Random Observation/Comment #551: Let’s all live in Maine. Simpler fashion, delicious seafood, and hiking to your heart’s content. TL;DR: Maine is really beautiful and an unexpected foodie scene. We now want to visit every national park and come back here for more Fore Street. Things Maine Does Well Lobstah – whether you’re getting full 1 1/2 lb hard shells, hot...
Random Observation/Comment #549: Wedding weekends are a wonderful thing. It’s a lot more fun when you’re not photographing them and can just enjoy. Congratulations to Niki and TomTom! May you fall deeper in love everyday. As this wasn’t a standard bear travel trip, I didn’t do my standard due diligence planning of activities. I assumed I’d be at a resort...
Random Observation/Comment #539: Traveling during off season is risky, but certainly rewarding when you want some quiet and great deals. January temperatures are usually in the upper 50s in Bermuda, so bring warm layers because the damp code does, “chill ya to da bone.” Luckily, due to our freakishly warm winter, we scored some sunny days in the 70s and...
Random Observation/Comment #535: Everything is bigger in Texas. Hook ’em! I love long weekend trips and this one to Austin was exceptionally excellent and well-balanced. The wife and I flew out Thursday night and back Sunday night through one of those awesome JetBlue winter wanderland deals, and just had a wonderful time. Austin is one of those super kind cities with...
Random Observation/Comment #530: MiniMoons are great. I need more of these long weekends away. For our mini honeymoon (AKA MiniMoon), Wanessa did a long weekend out in Sag Harbor with a general agenda of drinking wine, picking pumpkins, and eating cheese. All-in-all it was pretty perfect and really made this whole marriage and spending-the-rest-of-our-lives-together thing sink in. Things Sag Harbor...
Random Observation/Comment #526: Napoli and now Ubud – I think I’m unintentionally following the path from Eat, Pray, Love. Bali is a pretty big Island packed with hidden gems and beautiful culture. One may think it’s all about the beaches and surfing, but the side streets and temples really make this place alive. The Balinese people also fully complete the package....
Random Observation/Comment #516: A productive vacation is one where you’re not thinking about being productive. I actually need to teach myself to relax sometimes (or at least justify that it’s good for me). Things Phuket does well Reasonable prices – one can live very comfortably here with average $3 meals Spices (specifically curry and Tom yum soups) – I love...
Random Observation/Comment #515: If you read TripAdvisor, almost every recommendation for visiting Hong Kong is eating food (it’s not, but it should be). Bring your appetite and elastic waist pants. Things Hong Kong Does Well Seafood. I love the large family style dinners that give you a bit of everything. Give me all the jellyfish, scallops, and steamed fish! MTR....
Random Observation/Comment #513: Japan’s blend of the traditional and downright weird is comforting. Whatever the roots may be, they are firmly grounded. Things Japan Does Amazingly Transportation – while it looks unbelievably confusing, it is pretty darn efficient. Food – I have a separate entry about how much I love Japanese cuisine. I think I just like all Asian food....
Random Observation/Comment #508: I wish I just knew people in every major place I wanted to travel to so I could crash on their couch, hang out at a local pub/coffee shop, and get introduced to the local customs. I’d get the underground culture and also see an old friend. People always ask me, “Where do you stay when you...
Random Observation/Comment #486: If you have celiacs, you’d probably die in Italy of starvation (or be miserable and grumpy all the time). This full road trip includes drives to towns of Brisighella, Bologna, Rimini, San Marino (for the passport stamp), Ravenna, Imola, Dozza, Castelvetro, Castelnuovo, Modena, and Parma. Things Emilia-Romagna does well: Pasta pasta pasta. It’s just so freaking good....
Random Observation/Comment #284: If there’s nothing to do, go eat something. If it’s too expensive to eat, go get drunk. If it’s too expensive to get drunk, go take a nap. For context on the socialism and pricing piece of Norway, please first read the previous post. Things Norway does well: Infrastructure and cleanliness Men seem more attractive than women...
