Featured photo above: Borobudur Temple, Central Java, Indonesia. Many people use travel agents – so should you use one for your next trip? (Note this isn’t about guides or group tours which is another topic altogether.) Pros of using an agent: Can give great but unobvious suggestions Help plan…
Featured image above: Iconic Piazza San Marco peaceful late at night, Venice. Touristy places, by definition, are popular with travelers and yet at many such sites, those very same people complain that the places are overrated. Sometimes they are even called the ultimate put down – a “tourist…
Either by inconvenient connections or intentional planning, a long layover presents an opportunity to visit someplace outside of the transit airport. If one visits a faraway place, chances are direct flights are rare/expensive/nonexistent which means at least one connection. The airline flight fare algorithm undoubtedly knows that long…
Featured image above: View from the Shanghai Tower. High observation decks abound in many cities: New York and Shanghai have at least 4 each, Tokyo has the Skytree, and Toronto the iconic CN Tower but this post isn’t meant to be a compendium of such places. I don’t…
Should one end the day or indeed a whole trip with the top highlight? Pros for saving the best for last: Having something to really looking forward to during the entire trip Possibly deepens appreciation of that highlight Cons: Things constantly go wrong on trips, so there is…
The answer, as it almost always is, is that it depends. Are you at a place that is notable for the street food? What is your risk tolerance for cleanliness? How much of a premium are you placing on comfort – maybe it’s 38C and humid, so that…
Lodging choice for a trip can greatly impact the experience as well as the budget. So, what are the considerations when deciding whether to stay at a fancy hotel? Pros of fancy hotels: Location Service Comfort/amenities Cons: May be too insulating and one doesn’t immerse in the locale…