Places We Visited – Page 3 – A Couple of Tourists

A Step Into the Past in Athens, Greece

June 17, 2017MargaretNo Comments

Visiting Greece was always something on our bucket list, and this May/June we were able to travel internationally with a group of friends (Winnie, Kacey, Daniel, and Albert) for the first time. It turned out to be one of my favorite trips so far. Having friends to laugh and do stupid things with while exploring a foreign country took us out of our usual hotpot-and-board-game-at-home situation. Not to mention, we ate so much delicious food! One of the best things about traveling with a group is being able to family-style every meal and try as many dishes as possible without breaking the bank. Outside of Astoria, New York lacks an abundance of amazing Greek food so of course we had to stuff ourselves given the chance.

Although Tie and I usually plan a pretty thorough itinerary for our trips, this time we decided to be a bit more spontaneous as we were traveling with a group and understood that some of us would have conflicting interests. I admit that not having a solid plan made me kind of stressed out in the beginning, but I eventually accepted that this should feel like a real vacation so just lounging around sometimes should be okay.

Pennsylvania

The Weekender: All Tangled Up in the Pennsylvania Lantern Fest

June 14, 2017Margaret2 Comments

This past weekend, Tie and I went to Pennsylvania with our friends to check out the annual Lantern Festival. We’ve seen others post their pictures and videos of the event from previous years and it looked beautiful. Props to Winnie for organizing!

We bought our tickets from Eventbrite months in advance. I didn’t realize just how popular the Lantern Fest was, but it was completely sold out in the few weeks leading up to it. Some friends had to turn to social media to ask for additional tix. Early bird gets the worm! Tickets were $37 and includes one lantern and a smores kit. Kind of pricey, but someone’s gotta clean everything up.

Hong Kong

A Self-Guided Photography Tour of Hong Kong

June 7, 2017MargaretNo Comments

I was inspired to do a self-guided photography tour of Hong Kong after watching one too many old DigitalRev videos on YouTube. After doing some research online for interesting places to shoot, we embarked on our adventure (which ended up taking about two days – Kowloon on the first and Central on the second). I wish we had explored the neighborhoods instead of just snapping a pic and moving onto the next spot. Maybe next time when we have more than 2-3 days in HK. My feet started hurting after a while since we were walking to and fro each place, so bringing comfortable shoes is a must. Now on to the list!

China

Sanya: Day 3

May 23, 2017MargaretNo Comments

The next day we were originally supposed to go to Haikou, which is north of Hainan. We got up early and headed to the railway station, which was quite far from our resort. Just our luck, it turns out that even when traveling within the same country (in the same province!), we needed our passports to buy tickets and we had left them in our hotel safe. Darn it! Went all the way there for nothing. So instead we rode all the way back to the hotel and came up with a contingency plan for the rest of our time in Sanya.

China

Sanya: Day 2

May 21, 2017MargaretNo Comments

On our second day in Sanya we went to Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park (what a mouthful). It was only 11 minutes by car from our resort so we took a cab. At the park, our taxi driver purchased a group ticket for us and two other strangers who hopped in for a carpool to the entrance. Cabbies would always offer to buy tickets because they get a kickback (price is the same for us), but what we should’ve done is held onto the physical ticket instead of letting the two strangers hang on to it. More on that snaffu later. It was just the beginning of what would become a long, long morning.

China

Sanya: Day 1

May 13, 2017Margaret2 Comments

Tie and I decided to visit Sanya, Hainan (part of China) from of our love for Hainanese chicken. As it turns out, the best Hainanese chicken is found in Singapore, which is an adaptation of the original dish, Wenchang chicken. More on that in a later post. Nonetheless, Sanya is often regarded as the Hawaii of China. Now, having been to both, I can say that the two are totally different aside from the tropical climates. I haven’t been back to the mainland in almost a decade. Like most of China, Mandarin is the common dialect in Sanya. It felt strange being regarded as foreigners since Tie and I either spoke English to each other or spoke Mandarin with a Cantonese accent. But it was easily the most memorable leg of our Asia trip, as it felt at once familiar and like unexplored territory.

Accomodations, China

Review: The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort

May 9, 2017TieNo Comments

When I was looking for a place to stay in Sanya, I checked American Express Fine Hotel and Resorts (FHR) and decided on the St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort. I decided to use FHR for our booking due to the many benefits that were provided: fourth night free, complimentary room upgrade, daily breakfast for two, and the additional benefit this property provided was a free private one-way airport transfer. We decided to use the private airport transfer for when we arrived. It feels great not having to figure out transportation to your hotel after getting off from a long flight. When we landed, after going past immigration to the arrival area, our driver was waiting there holding a sign with my name on it.

Amsterdam

Exploring Amsterdam (and Getting High AF)

April 3, 2017MargaretNo Comments

Amsterdam was a mix of romantic walks along the canal, well-curated museums, and some seedy things. We spent a total of five days living out of a tiny AirBNB by the canal and walked our way around the city. I had attempted to rent a bike before quickly realizing that there was no way I could avoid getting hit by a car or running someone over. So we got our cardio in instead.

Tennessee

The Weekender: Sights and Activities in Nashville

March 24, 2017MargaretNo Comments

I told everyone we were going to Nashville mainly for the food and country music, but the truth is it was mostly for the food. My country music knowledge can be summed up by one Shania Twain album, a handful of Patsy Cline songs, and Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” (wait…are they even country?). Nonetheless, I was eager to listen to some live music. Tennessee isn’t known for its scenic views, but I was surprised it was a popular destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties. Here’s what you (or y’all?) can expect.

Flights, Singapore

Love is in the Air: Singapore Airlines Suites Class

March 22, 2017Tie2 Comments

It was time to embark on our journey aboard the Singapore Airlines A380 in Suites Class. Suites Class is Singapore Airline’s First Class tier aboard their Airbus A380 where all the seats in the cabin are suites. If you want to read about the planning process for this flight and how we managed to get seats in the Suites Class, you can read my previous post on it here.