Random Observation/Comment #283: Norway is so expensive, it makes NYC cringe. $15 for a Big Mac. Wtf… I normally write my travel advice with “things given place does well” and “things given place needs to improve”, but I feel Norway needs a bit of a preface to the complexity of its environment and economy. The number one thing you’ll find...
Random Observation/Comment #441: There’s something about going to a restaurant and ordering ‘the usual’ or walking into a bar and getting greeted on a first name basis that makes me smile. I think we all just want to be accepted as a regular. Recently, friends and old travel buddies have been visiting NYC and asking me where to go eat and...
Random Observation/Comment #439: Have you ever woke up thinking you were going to South Africa to find out you were tricked to go to Istanbul, but then landed in Bulgaria? That’s why I love being a bear. Things Istanbul does well: Street food – You will certainly eat well here. Prepare for a lot of meat and sweets. Kumpir potatoes...
Random Observation/Comment #434: It’s important to differentiate a sports rival hatred with travel advice. It’d be unfair to judge Boston based on the Bruins or Red Sox rivalry, but man do they suck. Things Boston Does Well: College campuses. Harvard, MIT, North Eastern, and Boston University all have beautiful campuses for walking and crashing their local tours. I’d really just...
Random Observation/Comment #431: “Ya, mon. No problem.” is a great response and attitude towards life. We had all been Clemens’ed. That Friday morning, I had no idea where I was going that afternoon. We just opened the envelope labeled “Adventurers” and flew. Well, at least it wasn’t Haiti. This is travel advice specifically for Kingston, Jamaica and not Montego...
Random Observation/Comment #430: It’s always good to live spontaneously. Sometimes you just have to let go and do something crazy. Def. Getting Clemens’ed. Going on a vacation without knowing the destination until reaching the airport. Hazing from those who know are a given. “Katie is getting Clemens’ed for this trip because she doesn’t know we’re going to Scotland. Poor Katie…...
Random Observation/Comment #425: From my travel experience, I’ve found that all major cities have the same key components. There are pockets of cultural groups, old towns, ghettos, rich areas, financial districts, tall buildings, sprinkling of parks, and hipster scenes. These seem to just naturally form and if you really want to experience the culture, you’ll need to dig much deeper....
Random Observation/Comment #424: When Chinese parents get older and more health conscious (obsessive), they love vacations with a lot of leisure strolling and fresh air. I planned a full 6-day trip for my parents and my aunt to Whistler + Vancouver to get an overall mix of nature and culture. Verdict: it wasn’t a typical bear trip, but we certainly...
Random Observation/Comment #413: The Bad Idea Bears are not foreign to layovers and have enough experience to make the most out of the transfer in a new country. Layover trip planning is a completely separate beast to regular trip planning because TIME is the largest constraint. In most cases, you want to err on the side of caution and stay...
Random Observation/Comment #412: Smog is smoggy. Looking at the Earth as an organism, humans are definitely the worst disease the Earth has ever caught. You need to stop with those one night stands, Mother Nature. Things China Does Great: Great Wall. It’s pretty great and epic. Certainly worth every penny to go and see it with your own eyes if...
Random Observation/Comment #410: Go Parahawking. Seriously. Plan a whole trip around it. It was the best 25 minutes of my life and I think everyone should do it. You’re welcome. I took a deep breath of fresh mountain air as I counted the white peaks of the Himalayas. The view from the top distracted me from the fact that I...
Random Observation/Comment #409: Wherever we go and whatever we do, safety first – stories later. Things Nepal Does Well: Delicious Indian food (vegetarian). I can’t say much about the meat products since I was a vegetarian the entire Nepal trip, but all the stews, curries, and momo dishes were extremely flavorful and delicious. I also found it to be quite...
Random Observation/Comment #408: Haggling is an art. I am terrible at haggling. I usually feel bad because haggling naturally occurs in third world countries with Street vendors where the price you pay for the goods and services are already a small fraction of what you would normally pay at home. I’m too nice and give away my buying intentions too...
