Jenia Ustinova
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A Week in Hoi An
The thing about Hoi An is that its very popular destination. Very, very popular. And unlike, say Hanoi, which is super crowded because everyone and their mother wants to live in the capital, tiny Hoi An is densely packed thanks to all of the visitors. We were there in April – which is considered an…
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Easy Riders: Motorcycle Tour of Vietnam
Easy riders guide Hai and Jenia exploring Vietnam by motorbike. As I mentioned previously, we don’t typically do tours, for a number of reasons. Now, we lucked out in Ho Chi Minh City with Saigon HotPot tour, which was not only excellent in and of itself, but was also free. We were having such a…
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Ho Chi Minh City Tour with Saigon HotPot
Traveling on a budget meant that we skipped on some of the luxuries that we would normally indulge in on shorter trips. For the most part our sacrifices were in the entertainment category – aka historical sights with exorbitant admission prices were out, as were most of the ‘adventure’ activities, such as ziplines or hot…
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People Watching in Saigon
People watching is one of my favorite activities wherever I am – at home or traveling. In my opinion, it’s totally underrated as “a thing to do”. Sergey doesn’t really agree with me – he gets restless from sitting around in any one place for too long. Meanwhile, I can go on for hours –…
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Cai Rang Floating Market Tour
Floating markets are kind of a thing across much of Southeast Asia. Some functioning, some totally manufactured for tourist consumption, either way floating markets are emblematic of the region where water byways were the main routes of communication, travel, and what have you until just about 60 years ago (!) And in fact, when serious…
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Tea with a Monk in the Mekong Delta
Vietnam was a country that I was apprehensive about before our arrival. Reading travel blogs and listening to other travelers, it seemed there were quite a bit of negatives stories about being scammed by kind old ladies, professional hackers, and everyone in between. Reportedly we were expected to bargain for everything – even food –…
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Month 15 Roundup
So. We’re back home. A little late on this update… because life started. Like full swing. In the first two weeks we unpacked all of our possessions (or almost all), scrubbed the house, painted the living room, and had a welcome back / Sergey’s 30th birthday (!) party. Sergey started a new (old) job, and…
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Month 14 Roundup
STATS Days on the road: 426 Number of beds: 9 Countries visited: Russia, US – states: NY, CT, OH, MI, IL, MO, TN. Postcards sent: 0 Thoughts Atlanta, Georgia has the busiest airport in the US, which serves as a hub for Delta jets. This entire month, save for the first five days, we’ve been back in…
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1 September 2014 – Istanbul, Turkey
A compilation of experiences on our last day in Turkey. We flew from Ankara to Istanbul to visit with Pete, Adrienne and Vivi for one more time before heading back to Russia. This particular view is from the rooftop of Mama Shelter, Istanbul, where we had pre0-dinner drinks )
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31 August 2014 – Ankara, Turkey
We visited the Ankara archeology museum on our full day in Ankara. Definitely worth a look, lots of fascinating artifacts, and a nice garden to boot.
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30 August 2014 – Ankara, Turkey
Shopping in castle district in Ankara! I am a big believer in collecting pieces during our travels. We’ve sourced items for our home pretty much in every country we’ve visited, and in Turkey sort of hit the jackpot. Plenty of well priced items for sale – they might not be the most authentic — though we…
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29 August 2014 – Ankara, Turkey
A visit to the Anitkabir, the eternal resting place of the father of modern day Turkey – Ataturk. A fascinating insight into modern Turkish culture, value system, and national identity. An absolute must if you are in the area.