…really specify that you are four people and it would guide you to available “family rooms” designed to accommodate more than two people (Kayak, for example, does not offer this option). We also recommend you check out hotelscombined.com (which is a clearing house for all internet hotel sites), agoda.com (in Asia especially) and hotels.com which is a British-based site. The nice thing about staying in hotels is that you often get breakfast too….
THE BEST CITIES IN THE WORLD (TO LIVE IN)
…Shanghai feels like the thriving beating heart of the next hundred years. 3. TEL AVIV, ISRAEL People go to Israel for the history, for Jerusalem, for the Dead Sea, but Tel Aviv is where the action is. Tel Aviv is the perfect combination of New York and Los Angeles, a great city on the beach. The restaurants are some of the best in the world, they serve fresh vegetables at breakfast, many people glide around the sidewalks standing on motorized…
TWENTY QUESTIONS: THE MAORI PEOPLE
We had the opportunity to sit down with Tainui Stephens, a Maori director and producer, in Wellington, New Zealand, and discuss what distinguishes the Maori from other indigenous cultures around the world. So many indigenous people, such as the native American Indians, saw their land taken from them and their culture marginalized. But in New Zealand, it’s different. The Maori heritage is more integrated into the life of the country. We…
NEW FRIENDS ALL OVER THE WORLD
…What continues to astound us is how we make new friends nearly every place we go. Some are through mutual friends, some are through chance encounters, all are enriching our journey incredibly. In the first 60 nights of travel, we have had dinner with other people roughly 48 times. Here is just a small sampling of the awesome new friends we’ve collected so far. These are the true souvenirs of our journey….
A NEW YEAR (TO THINK)
…ple arrive at the shores of the Ganges river to bathe in the sacred water, to mourn and burn the dead, to pay homage to their ancestors with offers of floating candles and flowers petals, and to pray. This is the holiest hour of the day at the holiest place on earth for all Hindus. In Varanasi, we woke before dawn and made our own pilgrimage to the riverbank to witness these rituals firsthand. If you like, as this is the dawn of a new year, use…
TWENTY QUESTIONS: THE KEY TO SUCCESS
…In a visit to another of the world’s lovely coffee houses, we catch the proprietress off-guard with one of life’s important questions….
FRANNY REPORTS: CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND
…A year and a half ago, Franny helped organize a school fundraiser to aid the victims of a substantial earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. For this reason, we made sure that Christchurch would find a place on our itinerary. When we got to the city, we were all shocked, saddened, humbled and inspired by what we discovered….
TWENTY QUESTIONS: A HINDU PRIMER
…ed Munish Anand — teacher, father, philosopher, guide, and all around wise dude. In a single afternoon, our family learned about religion, the history of the city, the political realities of the country, and heaps about life in general. Here is just a brief excerpt from our discussion about Hinduism, another in our ongoing series of “Twenty Questions” around the world….
ROAD MATH: TEST YOUR TRAVEL I.Q.
Behold the price of gas in Thailand. Here’s today’s assignment: Tell us the cost for a gallon of gas in Thailand in US dollars. Keep in mind, the prices you are looking at are for a liter. Use your currency convertor to find out how many Thai Baht you get for a US dollar. Then use the well-worn formula for converting liters to gallons. This is just one of the many ways we use our math skills (and our calculator apps) on a constant…
FRANNY REPORTS: THE RECOLETA CEMETERY
…coffin was discovered to be half-open. The legend says that the cemetery keeper called her family and when her family got there they discovered that the ornaments surrounding the coffin were destroyed and the coffin was now open. Apparently she was not dead and she roamed the cemetery at night. This is the most famous story of the cemetery, because it is thrilling and for me made the cemetery come to life. There is another well-known saying…