calientes -in the afternoon
Cuzco at night

Day 7: Lima
Pachacamac 31km southeast of Lima Archaeological complex $1.70
Miraflores
Walk around

If we had to do this trip over again, we would’ve spent less time in Lima and more time in the Sacred Valley.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Check out this Travelzoo deal to Japan. $555 & up to Tokyo. Seriously.

http://supersearch.travelzoo.com/?cp=Tokyo&catid=1014

Sumo anyone?

:: :: :: :: :: ::

This past weekend, the BF and I took a weekend trip to the North Bay/Marin (north of San Francisico Bay Area, CA). Specifically, we went to San Rafael, Muir Woods, Point Reyes, and Hog Island. There’s no personal pictures for this trip, really, since we only had our camera phones (i forgot our reg point and shoot). It was a great weekend getaway and we were reminded by how beautiful California is. I don’t know why we ever thought we could live in DC somewhere else!

We actually decided to spend two days here since there was so many things we wanted to see and do. Between hiking between giant redwood trees bigger than skyrises, laying on a soft sandy beach, and shucking organic sweetwater oysters just pulled from the bay a few hours ago, it was a really great and relaxing trip. Also, for you organic-loving, sustainable farming peoples out there, this is also the home many small family sustainable, including Marin Sun Farms.

Day One:

(source)

1.  Muir Woods: We actually spent the night in San Rafael the night before so that we’d be able to have an early start. After a filling brunch at Comforts, we headed to Muir Woods for some morning hiking. There are easy to moderate hiking trails here. If you’ve never seen the California Redwoods, then this would be a great place to see it. $5.00 adults, Free for kids 15 and under.

(source)

2. Point Reyes: On our way to Point Reyes, we stopped by some fruit stands and picked up some local pickings. Luckily I had brought a baguette, tomatoes, and avacadoes before the trip (don’t ask, it’s my staple), and we pulled aside to an clif overlooking the beach and had a light lunch at a picnic table.  While driving through, a guy randomly jumped in front of our car and threw his wallet at us. Apparently, locals aren’t fond of people speeding, nor do they carry an expensive wallet. Either way, he saved us from a speeding ticket, since a CHP officer with a radar was 50 feet away from us. Thank you, Mr. Wallet-thrower! You’re a douche-bag, but you saved us $300. After driving through the park, we decided it was time to get out of the car. We pulled over, hiked half a mile to the beach, and hit Kehoe Beach. Not the most gorgeous beach, but with cute clover-eating cows on a cliff looking over you, and just a handful of people with their cuter dogs sprinked in, it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.

3. Sol Food, San Rafael: After, we headed back to our hotel in San Rafael and Yelped a place to eat. Sol Food serves the tastiest Puerto Rican food ever. A lively and colorful spot, it offers huge organic and free-range entrees for an incredibly reasonable rate. 2 people, 2 entrees + 2 non-alcoholic drinks = $30. Definitely try the Pollo al Horno (chicken). Delicious, favorful, and served with pink beans on top of rice.   732 4th St San Rafael, CA 94901

Day Two:

(source)

4. Hog Island Oyster Farm, Tomales Bay: The next day, we met up with another couple in Tomales Bay at Hog Island Oyster Farm to picnic/grill. Next to Point Reyes, Hog Island Oyster Farm sells bags of fresh oysters directly from their farm. It doesn’t get any fresher than this! Come prepared with an ice chest and a shucker ($15 at their store) and reserve a picnic table w/ grill early. $10 pp at their picnic site, or drive down more and find a nice picnic spot by the bay. Recommended x-small Sweetwater oysters. 20215, Highway 1, in Marshall, CA. 49 miles north of San Francisco, 10 miles north of Point Reyes Station and 23 miles south of Bodega Bay.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

When my bf and I first met, we lived on opposite sides of the coast. So for the first 6 months, we were traveling back and forth every 3 weeks and got to see the inside of A LOT of airports. Did you know there’s a bronze statue of George Bush Sr in Houston International Airport? and Popeyes Chicken opens at 6 am in Atlanta? Needless to say, we signed up for a lot of airline frequent flier programs. The BF is really good at taking advantage of the miles and I’ve learned a few tricks from him too.

