Off the Beaten Path
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Our Experience on a Dual Narrative Tour in Jerusalem
We spent an exciting morning on MEJDI's Dual Narrative Tour in Jerusalem learning about the tensions between Israel and Palestine and exploring the many perspectives regarding this conflict.
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Our best experience in St Petersburg: Dinner with the Prokopenkos
What do you look for when you travel? The must-visit, to-do listicles usually include UNESCO sites, significant points of attraction and to-die-for dishes, and I know this because I’ve written so many of these articles. But increasingly, I’m beginning to realise that the most meaningful moments of travel happen in the ordinary. They exist in moments of human connection, in empathy, in the recognition that we are all not that different. We were fortunate to experience that on the Home Cooked St Petersburg and Market Tour with St Petersburg Urban Adventures. Sampling local food at Sennaya Market Our experience began with a visit to Sennaya market. While I was initially…
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Total Moscow Tour: Experience the best of Moscow in 1 day | Review
When we planned our itinerary for Russia, the general feedback we got was that it was three days too many in Moscow. Our friends told us that Saint Petersburg was the one that we should focus more on, and that Russia’s political capital would appear lackadaisical and boring when compared to its cousin to the West. Yet despite the waves of well-meaning advice from our friends, we decided to make Moscow the first stop of our round-the-world trip. As lifelong history nerds, the opportunity to delve into the heart of the old Soviet Union was something that we found impossible to pass up. Given our inability to distinguish Cyrillic alphabets from…
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Essential Tips for a Magical Experience in Morocco
Morocco is magical. Souks. Spices. Sahara. Sunsets, and sunrises. Shy smiles reflected in the warmth of a freshly brewed cup of mint tea. Morocco is one of those places that leave an indelible mark on your memory. Led by our wonderful guides from Siroco Tours, we spent 10 magical days travelling from Chefchaouen to Marrakech, and experienced so much warmth and hospitality throughout our trip. If you’re planning a trip to Morocco, these tips might just make your trip a little more magical! 1. Take the time to get lost in Chefchaouen If you search for things to do in Chefchaouen, you might be fooled into thinking that there really…
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A Gastrorgasmic Street Food Guide to Penang
Gastrorgasm (n): an intensely pleasurable experience elicited by the consumption of incredibly delicious food, usually with explosive flavours. Likely to induce moans and groans.
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Discovering the Secrets of Balik Pulau with Matahari Cycle Tours
Balik Pulau has a secret. The Penangites might not want you to know this. And the truth is, few Malaysians probably do. Ask people where they can find Penang’s best Assam Laksa, and you will probably be directed to Air Itam, or Penang Road. But the best answer to this question lies in the town center of Balik Pulau. How did we stumble upon this secret? This story begins on one special Sunday morning when we dragged our butts out at the crack of dawn to go cycling with Matahari Cycle Tours. Cycling with Matahari Cycle Tours Our tour started out in a little carpark, where we were assigned bicycles that had been calibrated…
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Ahoy New York Food Tour – Why It’s Not Just a Food Tour | Review
To be absolutely honest, I had some reservations about how much I would learn on the Ahoy New York Food Tour. After all, I’d lived in NYC for 4 years and pretty much spent every other weekend roaming the streets of Chinatown in search for legit dimsum, Singaporean comfort food and groceries. As for Little Italy, I didn’t care much for it after my first year because it seemed full of touristy restaurants that didn’t serve very authentic food. There were much better Italian options you could find in hole-in-the-wall eateries in the East Village. So what could the Ahoy New York food tour through Little Italy and Chinatown teach…
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Afro-Cuban Religion Tour in Havana | Review
Some will tell you these are practitioners of black magic. You would see them on the streets of Havana. African women, dressed fully in white, with a glass-eyed black doll dressed in yellow between them. Juxtaposed by the immensely colourful backdrop of their set-up, they call out and beckon to you, asking to read your fortune. But, swindlers they are not. As with most things in Cuba, religion is a complicated affair. These women are practicioners of Santeria, the syncretic religion that has its roots steeped in Afro-Cuban history. Brought by the African slaves who were imported to Cuba from the 16th to 19th century, it is a fascinating practice…
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A Walking Tour Helped us Fall in Love with Old Havana | Review
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OH Potong Pasir! Why We Love the Latest OH! Art Walkabout.
OH! Potong Pasir Tour What do floating dead pigs, ukuleles, tarpaulin and a treehouse have in common? It might surprise you to know they’re all part of the fascinating and ever-changing narrative of Potong Pasir. Once (and to a certain extent, still) considered a sleepy backwater in Singapore’s concrete jungle, Potong Pasir is a classic example of #throwback. For the uninitiated, the OH! Potong Pasir tour isn’t just a stroll around the neighbourhood. The organisers spend a year gathering stories about the estate from its residents, seeking volunteers who are willing to open up their homes, and then linking them up with artists who use these spaces to depict their…
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A Guide to Fitzroy: Melbourne’s Hipster Neighbourhood
Lonely Planet barely talks about it and it’s not on TripAdvisor’s top 10 things to do in Melbourne, but ask any Melbournian where the hipsters gather and they would definitely direct you to Fitzroy. Home to the creatives, you could easily spend a day or two getting lost in alleyways blooming with street art, uber chic cafes and beautiful indie boutiques. I had the pleasure of calling this neighborhood home for 4 days while solo travelling, and fell hopelessly in love with the many hidden gems that Fitzroy had to offer. For a comprehensive list of what to eat, drink, and do in this awesome neighborhood, our hipster guide to Fitzroy is all…
