Teachertraveler:adventuresabroad

BUDAPEST In 2010 I had decided on Eastern Europe for my next trip. But where: Budapest, Vienna or Prague. The popular thing was to take a trip to all 3 cities, but time and money meant that I had to choose 1. A friend, who had been to all 3 felt that I would really like Budapest based on my trip to Istanbul.   So I booked the ticket and then went on to my favorite hotel website for the crapshoot that is “finding a nice but yet budget” place to store my luggage and rest at night. I lucked out and found the Hotel Castle Garden. It is on the Buda side of the river and very near the Buda Castle district. The room was spacious and the bed was soft with exceptional linens.   It was off-season so it was very quiet. The Hotel was a quick walk from the main transportation hub of subways, trams and buses all very easy to navigate. I really liked the Buda Castle area: very charming with museums, cafes and little shops, pricey but picturesque.   As a coffee drinker, finding...

So the winter pondering of where to go in the spring came around again. Usually I start thinking and mulling around October/November to give me time to plan. I knew this time I wanted to head to Asia. The only previous trip was to Bali in 1999. I started questioning my brother who had been to Asia several times. As usual, Thailand was at the top of the list but my brother suggested Cambodia … not a typical place for American tourists, and I liked trips that were a little off the beaten path, and   seeing Angkor Wat was also intriguing and mysterious.   Brother also said Cambodia was very cheap, other than the airfare. So booked my trip for March of 2009. Another long plane ride!!!   I booked a small, boutique hotel called the Kabiki (I really wasn’t sure what that meant) and getting there from the airport was a bit tricky. The hotel didn’t provide a pickup service, so I just found a tuktuk willing to go to the hotel. Fortunately I had printed up the address. For some ...

photo and quote from here: https://i2.wp.com/www.adventuresaroundasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/quote-14.png Beijing is "home" for the time being ... at least for 2 more years. It's an interesting mix-that of tourist and resident. I consider myself a tourist when I go out to see the things that all tourists should see. So far, I don't imagine that I have seen as much of China as I should have, but I have 2 1/2 more years to explore a bit more of this country and city.  I have done a few of the BIG THINGS: *The Great Wall, and yes, it is *The Forbidden City *Pearl Market *The Shard Shop SOME SNAPS TO ENJOY some are from my daily life