While staying at the Fo Guang Shan Temple, I had the opportunity to learn some Chinese calligraphy from a Monk. He started me off with a commercial felt tip pen used specifically for Chinese calligraphy. I was also given a laminated 1-2-3 guide of how to draw characters and the[…]
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After a pleasant afternoon of tea tasting with Tea Master Tony Chan, we were invited by Tony and his wife to have a dinner of Chinese Hot Pot at a French restaurant Masion de Su. Chinese Hot Pot meals are a lot like American fondue but differ in many ways.[…]
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I’m not sure what I expected when I was invited to go to the night market. I think I pictured something exotic with dancing girls, fire breathers and snakes. While I didn’t see dancing girls or fire breathers, I’m told there are snakes at some night markets, just not the[…]
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I will admit I’ve never really been a fan of tea. Every time I’ve tried it, I felt it tasted like grass in hot water which caused my face to shrivel into an embarrassing “yucky” look which is best not seen in public. However, since I’ve been dating Cocoa Ho[…]
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I’ve been on many trains and trams over the years, but have never had the chance to ride a high speed bullet train. I was excited when I found out the best way to get from the airport to where we were staying was by taking a bus and then[…]
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While I was living in Guatemala for the last five months I met over 20 adventure motorcyclists who were all traveling south (does anyone go north?). Most of them were making a several month trek from either Canada or the USA and heading to various destinations in South America (most[…]
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Semana Santa Easter is commonly referred to as Semana Santa in Guatemala. The words literally translate as semana = week and santa = holy or sacred, or together they really mean ‘Holy Week’. And in Guatemala this term means the week prior to and including Easter, but also is loosely[…]
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Many first time tourists to Guatemala are confused by several features of Guatemalan bathrooms. Typically they are frustrated by cold showers, clogged toilets and have questions like, “where is the hot water knob?” I have been living with a Guatemalan family for about five months now and think I’ve figured[…]
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Want to sleep in a pyramid? You can do it at San Marcos. Recently I went to Lake Atitlan which is the largest inland body of water in Guatemala. It is a big lake in the crater of a huge volcano surrounded by a handful of towns. I spent my[…]
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Forget hiding and finding eggs on easter when in Guatemala. But, as a trade off, you get to smash an egg on top of a friends head wishing them prosperity and good luck. Easter is one of those interesting holidays which has evolved over the last couple thousand years from[…]
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Zephyr Lodge Lanquin One of the best and most amazing places I’ve ever stayed is Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin. It was almost a polar opposite to my experience in Rio Dulce. The staff at Zephyr are more like your favorite bar tenders. They were entertaining and ultra friendly. The lodge[…]
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You never know with boat trips from one city to the next. More often than not thy are horrifying experiences where you spend most of the ride puking into plastic bags (i.e. from the main land to Utila). The boat ride from Livingston to Rio Dulce is almost the polar[…]
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