• Egypt

    Before Going to Egypt

    December 23, 2016 - By 

    For an incredibly foreign country, I can’t imagine any tourist or traveler arriving to Egypt without having done any prior research.  Upon my homework, I repeatedly came across the same information: 1. Since the revolution of 2011, tourism in Egypt has been decimated. Once the top tourist destination in the world, Egypt’s hotels, restaurants, and tourist districts now struggle under pathetic despair. Egypt’s notorious temples and iconic sites that once saw mass tourism and rapid deterioration can now be enjoyed without anyone else in sight. As an independent traveler, it’s easy to think, “This serenity is wonderful!” but second thoughts immediately become…

  • Kenya

    Maasai Mara

    December 17, 2016 - By 

    Any online search for 3-day/2-night Maasai Mara safaris in western Kenya will show luxury options upwards of $800-$1,000 per person. Searching for budget options still resulted in $450-$500 trips per person. Seriously? What the hell. Fortunately while volunteering in Kenya my program manager told me that past volunteers had been able to tour the Maasai Mara National Reserve for $300 per person. Then I befriended a foreigner who knew of highly recommended locals that plan safaris to national parks all over Kenya. This agency is Safaribook Evolution. For $300 per person, Chris and I got picked up from our accommodation…

  • Kenya

    Coffee and Tea Plantations

    December 10, 2016 - By 

    According to worldatlas.com, Vietnam is the world’s 2nd largest producer of coffee, and the world’s 7th largest producer of tea. Also in the list of top world producers is Kenya, the world’s 15th largest producer of coffee and 3rd largest producer of tea.  Looks like Kenya and Vietnam have something in common! =) (While both countries are the world’s top producers of coffee and tea, Kenyans primarily drink diluted milk tea while the Vietnamese passionately consume plain tea and black coffee.) Because Nairobi’s neighboring towns of Kiambu and Limuru are surrounded by coffee and tea farms, I knew I had to take a tour on each…

  • Kenya

    Nairobi: Elephants & Giraffes, Oh My!

    December 2, 2016 - By 

    Full day tours of Nairobi cost about $100, with the highlights being the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Center. However, visiting both places independently will cost less than $20 and requires only a half day. Traveling by bus in Kenya is incredibly cheap and easy! The elephant orphanage is only open to the general public from 11am-12pm on a daily basis.  During this hour, visitors can spectate the endearing site of bottle-feeding and mud-bathing elephants and listen to a quick introduction to the orphanage’s family of elephants.  Many elephants are rescue elephants and are later reintroduced back into the wild–yay! From…

  • Kenya

    Why I Won’t Visit Kibera, Africa’s Largest Urban Slum

    November 27, 2016 - By 

    The idea of touring a neighborhood simply for photographing and gawking over a community’s appalling living conditions has never appealed to me. I mean, how would you feel if the top 1% came to your neighborhood, your home, and took pictures of your children playing in local parks or of you preparing meals, knowing that they feel great pity for your lifestyle and plan on showing their photos to their 1% community? It’s…demeaning. Sure, the high costs (roughly $25) of a tour supposedly go toward the local community to help pay for infrastructure, schools, and so on. The intent there…

  • Kenya

    Amboseli National Park

    November 21, 2016 - By 

    Amboseli National Park lies at the Kenya-Tanzania border with grand views of Mount Kilimanjaro looming in the distance.  Hoping to witness the iconic Kenyan landscape, I meticulously planned an independent, budget trip to Amboseli for my first ever game drive without considering the current time of year…the rainy season.  Naturally I was never able to lay eyes on the magnificent mountain as I discovered it was typically hidden beneath the thick layers of clouds year-round, but it didn’t matter.  The journey there itself along with a wonderful stay in a tent house and spectacular game drive equated to a wonderful weekend getaway. Searching…

  • Kenya

    First Impressions of Hospitable Kenya

    November 15, 2016 - By 

    Little did I know that I would end up waiting for almost 4 hours for my pick up from the time I stepped out of Nairobi’s international airport…at 2:45am. Sitting on the sidewalk with my bags watching groups of tourists get swept away by representatives holding name cards made me look and feel pretty pathetic. Due to the ungodly hour, there were only a handful of touts attempting to sell safari tours between stifled yawns, and even they pitied me. Fortunately this foreign country has 2 national languages, one of which is English. Whew. Naturally everything worked out in the…

  • California

    King’s Canyon and Sequoia

    October 28, 2016 - By 

    California boasts the highest and lowest points in the U.S. at Mount Whitney and Badwater Basin.  In addition to that, California also has the 2nd oldest national park in America (after Yellowstone), which is home to the largest trees in the world! This park is the joint Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  During our three and a half days at the park, we traversed canyons and trudged up the slopes of alpine mountains. We strained our necks to catch the slightest glimpse of the tops of the world’s largest trees. We tread softly through the inside of a sequoia, we…

  • California

    Ghost Town Bodie

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    Ever since I stumbled upon Rhyolite, a ghost town of respectable size in Nevada, I learned more about the handfuls of poignant mining/gold rush ghost towns of California. Of the ghost towns, Bodie was the most notable but relatively distant from any major city, and the thought of visiting Bodie had remained in the back of my mind ever since. As a resident of California, I knew I’d eventually see it—it was only a matter of when, and once again I found myself east of Yosemite, not inconveniently far from Bodie. Time to go! The state has turned the ghost…

  • California

    Bristlecone Pines

    October 20, 2016 - By 

    I had just learned about the ancient bristlecone pine trees—the world’s oldest known trees—at Great Basin National Park, and my fascination with them plus further research led me to the discovery of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. During my side trip of summiting Mount Whitney, I learned that the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest was not far. In fact, it was right off our route north on Highway 395, nestled in the White Mountains in Inyo National Forest. We headed there the day after we summited Mount Whitney. Within this ancient forest is the 4.5-mile loop trail that includes the bristlecone pine named…