Palaces represent the foundation, history, and culture of a nation, but the two Malay palaces I saw were a little different. I think it’s because people generally associate the Petronas Towers as a symbol of Malaysia and in Melaka, you…
Photo Friday: The Mutainyu Great Wall of China
I trekked the Mutainyu section of the Great Wall of China, and it was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. It’s definitely in my top few travel experiences, and I can’t go on enough about how…
Why I Visit Places that are “Too Sad and Depressing”
I’ve been used to getting odd looks and having people think I’m an oddball for a long time for various reasons, but the biggest ones often come when people hear that I want to see places like Auschwitz. They always…
Photo Friday: The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood has the most incredible church interior that I’ve ever seen, which means that it’s even more stunning than the inside of St. Basil’s in Moscow…wow! It’s called the Church of the Savior…
Uzupis – An Unknown Republic
The Republic of Uzupis isn’t like any other country. Well, technically, it isn’t a real republic; it isn’t recognized as such by any other country in the world so sadly, I couldn’t count it as country #20 on my travel…
Photo Friday: Mayakovskaya Station
Mayakovskaya is one of the favourites among my colleagues and students. It isn’t frequented nearly as often as Novoslobodskaya or Komsomolskaya since Mayakovskaya isn’t on the circle line, but even though I haven’t seen all of Moscow’s metro stations yet,…
International Women’s Day in Russia
😀 Happy International Women’s Day! 😀 In Russia, International Women’s Day, or Международный женский день (Me-zhdu-na-rod-nii zhen-ski dyen), is very important. It’s also called the Day of Spring and Flowers; I’ve never seen so many people walking around with flowers, which…
Photo Friday: Cologne Carnival Costumes
Cologne Carnival was my first world famous carnival, and until about 2 weeks before my trip, I didn’t know that I would be there for carnival weekend. I heard that anything goes when it comes to costumes, but I had…
Cologne Carnival – The Pros and Cons
When I booked my February long weekend trip (23rd-26th) to Cologne back in November, I had no idea that it was going to be Cologne Carnival weekend. How’s that for a happy accident?! 😀 I was so excited about it…
Panorama Hotel Review – Vilnius, Lithuania
Panorama Hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania, is the best place to stay because of its unbeatable location. There are other features that make Panorama Hotel a great choice for your trip to Vilnius, but the location is what really gives this place…
