Travel Tips
We have now visited over 30 countries and have written travel tips regarding accommodations, transportation, places to eat, and must-see places to visit. This section is a work in progress, as we are working to make it easier to find articles. For now, you can find some of our recent travel tips below. You can also do a search to find information about the location of your interest! Thanks for visiting. 🙂
Tips for Budget Accommodations in India
by Joji Throughout most of our travels we usually book our accommodations at least a day in advance before arrival. Because, it is a lot easier to have somewhere to stay before you arrive in your destination. Especially after a long over-night bus ride or if you are arriving late in some obscure little town […]
Wieliczka Salt Mine, near Krakow, Poland
On May 9th we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, near Krakow, which is another attraction that you can easily visit without an organized tour. Directly across the street from Galeria Krakowska (which is next to Krakow Glowny) is a mini-bus bus stop. Look for the bus that says “Wieliczka” and/or “Salt Mine”. The cost for […]
Auschwitz-Birkenau
On May 8th we visited Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Oswiecim, near Krakow. It is very easy to get to Auschwitz without a tour from the city center of Krakow. At the main bus station, located behind Galeria Krakowska (and next to Krakow Glowny Train Station) look at the departure signs for the next bus and […]
Bus Ride on VRL from Hospet (near Hampi) to Mumbai
by Joji We arrived in the early morning in Mumbai on a bus from Hospet. We booked an overnight bus from one of the many tour agents in Hampi. We were told that the bus would drop us off at the bus station next to Victoria Terminal (aka CST), but of course that was not […]
Making the Best of a 12 Hour Train Delay from Ernakulam Station, Kerala to Calicut
by Joji We enjoyed our short visit to Kerala and wished we could have slept longer in our beautiful room at the Fort Inn, but our train was to leave at 8:10 AM and the station was on the mainland. That meant we had to leave our room at 6:00 AM in order to catch […]
Arriving in the Andaman Islands
On the 12th of April we arrived in Port Blair, located on Lower Andaman Island, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We went to the dock to check about ferry tickets to Havelock Island, and there was a ferry leaving in just a few minutes, at 8:30am. Unfortunately, we weren’t ready to head to Havelock […]
Silk Shops and Khadi in Varanasi
by Joji Silk Shops We first visited Baba Blacksheep, which is easy for rickshaw drivers to find since there are signs all over town pointing to its direction. The service there was very professional and not pushy. They seemed biased towards the silk made in India and seemed to not like stuff made in Nepal. […]
Singh Guest House, Varanasi – Review
The location of Singh Guest House is a little south of all the craziness of the old city center and because of its location, it is quieter, has a decent garden where you can relax from the madness of Varanasi, and you can also have your rickshaw driver take you right in front of its […]
Kama Sutra Temples in Khajuraho, India
We arrived in Khajuraho on the morning of April 5th. As usual, there were rickshaw drivers at the train station trying to take us to particular hotels for commissions. We insisted on going to Yogi Lodge, which was listed in Lonely Planet. We were very happy with the service there and got a bargain on […]
Jaisalmer Camel Safari – Avoiding Hotel/Safari Scams
The hotel rooms in Jaisalmer are dirt cheap, but there is a catch. Most hotels will expect you to book a camel safari through them, which is where they make their money. We had learned from our good friend and fellow traveler, Mariana, about a scam involving hotels and camel safaris. Here is how it […]
Panjim to Udaipur- A Long Haul
I hardly slept on the overnight bus from Panjim to Mumbai. I had forgotten to take our sweaters out of the big backpack before putting it in the luggage compartment, and with the open windows it gets chilly on the bus at night. I slept less than 3 hours, and George didn’t fare much better. […]
Bus from Gokarna to Panjim, Goa, India
Our three days at the beach in Gokarna flew by too fast. Pretty soon it was time to head north to the city of Panjim, in the state of Goa. We took a local bus departing at 8:15am from Gokarna to Madgoan, which took about 4 hours and cost 80 rupees per person. It was […]