Ratna writes

We recently embarked on a much-awaited trip to a destination we've been curious about: Beijing! Some of our favorite sights there were Prince Gong's Mansion , Ri Tan Park , and the 798 Art District . We're always on the prowl for good gluten-free veggie food, and especially since there's a misconception that it's hard to find in China, wanted to share some of our favorite culinary experiences with you. All links given below are in Apple Maps, since that should work better in China. Vegetarian Food in Beijing Suhu Vege Tiger (Qianmen): Go here HUNGRY! They have a brunch 12pm-3pm and dinner after 5pm, with tens of different Chinese dishes, done with mock meat, tofu, and vegetables. They also have some pasta/Western/Mexican options and the option to make your own hot pot. We got there at 2:45 so you can imagine the frantic scramble for food! We had: everything imaginable Tianchuxiang Vegetarian (Chaoyang): In the financial district, tucked away in an otherwise desert...

This February, Mama and I ventured out to Krabi to make up for a very hectic Q4 of 2024. On our last day, we joined a group tour to explore the Phi Phi Islands. These tours are not for the faint of heart! They are designed for adept swimmers and climbers, adaptable to being packed like sardines in a wet-hot boat. Our first stop was Loh Dalum Bay , where snorkelers could see fish right up close to the edge of the teal-clear water. After an hour of swimming and getting soaked by the sun, it was off to Monkey Bay for a peek at some simians from the boat!  Next, our boat took us to past Viking Cav e, where those of us addicted to seawater could dive in for a swim. After this, a crowded, bobbing dock and hundreds of tourists were all that was in the way between us and Maya Bay . This beauty is a sight for sore eyes! A coral conservation site, Maya Bay gained international fame after it was featured in the 2000 movie “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. We snuck in a photoshoot amon...

This fall, Priya and I took our first ever sister duo trip to a new city together! She's had her heart set on Taipei ever since hearing about Taiwan from Mr. Chang in high school (and figuring out it's the shortest and most reasonable flight from Hong Kong). ]We landed at Taoyuan International Airport and took the MRT to Taipei Main Station -- the signs were easy to navigate as pedestrian traffic flowed smoothly, and Priya navigated us onto the express (not commuter) line into the city. We grabbed a 4pm lunch at the food court in the basement of Taipei 101 before settling in for a few meetings. After delicious pho and a few hours of work, we were keen to explore Taipei by night! We headed to the iconic Raohe Street Night Market , framed on one side by the visually stunning  Songshan Ciyou Temple .  For the next few hours, we delighted in deep fried sweet potato balls (like little donettes made with sweet potato), delicious steamed dumplings, barbecue roasted corn, and Japanese...

Today, we took a road trip from old town Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon National Park and the Mae Klang Luang Village , about a 1.5-hour drive. Our first stop was the imposing Wachirathan Falls , whose source is the Mae Klang River. From there, we drove by car to the Ang Ka Nature Trail , a short and flat boardwalk stroll through cloud forest, that takes you to the summit of Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters high.  The trail featured a tangle of sphagnum moss, mushroom varieties, and rhododendron plants (which flower starting November.) It was my first time seeing a verdant wetland at such high elevation! Next, we visited Chiang Mai’s famous pagoda at Nabhapolbumisiri. The complex features twin pagodas, dedicated respectively to King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. This signature Chiang Mai view is stunning, and equally stunning was the fog that befell us while we shivered through the visit on this particular day. At lunch, an inviting green curry and tom yum soup at a local homestay thawed...

Hội An is an extremely charming town, preserved throughout as it looked in the 18th century, with the Thu Bon River winding through it, a river system used in the 10th century to trade with the Vietnamese highlands, Laos, and Thailand. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia. Its importance as a port declined with the end of Nguyễn rule at the end of the 18th century, due to a turning away from foreign trade and silting of the river upstream. As its use for trade reduced, so did its contact with the rest of Vietnam. The 1990s saw efforts to revive and preserve the city by a Polish architect and conservator , responsible in part for the Hội An we were able to see this weekend. The beauty of the town lies in walking around and letting it saturate you, the bright mustard walls of each building adding a uniformity of joy to each of Hội A...

At 12:30 today, we boarded for Macau at the the TurboJet pier at Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. Upon arriving in this charming special administrative region, we fumbled with a few casino buses before taking a cab to Senado Square , a paved town square that was a meeting place for the Portuguese and Chinese in the 16th century, and comprises part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The brilliantly colored St. Dominic's church lies at its north side, while the main road is to the south. Mama and I only had about 4 hours in town until our 7:00pm ferry, so we used this super handy article to prioritize our sightseeing. We walked about 5 minutes north to the Paço Episcopal da Diocese de Macau , situated in a very pleasant square next to the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. Next, I was too keen to see the mint green Dom Pedro V Theatre, the inside of which we perused as I perched on an ancient chair and re-juiced my phone battery. Around the back of the theater lies St. Augustin...