Getting the Most Out of Frequent Flier Programs:

1. Check with partner airlines: Over the holidays, I few with Continental, Northwest Airlines, and EVA Air. Although it was completely unplanned, it turns out that Continental is partners with both airlines! Can we say… major mileage? Since I’m part of Continental’s OnePass program, I’m getting a free ticket now! You can redeem mileage for past flights too. So it definitely pays to do a little research.

2. Earn miles by buying things through their website: Many airlines have partnerships with online stores. If you go through Continental’s website and visit stores likes Sephora, Target, Apple Store, you can earn miles per dollar spent. Granted it’s not a ton of miles, but it does add up and you might as well get miles if you’re going to buy that eye shadow anyway! (If you use a hotel card, like Starwood’s American Express, you can also earn points for hotel that way!)

Lots of airline programs are free, so it really doesn’t hurt to sign up for them. Even in this economy, it’s still possible to travel!

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Traveling tips for getting around in Macau:

1. Language Barriers: Don’t expect to be able to speak English to everyone in Macau, including cab drivers. They speak Cantonese in Macau and I was able to get by with my limited Mandarin, but we definitely still had a lot of language barriers. So before I headed out to the cab line at the hotel, I’d stop off at the conceirge and asked her to write my destination out in Chinese. It was much easier to hand the driver a note then to get dropped off in the middle of nowhere… which also happened.

2. Roads: Considering that the streets signs, like Rua do Almirante Sergio, were in Portuguese, I made the horribly bad mistake of assuming the cab drivers would know where I wanted to go. Wrong again! Despite having Portuguese street signs, the signs also have Chinese names, which are not as apparent to me. I’m not sure what the point of having Portuguese street names are if the cab drivers don’t use them. But that’s a mystery for another day.  After awhile, I just started telling cab drivers to drop me off big casinos, and I’d walk to wherever I needed to go.

3. Currency: Macau and HK dollars run in almost the same denomination. Example, 25 HK dollars is close to 25 Macau dollars. Yay! No need for currency conversion in your head. HK dollars is widely accepted in Macau. So if you’re coming from HK, you can use them easily. At big hotels, if you use HK dollars, you may receive your change in HK dollars. In smaller stores, you will probably receive it in Macau dollars.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

I subscribe to A LOT of magazines. I just love getting the most up to date information about “this and that”. Not surprisingly, I subscribe to a lot of travel magazines, too. I thought I’d share a little about the different ones I get.

A Review of Travel Magazines:

1. National Geographic’s Traveler: Pro: Amazing photos. True to NG form, National Geographic’s Traveler has a lot of gorgeous pictures. Their photographers definitely seem to take pictures in documentary-style. Sometimes the pictures are so amazing I just want to rip them out and put them on my wall. The places they go to are amazing, but definitely not your typical travel destinations. Cons: Places that are not always easily traveled to. Some destinations are incredibly remote or unheard of.

2. Travel and Leisure: T & L is very traveler friendly. Pro: Informative. It shares a lot of information that most travelers need to know like different travel gadgets, traveler rights, insight into the travel industry. It’s a pretty good magazine. Con: For the ritzy traveler. I’m turned off by their constant need to showcase travel fashion. Seriously? Definitely caters to an audience of a higher income level.

3. Budget Travel: This is my favorite of the three. Pro: Informative and budget friendly. It provides a lot of travel tips from real travelers and offers pieces that are much more financially attainable for the masses. I’m not talking about Reno, here, but worldwide. It offers information about travel searches, Q & A, and even an entire section on the month’s best travel deals. Cons: Nothing!

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Since I simply can’t afford to buy extravagant Xmas gifts this year, I came up with a few ideas that incorporated some of my travel photos.

DYI Gift Ideas

1. Regional Cookbook: This year, my brother and I were fortunate enough to both visit Taiwan (separately). I got the great idea to find Taiwanese recipes and make my own cook book. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but I’m inspired to try again at another time. It includes our favorite recipes, recipes for street food, and wallet-sized prints of pictures I took in Taiwan surrounding the recipes. Prints can be uploaded online and sent to Costco.

