Category: Destinations

11 Cute Towns to Explore in Virginia

I have to be honest: even though I’m a Baltimore gal, Virginia easily wins over Maryland for best small towns. Its history is mush better preserved and there’s a diverse landscape from the bayside to the Blue Ridge Mountains (a place said to be among the most beautiful in the entire world).

I’ve been to Virginia several times, but I decided to go around, driving to the state’s small towns to experience them for myself. These are the ones that made the cut to this blog post, the ones I found most charming and worthy of a recommendation.

So without … Continue reading

“The” Day Trip to Coptic Cairo: an Honest Review

After my tour of Egypt, I wanted to supplement my visit to the capital city with a tour of Coptic Cairo. Many of these tours are offered and they give a look at the Christian sites of Cairo (“coptic” meaning ancient Egyptian Christian), many incorporating nearby sites of Jewish and Islamic Cairo as well. Before going, I had no idea what to expect or the history of coptic Cairo but since many of the sites looked beautiful, I opted to go on a tour and find out.

Long story short, yes, I do actually recommend this tour, particularly for history … Continue reading

“The” Day Trip to Alexandria, Egypt from Cairo: an Honest Review

Formed during the Greek empire, Alexandria is one of Egypt’s most historic cities and the 2nd largest city behind Cairo. My guided tour of Egypt didn’t include a stop in Alexandria so I opted to stay an extra day to see this mediterranean city I’d heard mixed reviews about. Since I wasn’t sure what to expect, I booked “the” day trip from Cairo that covers the city’s most popular and important sites.

Here’s what I thought.

Ancient Roman Amphitheater

I’ve seen amphitheaters before but seeing the amphitheater complex of Alexandria was a real surprise and highlight of my day. A … Continue reading

6 Beautiful Tombs to Visit in the Valley of the Kings

A visit to the Valley of the Kings is an essential part of any trip to Egypt, and it was a huge highlight of mine. The complex has dozens of incredibly preserved tombs with vibrant artwork from the Book of the Dead along the walls and is quintessential to ancient Egyptian history. It’s a short ride away from Luxor and absolutely worth having a day or half-day carved out of your itinerary for.

What’s up with the Valley of the Kings?

In the ancient Egyptian creation story, the peak called ta dehent (al-Qurn) was said to be where the god … Continue reading

An Honest Intrepid Travel Review for “Essential Egypt” as a Solo Female Traveller

After careful planning and looking at Intrepid travel reviews, I booked the Essential Egypt Tour for my first tour with Intrepid Travel and my first time in Egypt (and Africa and the Middle East). If you follow me, you know I put too much thought into things, so I did a lot of research and comparison before making my booking. So for all of you who also put too much thought into things, I’m providing a more detailed Intrepid Travel review so you can know just what to expect.

If you want the short version, it’s yes, I would absolutely … Continue reading

A Stop in Narai-juku, a Charming Japanese Town on the Nakasendo Trail

Narai-juku is one of the most popular towns to visit on Japan’s Nakasendo trail. With a glimpse of its streets lined with old wood facades, it’s very easy to see why. For my second trip to Japan, I opted to make Narai-juku a stop and it was a very lovely place that definitely lived up to the hype.

Some of Narai-juku’s History

Narai-juku is part of the Nakasendo trail, which is an Edo-period road that connected Tokyo to Kyoto (circa 1603-1868). It’s one of the 69 post towns where people would stop to rest. Many of these towns are still … Continue reading

A Stroll Through Tsumago, a Lovely Town on the Nakasendo Trail

Tsumago is one of the many towns located on Japan’s historic Nakasendo trail, and it looked so lovely that I opted to visit it alongside Narai-juku. It was such a nice stop and should definitely be on your list of places to visit in Japan.

A Snippet of Tsumago’s History

Tsumago started as a post town among the short Kisoji trail, but was subsequently absorbed as part of the Nakasendo trail, which is an Edo-period road that connected Tokyo to Kyoto (circa 1603-1868). It’s one of the 69 post towns where people would stop to rest. Many of these towns … Continue reading

My Botched Trip to Hakone: 10 Lessons You Can Learn

Hakone’s a popular day trip from Tokyo to see the iconic Mt Fuji. I’m a fairly seasoned traveller so taking a day trip, with a Romancecar ticket in advance, seemed quite easy. But once I missed my train, things started to go downhill. There was nothing wrong with Hakone itself – just me being royally ignorant and unprepared.

I seemed to be the only one out of the loop but maybe I wasn’t, and maybe my knowledge in retrospect can help. Here’s what I did wrong so that you don’t make the same mistakes I did!

Keep Note of the

Exploring Kanazawa, a City of New & Old & Gold: Things to Do & Travel Guide

With its charming old town, Kanazawa – the “Samurai city” – quickly made its way up to the top of my travel bucket list. There are several districts to experience its centuries-old past. But it’s also a large city, so I wasn’t sure what I would really think. I only had a day’s visit but there was a lot of great stuff to see!

Some of Kanazawa’s History

Kanazawa started as a fortified temple, or fortress, dating back to the Muromachi period. In 1583, the fortress was taken over the by Maeda clan and reconstructed into a castle while a … Continue reading

A Stop at Shirakawa-go, one of Japan’s Most Popular Places: Things to Do & Travel Guide

It goes without saying that Shirakawa-go is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan, its popularity fueled by photos of its old rural houses against a large mountainous backdrop. Naturally, it was a place I also wanted to go, though I always head to these places with a bit of caution. Is it actually worth the hype? I have to admit, I found Shirakawa-go to be very cute.

The History of Shirakawa-go

A note that Shirakawa-go is the name of the region and Ogimachi is the name of the village that most people visit, and the one talked