Eunjae's & Joel's Travel Blog
Eunjae's & Joel's Travel Blog
Morocco doesn’t reveal itself all at once; it unfolds slowly. You notice it in the air first — spice, orange blossom, a little wood smoke — and then in the way sound travels through old medinas, echoing just a beat longer than you expect. Mornings are unhurried, light spilling into courtyards and shaded riads. Nights […]
Welcome back!I hope you enjoyed the summer and are now ready for the crisp beauty of fall. We just returned from Norway, where we checked off another “bucket list” experience—and it was absolutely worth it! Our long-held dream was to witness the Northern Lights, the ethereal Aurora Borealis, in person. Previous attempts in Alaska were […]
This week, Eunjae and I attended the ADA Divine Awakening Festival in Ada Bojana, Montenegro and wanted to share our opinions and observations. The Festival was billed as “Six days of unity, celebration and self discovery. It combines workshops, Cacao ceremonies, performances, art, movement, healing, etc., with spiritual, emotional and artistic dimensions.”. It’s described as […]
Moving on from Orkney and the weather is amazing. We have been blessed with clear skies, 12c~ 21c, dry weather; wonderful considering it is Scotland. President Trump visited Scotland while we were here, no we didn’t see him, and as you can see from the cover photo, not all the locals were happy. Not sure […]
August and it is 13c / 55F, raining and windy! Perfect Scottish weather if you are trying to escape the Novi Sad summer heat. How has your summer been going? Our summer is fantastic, and we will be following the Scottish NC 500 starting and ending in Inverness, with stops in the Orkney Island and […]
Spring is here and I am all about it! After our whirlwind Africa tour, we focused on reconnecting with friends close and afar. This included picking up some new hobbies like studying for our private pilots license. Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for pilots, and the amount of information they […]
Our trip is drawing to a close and we are at our final stop: Bumi Hills Safari Lodge nestled atop a cliff overlooking Lake Kariba in Northern Zimbabwe. Our journey through Botswana, Zambia and now Zimbabwe has been nothing short of breathtaking. So much wildlife and the people are so kind. Traveling during the rainy […]
Welcome to Zimbabwe! We moved from the lap of luxury to a bush camp surrounded by nature and tons of Elephants. We are spoiled in Europe and America by how easy it is to get from Point A to Point B. The distance from Thorntree River Lodge, Zambia to Somalisa, Zimbabwe is approximately 100 kilometers […]
Welcome to Thorntree River Lodge, an oasis in Zambia located minutes from Victoria Falls. This lodge is spectacular and a nice change of pace from a safari camps. This is a lux hotel with individual bungalows, top-notch service, gourmet meals / cocktails and best of all Rhino! Actual Rhino, not Republican In Name Only (RINO). […]
Back in February 2014, we hired TrueAfrica to plan our Kenyan Safari. It was so memorable, that when we decided to return to Africa, we used TrueAfrica again, and so far they are doing a superb job. We will spend almost a week in Botswana and our first destination is Camp Kalahari located near Maun […]
Last night while watching the news I ran across this graphic that highlights just a few of the activities, orders and actions Donald Trump has authorized within four days of becoming President. Regardless of your political viewpoint, I think we can all agree that for at 78 years old, Trump has more energy than most […]
A few days ago we celebrated our 34th Wedding Anniversary, and come October will be 39 years together. How do you describe nearly 40 years together? Magical, joyful, fun, occasionally annoying… all are useful labels to encapsulate a life together. Our Anniversary We hosted a dinner party at our favorite restaurant Jasmin a Maslina to […]
Apologies for the long intermission between updates. How is your summer going? Ours is going well, but the heat is still oppressive and shows no signs of abating soon. Since Corfu, we have attended EXIT Festival 2024 and stayed with friends at their camp on Hvar, Croatia. Humanity Why is the blog titled Empathy and […]
Happy Birthday to me, I’m 60! With age comes new experiences…. So I am in the bathroom taking care of some personal grooming, no big deal. You know how it is, hair sprouting from places it shouldn’t and absent from where it should. Grabbing my trusty weed whacker (AKA nose hair trimmer), I begin deforesting […]
Where has the time gone? One year ago in May we left Virginia and moved to Serbia, and so many wonderful memories and experiences have manifested. The food, the drink the travel, and of course, old and new friends. We never in our wildest dreams expected to meet and become friends with so many wonderful […]
Our “One Night in Bangkok” (exotic 80’s song, written by ABBA) was actually three nights of eating, drinking and watching the Lady Boys perform live. Bangkok is truly international, and is an orgy of vibrant sights, smells and tastes with people going everywhere at all times of the night. Traffic is a nightmare, and traffic […]
After eleven hotels, six flights and three boat trips, it is comforting to know we will be home soon. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing our newly acquired Thai cooking skills. On a very positive note, Eunjae’s coughing, asthma and colds have completely disappeared and she is feeling well. We both have […]
No, I am still a heterosexual white male. Visiting temples requires men and women to cover their knees and shoulders, and wearing pants at 40C is a “non-starter,” so bring on the sarong. Entering Laos, the first thing you notice is the lack of humidity although it is still hot 40C (104F). The heat wouldn’t […]
Cambodia is not what we expected and has offered delights that exceeded our expectations. Crossing the border, via water on The Jahan, is a study in contrasts. The Vietnam border was bustling with ships, factories and people; upon entering Cambodia just a few boats and riverside shacks. Prior to this trip, our only exposure to […]
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is a modern / cosmopolitan city, steeped in history and surfaced a lot of memories. Biden’s State of the Union announcement that the US military will be “boots on the ground” in Palestine feels like the Beirut Marine barracks bombing just waiting to happen again. What do they say […]
Well hello from Vietnam! OK, cliched and appropriate. We left Serbia on February 24th where it was sunny and 17c, only to find Vietnam firmly in winter’s grip – overcast, cold (12c during day) and windy. Who thinks of Vietnam and being cold? For gods sakes, we left Serbia for Southeast Asia to be warm! […]
Morning everyone, how has your winter been? Novi Sad winter is a bust! Barely a dusting of snow and the local ski resorts are desperately trying to make snow. Strange that Virginia had a a real winter and the Balkans are in the teens (Celsius). Many of you asked “what happened to the blog?” Simple […]
After returning from Slovenia, we have been enjoying Novi Sad, exploring restaurants, hosting vintage movie nights and meeting new people. Our friend Iva took us to the “American Corner” where we participated in a debate about America’s 2nd Amendment “the right to keep and bear arms.” The Serbian take on private gun ownership is interesting […]
Imagine a country with wholesome natural beauty, lots of castles, charming town centers, and you have Slovenia. A seven hour drive and well worth the trip. Usually takes 5.5 hours, and should have, but I forgot to deselect “Avoid Tolls” on Waze so it took 7 hours. Sometimes I am an idiot! Ljubljana The Slovenian […]
We recovered from EXIT, returned from Budapest only to be assaulted by two freak storms that wrecked havoc on Novi Sad. Natives say they haven’t seen storms like these for 37 years. We barely escaped the storm’s fury during a sunset cruise on the Danube and had to take cover in a riverside bar; oh […]
We found an apartment and it is right next to the City Centre, which is amazing since there were only 2 other apartments available that met our needs. We have entered into negotiations, and I can firmly say that the Serbian approach to real estate is very different than anything we have ever experienced. Then […]
Hello friends, I thought I would share some of our adventures since we moved from the US to Serbia. Serbia has been having an unusually cold spring. Temperatures have not cracked 19C (yes dear friends, we have converted to the dreaded metric system), which is around 67F. Today, we submitted our official paperwork for residency. […]
