Here is a comprehensive list of every singe blog post I’ve ever written. Happy Reading!
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 7 – 24 hours in Yekaterinburg
During my planning, I had read that Yekaterinburg is a good stop point to break up the Trans-Siberian route, but that it was an industrial city not worth lingering. I took that silly advice and only allowed for less than 24 hours in this lovely city. Self-Guided Walking Tour If…
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 8 – 3 Days in Kazan
Journey to Kazan Our train left for Kazan from Yekaterinburg early in the morning. The 13-hour journey was our first non-overnight train; the perfect time to do some good old-fashioned reading without the distraction of Internet. I read Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and completed Hillbilly Elegy in one…
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 9 – 3 Days in St. Petersburg
Journey to St. Petersburg After 3 wonderful days in Kazan, we headed back on the train for St. Petersburg. For this 22-hour journey, we shared our cabin with a young man who looks like he was in the military. His parents sent him off at the platform. I snapped a…
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 10 – 3 Days in Moscow
Journey to Moscow After hours upon hours of long-distance train travel, we hopped on a high-speed rail to reach Moscow. The train was impeccably new yet comfortable. Somehow, having been used to the luxury of spreading out on our beds during train journeys, the 4-hour ride on a seat felt…
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 11 – 24 Hours in Kyiv
Hello Europe After bidding farewell to Russia, we began the journey towards Europe. The overnight train went by quickly. A nice middle-aged lady communicated with us through body language, and shared her snacks. We followed French’s advance to the World Cup final via Google updates on 3G, and drifted to…
Trans-Siberian Railway Part 12 – 2 Days in Warsaw
Journey to Warsaw We boarded our final sleeper train of this journey in Moscow, heading to Poland to spend 2 days in Warsaw. This train was one of the most Soviet-era-esque trains we’ve taken, likely because most people in their right mind would take a low-cost airline flight, and not…
Trans-Siberian Railway: The Finale
The last part of Trans-Siberian journey through Europe was fairly rushed since we needed to be back in France by mid-July. After two days in Warsaw, we took a 6-hour train to Berlin, stayed overnight to celebrate France’s win in the World Cup, then headed for Strasbourg, our final destination….
Getting Russian & Mongolia Visa in China
Preface Xavier (French) and I (Taiwanese-American) were living in Shanghai at the time of this trip prep. I was staying in China on my Taiwanese ID, but will be traveling on my US Passport, so I needed to obtain Russian visa in Hong Kong. US citizens do not need a…
Trans-Siberian Railway: The Summary
12 trains, 115 hours, and 14,645km. This Trans-Siberian Railway journey took us 27 days. What an incredible experience, and it all went by in a flash. I could have easily double the time for this trip, and dig deeper into each of the places that we visit. If this trip…
2018 Year-in-Review
2018 has been an absolutely epic year. Recently, I listened to a podcast that describes how time can sometimes feel so slow, yet at other times feels fleeting. In essence, when our lives are filled with new experiences, our brain is busy processing all the new signals, and all that…
Farmhouse Experience in Uruguay with Workaway
2019 is the year that we would put ourselves completely out of our comfort zone. This journey began in January with a 3-week stay at a permaculture farm with an American family in rural Minas, Uruguay. We found this family on Workaway, and this was our first experience with an…
Workaway Success Tips for Hosts & Volunteers
After our successful first Workaway experience in Uruguay, we had two less stellar encounters in Chile. We left both of them early. The first experience, at a homa-culture farm near Curacavi, Chile, I came down with a cold on the first night, and needed to sleep through the first morning…
2019 Q1 Business Update
I’ve been blogging off and on (mostly off) for over a decade now. Things in the blogging world have changed, but my love for writing to pay-it-forward has not. Blogging has remained the only hobby that I can consistently work on for hours at a time. You know that “follow…
8 Days in Mexico City
Mexico City was such a surprising delight. Two years later, I can still feel the vibrant energy, remember the incredible cuisine, and appreciate the culture that permeates through its streets. Our family vacations together every year, and despite my sister and I’s globetrotting ways, we prioritize the yearly trip. Accommodation…
One Week in Charming Montreal
At the end of last summer, I was in Vermont for a wedding. Since Montreal is so close and I’ve heard so much about this charming town, it was necessary to make a stop. I booked the Greyhound bus that journeyed from Burlington Airport to Montreal Bus Station on Busbud….
