Author: Yasno

December 31, 2016 So here we are in Vietnam, a place that used to strike terror in my heart many, many years ago as a student when I waited with baited breath to know what the draft number of my…

Here are a few tips for the LenkaTraveler group’s trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (December 2016 – January 2017): Entry Visas Vietnam: $25 p/p, payable in USD cash at the point of entry + 1 passport photo p/p. Our tour operator in…

Traveling to China is immensely rewarding and somewhat complicated, especially if you’re planning to do it on your own. For starters, very few Chinese speak any passable English, even those who work in the hospitality industry. It is also safe…

I’m riding “shotgun” in a 1928 Ford Cabriolet along a nearly empty six-lane promenade. A sunny Sunday afternoon was tailor-made for cruising in a classic convertible along the Atlantic coast. If this beautiful road were located in Miami, or any…

Here are some tips for the LenkaTraveler group’s trip to Cuba (December 2015 – January 2016): The Dual Currency There are two types of currency in Cuba: CUP (the regular peso) is used by the locals, but foreigners pay for everything in…

Are you going to Rome soon? I know that I am! There is a lot to think about before visiting a city with a lifespan of a few millennia: Where to stay? How long to stay? What to see? Where to go?…

Bhutan – What is it / where is it / why would you go there? These were the questions that most people asked as I told them about an upcoming trip to this landlocked Himalayan kingdom. Indeed, very few of…

Dedicated to the Kili Crew and our Tanzanian guides and porters. August 24 – 30, 2014 On the fifth day of our hike through the Kilimanjaro National Park, we reach the Barafu base camp, a tiny patch of flat, rocky…

Every now and then we like to deny ourselves of something that we like. We tend to torture ourselves with diets, gym regiments, plastic surgeries, bad relationships, boring jobs, etc. My own version of an elaborate and extensive self-denial came…

It is hard to imagine now, but just 12 months ago my walking was limited to the paved sidewalks and I’d never used such terminology as “out-and-back” and “elevation gain”. I did not own a pair of trusty hiking boots…