2. Framed Pictures: I went to Taiwan with my father. Since we rarely travel together, I took some of my favorite pictures and framed them. Am I the only one that’s usually too lazy to print out pictures?

3. Photo books: I think another wonderful idea is to make little photo books documenting travel pictures. I did so much traveling this year that it’d be a shame to just forget about them. Available at Snapfish.

Sorry I didn’t post this sooner, but some of these are actually my Xmas gifts and I couldn’t spoil the surprise!

I did a BONEHEADED thing and accidentally poured myself a soda jacuzzi in my purse. I spent most of the week trying to dry out all my electronics, which included my camera. Doh. Unfortunately, that means I have no pictures of my recent trip to NYC.

OH, how I wish I had pictures to relive all the great meals I had in NYC!!! I really tried to save money while I was there, even on food! But really, it doesn’t mean that I ate badly. There’s SO MUCH good food (and cheap!) in NYC!

A lot of my meals this time were Chinese or Japanese since I haven’t been able to get quality Asian food in DC. BUT fortunately for me that meant that a lot of my meals were very cheap!

Budget Places to Eat Asian food in Great Areas to Explore!

(image source)

1. Chinatown: I randomly walked into Fu Kee for duck wonton noodle soup. OH MY GOD. It is SO GOOD. It reminded me of my favorite Cantonese bbq place in LA, Sam Woo BBQ. Don’t be a fool. If you see duck hanging on hooks in the window, they’re not decorations… it’s tasty! So go in and order it. It’ll only cost you $5. Afterwards, pick up a knock off purse and rest your feet with Boba at Green Tea Cafe ($3).

(image source)

2. East Village: To tell you the truth, I didn’t see much of East Village. But I can tell you that one of the trendiest ramen places in Manhattan is there. Ippudo is amazingly unassume from the outside. But once you walk in, the trendy geometric shapes are EVERYWHERE! The place is always packed during eating times, but it’s worth the wait. (avg bowl of ramen: $12)

Another night, we headed to Yakitori Taisho for… well… yakitori! But it was so packed, we walked 2 feet over and went to its twin, Oh Taisho! With a huge array of meat on a stick, okinomiyaki (potato cassarole?), grill goodness, and beer, it was a really great time. For a lot of food and 5 people, our bill only came out to be $64 =  $12.80 pp.

(image source)

3. Koreantown/Murry Hill:  Every time I look at the Empire State Building, I know that I’m close to Korean food! This time, my friend took me to E 32nd & 5th Ave, then had me walk through a sketchy entrance w/o a sign, up a creepy staircase and into fried chicken heaven… BonChon Chicken is Korean fried chicken.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(image source)

This year, I decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. Mostly b/c it was going to be too expensive, but partly b/c Thanksgiving travel is a MAJOR HEADACHE. But if you do have to travel, it’s good to know a few tips to save you some time.

Tips to for Thanksgiving Travel:

Aerochannel.com: This day of flight service helps you figure out the travel time, traffic, parking, check-in, and security times for your travels.

TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has a list of things not to bring on planes, such as box cutters, swords, hockey sticks, ski poles, nunchukus, and blades. Dood, seriously? Use some common sense and don’t bring a loaded gun to an airport b/c you’ll definitely miss the turkey.

Packing: It’s good to know some packing tips to get through the security lines. Personally, I like to travel with easily removable shoes and belt-less. While waiting to get through the X-rays, be helpful and take out your laptop and remove your jacket. And, remember, liquids over 3oz are NOT allowed on the plane (with these exceptions). It’s incredibly annoying when someone is holding up the line by bitching. Look, man… just take out your change and do us all a favor and be thoughtful and efficient.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

After Obama’s victory speech on November 4th, I was already getting emails from friends who wanted to know if they could crash at my apt on January 20th! Six people will be sleeping in my 500 sq feet studio! Sorry slackers, I don’t have any more room!

