Hospitality Every culture has its own form of hospitality. Some people make us feel at home right away, while for others it takes more time to warm up to new…

Intro to Qingdao We visited Qingdao quite unintentionally, but it turned out to be a great stop. Located at the southern tip of the Shandong peninsula, this charming port city…

Galveston Island Located about an hour south of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Island is a barrier island that has been hit hard by powerful hurricanes and storms.  In 1900, Galveston…

Intro to Gyeongju Once the capital of the ancient Silla Kingdown, which ruled most of the Korean peninsula from the 7th to 9th century, Gyeongju maintains a concentration of temple…

Intro to Bundi The region in the northwest of India known as Rajasthan has long been a favorite base for cultural and historic exploration. Most popular routes include the three…

With a castle that sits atop a dormant volcano, countless historic places and spaces, Gothic cathedrals, amazing architecture, modern museums and galleries, and ghostly underground vaults, Edinburgh has a lot…

Desert Outpost Bikaner Firmly planted in western Rajasthan Bikaner has a distinctly different feel from the other Rajasthani cities we’ve visited thus far. It’s a big city, but one that…

Udaipur is known as the romantic City of Lakes. Throughout Rajasthan, people kept asking when we would visit this quaint, yet well-touristed spot. The city is as picturesque as promised,…

Rajasthan Arrival On the road leading to Jaipur we pass fields of bright yellow mustard. Bullock carts are replaced by camel carts. Some camels have intricate designs shaved into their…

Forewarned and a little nervous, we arrived in Agra by train after dark. Stories of scams, being overcharged and harassed abound: gem scams, fake marble souvenirs, aggressive vendors, unscrupulous drivers…