It’s almost February and we still have no travel plans for 2016! *gasp* The year started pretty slow for us – we have a few ideas of where we want to go, but haven’t booked anything. This is a little bit shocking to our friends and family who keep asking where we’re off to this year. By this time last year we had already snatched a great deal to Rio. With gas prices continuing to plummet, I expected that there would be a lot of cheap flights, especially to Asia. So, this morning when I found out that American Airlines was having a great sale on flights from major cities in the US to Asia with flexible dates, I tried to jump on it. Continue reading
Travel Tips
IHG Rewards Promotion
Have you ever dreamt about staying in an extremely pricey 5 star hotel? We certainly did, and our once-in-lifetime-dream hotel is an over-water bungalow in Bora Bora. However, the fact that the room comes with a hefty price tag of $950 per night has kept that dream from becoming a reality…until now. We recently found out about the Priceless Surprises promotion run by the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) where you can be eligible to win anything from 500 IHG points to 2016 Paris Tennis Tournament, valued at $23,000. The great part is, you can enter up to 94 times for free! Here is the breakdown of the promotion: Continue reading
Trip Report: Eastern Europe
This was a special trip because it was the first one I’ve taken with my baby sister. Even with our age difference, we always seem to be on the same page about everything, including our favorite show – Gilmore Girls. One of the things I remembered from watching the show was the backpacking trip they took through Europe and how much fun they had. That’s what I wanted to do with Kim, and this summer we finally got our chance. Since we were only going to be there for nine days, we had to narrow it down and pick a few cities that we both wanted to visit. Being on the same wavelength, we quickly decided on Prague and Berlin. The artsy, vibrant energy of Berlin, and the beautiful architecture of Prague really appealed to both of us. Below is the breakdown of our trip to Eastern Europe: Continue reading
Planning Myanmar

[photo credit: Wikipedia]
Planning Brazil

[Photo credit: Len Theivendra via Flyseestay]
Stuck in Africa…Almost

[photo credit: www.skyscanner.com]
Planning Tanzania

[photo credit: Across Tanzania Expedition]
Banking Abroad
Cash is king – and nowhere is that statement truer than it is outside of the US. Anyone who has ever been to a foreign country knows that credit cards are rarely accepted, and if they are accepted, they usually come with some hefty fees. Lets face it, we Americans are used to swiping credit cards for anything here in the US – from a cup of coffee, to a large screen TV. When we travel abroad, however, pulling out a credit card for every little thing is frowned upon and usually met with a weird stare. Continue reading
Tips for Aspiring Travelers
After a long hiatus, I am finally back on the road, but what makes this trip special is that I am going with my baby sister. Even though we are 12 years apart, we are always on the same wavelength about everything…except when she is trying to convince me to go to a rave and I am convincing her to go to a lecture at the Reichstag. LifeAfter9-5 will be featuring Kim as a guest blogger, describing her travel experience from a student’s perspective.
Unlike my cultured sister, I am unfortunately not as worldly when it comes to travelling. I’ve been to Asia a few times but my parents tend to do all the planning, and I just have to show up at the airport. Being 22, I don’t have a lot of experience organizing big trips (yet), but I’m hoping to change that this summer. Without too many daunting obligations and a year’s attempt of saving money, I’m planning on visiting a few countries. The first stop? Germany and Czech Republic with Caitlin! While preparing for my first major trip, I’ve learnt a few tips and lessons for other aspiring travelers. Continue reading
Packing for Australia
I am so excited that Australia is finally here! This will be our first long vacation in two years, so instead of running around like crazy for a weekend, this will actually feel like a vacation. But before the fun vacation part, we’ll have to do the not so fun packing part. I’ve gotten so used to packing for weekend trips, that I don’t know what to do when I have to plan out what to pack for 2 weeks in advance. You’d think after all traveling we do that I’ve got this packing thing down, but no, Fausto is the packer in our relationship. He just has a way with fitting everything nice and perfectly into the suitcase (must be all the Tetris he played as a kid). My problem is I can never decide what to wear and it varies depending on the weather, where I am going, and my mood; so planning ahead of time is impossible.