General information for the Inauguration on January 20, 2009 at Washington, DC:

Inauguration: The inauguration Swearing in Ceremony, which you need tickets for (ask your congressman!) is going to be held on the steps of the Capitol Building, which is at the end of the National Mall (Federal Center/ Capitol South). I hear tickets are going for over $25k. The Inauguration Parade (free) is going to be going down the Pennsylvania Ave (Smithsonian, L’Enfant/ pretty much any stop around that area). Viewing stands and bleachers will extend from 3rd to 17th Sts. Most of the people are going to be there watching it on a jumbo tron for free.

(click here for Metro website)

Transport: DC’s a super walkable city! I think it was actually voted as the most walkable city! The Metro is the metrorail system here. It looks just like the Bay Area’s BART except it’s cleaner and no one pees in the corners. I wouldn’t recommend renting a car, just b/c inauguration week is going to be crazy!! Plus, DC has these weird loop-de-loop things in the middle of their streets that make driving in the district really confusing. You can get to most places in DC via metro, bus, taxi. You can’t get to Georgetown by metro (designed that way to make it less accessible for the “lesser” masses), but it’s about a 15 minutes walk from Foggy Bottom. It’s not a bad walk at all, but you do have the option of taking the bus.

Hotel: If you’re going to go with a hotel, take a look around. Hotel rates are going to be astronomical during this time. If you can’t find something for cheap in DC, also do a search for hotels in Pentagon City or Crystal City in Arlington, VA. There’s lots of hotels in Pentagon City and Crystal City, both close to The District. It’s really close to DC. It only takes 6 minutes to get from Pentagon City to L’Enfant. I heard that hotels get booked up really quickly during that time, so I’d suggest doing that asap. Also, you probably want to check if the hotel is metro accessible.

Airport: The best airport to fly into is Ronald Regan National (DCA). It’s a smaller airport, but the metro goes right into it. As a local, I always try to fly into DCA. Dulles International Airport (IAD) is bigger and more flights come into it (hence cheaper/no layover), but IAD’s far. (designed that way in case of nuclear war/missles, crazy, right? ) I think it’s like  $60+(?) cab ride. Otherwise, you can take a shuttle to get to the Metro to get into DC. The third option is to fly into Baltimore Washington International (BWI). One landed at BWI, you can take a 20 minute shuttle to the closest metro stop.

Geography: DC’s not very big at all. The metro reaches Maryland and Virginia. It’s broken up into quadrants: NW, NE, SE, SW. check this map out. Since most tourist attractions are in NW and NE, most visitors rarely venture into SE or SW.

Additional Reading:
Washington-Area Hotels Book Up for Inauguration- NPR

District of Columbia’s Official Inauguration Website

A Guide to Presidential Inauguration Events in Washington DC- About.com

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Initially, the idea of going to a place like Helsinki, Finland sounds super awesome.  However, my 2 days there turned out to be quite a disappointment. To be honest, I would never recommend anyone visit there on vacation, when there are so many other cooler cities to go to, no offense. Here are the things it lacked -

1. good shopping
2. warm weather
3. good looking people
4. beautiful architecture/sites to visit

However, since this is a travel tip blog, I will still fulfill my duties and give you recommendations of things to do if you do ever find yourself stuck in Helsinki. English is prevalent throughout the city so no worries if you haven’t been brushing up on your Finnish.

Stay.
If you go, you should try staying at the Klaus K hotel. It’s one of the Design Hotels, which is this awesome chain of super trendy (think W, but more expensive) hotels around the world (mostly outside of the US). The hotel had very awesome shampoos/body wash from their spa. The highlight of my entire trip was eating at their Italian restaurant, Toscanini – I know you’re thinking, “Good Italian in Finland??!” It was seriously the best pasta I’ve ever had. In my life! full stop.  (and yes, I have been to Italy). I would seriously fly back just to enjoy that meal again.

Eat.

So other than Toscanini, I did enjoy some delish seafood at a cool restaurant called Fish Market. We stumbled onto it searching on the 50 best restaurants in Finland. It came up as #12. Very cute ambiance, food was good, overall a very satisfying experience. I ate fish sticks (I know, silly of me), which are pictured below.  Other than that, I do recommend you trying some Indian food in Helsinki. I learned that Helsinki is one of the best cities for Indian food outside of India, thanks to all the Indian employees at Nokia. Random huh?

Shop.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that most stores in Helsinki do not open until 11:00am or sometimes even 12:00pm! There really isn’t great clothes shopping in Helsinki, but you can find great stores for furniture, decorations and knickknacks. Stores all look very trendy and “Scandinavian”, but sorry girls, it is definitely no Paris or Italy.

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(image source)

Last week, my brother called me and told me that he was at LAX airport and the airline wouldn’t let him on the plane to Asia. Why? Because his passport was going to expire in 5 months and 29 days. Within the last 2 years, many countries now require that travelers must hold passports that are valid of at least 6 months. PAIN!!!

Three Ways to Renew Your Passport

1. Expedited Passport Renewal: Fortunately, my brother was able to make a same day expedited passport renewal appointment with the Los Angeles Regional Passport Agency. Since he went in to the office, I believe he had to pay the $75 renewal cost + $60 expedited fee.  With his passport in hand, he was able to reschedule his flight out for the next day. If you’re heading out of the country within 2 weeks or if you need your passport for to apply for a visa within 4 weeks, your best bet is to go into one of the offices. If you have some time to spare, you have the option to mail in a passport with standard fees + $60 expediated renewal + overnight shipping fees. Traveling Tip: don’t count on the airlines to tell you about passport requirements. Check all visa/passport requirements before heading abroad. Some countries, like Cambodia, will ask you for 2-3 passport pictures upon entry into their country.

2. Mail in Passport Book Renewal: After hearing about my brother’s nightmare, I decided to renew my passport ASAP since I’ll be doing some traveling to Asia soon. The US Department of State’s Travel/Passport website offers different ways for you to update your passport. Since I have 2 months before I head out to Asia, I opted to mail in my passport. It takes approximately 3 weeks for the processing time. All I had to do was fill out the DS-82 form, my passport, and $75 processing fee. It was all pretty painless.

If you’re name changed or if you’re renewing a passport issued to you before you’re 16, you must fill out one of the other forms.

Address to Mail in to: National Passport Processing, P.O. Box 13349, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101-3349 (check with the US Department of State’s site first)

3. Renewing through Private Companies: Many travel agencies also will renew your passport for you. But it will cost much more than if you were to do it yourself. In my opinion, it was such a fast and easy process for me to mail it in, that I wouldn’t recommend going through a private company.

Additional Reading and Resources:

When your valid passport isn’t really valid – MSNBC

National Passport Information Center

How to Renew or Apply for A Passport – WashingtonPost.com

US Department of State/Passport

:: :: :: :: :: ::

(image source)

I drink water like a camel (so says The BF). No seriously, I always tell my travel buddies that whenever I say: “I’m thirsty”, it really means, “let’s stop and get me hydrated or I’m going to unleash bloody hell on life and then stop and then my head will explode.” SO, it’s very important that I’m always hydrated.  Because of my “drinking” habits, I always travel with my Sigg waterbottle!

Reasons I heart my Sigg:

1. Green: Siggs are eco-friendly, reuseable, and recyclable water bottles that are extremely durable.

2. Health: I get really worried about plastic contaminates leaking into the water in plastic water bottles. SO the best part of this water bottle? I can leave it in a hot parked car and come back and still drink!

3. Save Money: I’m always stopping to buy water bottles. For an average of $2 for a bottle of water or other liquids, I can easily spend $10-20 (seriously!) a day when I travel just for water. Granted, in some countries, it’s safer to drink water from a water bottle, but in the US, I can alway count on filling it up in a drinking fountain.

Granted, I once tried to put hot tea in it and it was NOT a good idea. Talk about carrying around a hot potato made of metal! Other than that, I really love it!

Additional Reading:
Are Sigg Aluminum Bottles BPA Free? – TreeHugger.com

What’s in Your Water Bottle Besides Water? – National Geographic

Sigg Product Review – Life Goggles

:: :: :: :: :: ::