Our wanderlust has taken us all over the world and although we have never regretted visiting any country, there are some countries in which it is easier to be vegan than others. But this doesn’t mean that we would have traded our experiences on the high Tibetan plateau or the rice terraces of Banaue, Philippines simply […]
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Although we hadn’t planned on it, our travels led us to ring in the New Year four times in 2014. It was amazing to see how different cultures celebrated the ideas of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. While some traditions were more familiar than others, some were very unique and even bizarre. Here […]
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What a year! 2014 was a year of amazing travel including to three new countries and major changes such as relocating across the world as we begin the next chapter of our lives. Let’s look back at this eventful year: Singapore In January, I was lucky enough to travel with Lek Chailert, the founder of […]
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One of the highlights of spending some time in Ubud, Bali was ringing in the year 1936. We discovered that celebrating the Balinese New Year was unlike every other New Year’s celebration that we had ever experienced. It included a combination of music and dance performance, scary monsters, bonfires and silent introspective meditation. This very […]
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Off the northwestern coast of Lombok, Gili Trawangan is known as the party island, when compared to its smaller siblings of Gili Meno and Gili Air. However, the island’s nightlife was not the main draw for us. Instead, it was the promise of snorkeling with sea turtles that forced us to include the rowdy isle […]
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Just as we were about to click the “book now” button, we decided to first read a few reviews of the hotel in Jakarta we were considering. This is when we learned that the hotel follows Sharia Law. Out of both curiosity and adventure we confirmed our booking, wondering what we had in store for […]
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We spent a month traveling in Indonesia and were pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to find a variety of vegan options. Although we only visited three islands in the archipelago – Java, Bali and Lombok – we certainly got a good taste of the country’s cuisine. All across Indonesia tofu and tempeh are […]
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After sharing with our guest house owner, Taruna, that we not only enjoyed gamelan (bronze Balinese orchestra), but we have also played, he invited us to a trance dance ceremony to bless a new village temple that was to be performed that night in the village. Perhaps not sure if we were aware of the […]
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The Loving Hut is a chain of vegan restaurants with franchises located around the globe. Surprisingly, despite all of our travels, we only first came across their locations while on our month-long vacation in Indonesia. In total, we dined at three of their locations, including Yogyakarta, Denpasar and our favorite in Jakarta. Located on the top floor […]
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Adinda Homestay on Jalan Sugriwa is located just far enough away from the touristy section of Ubud to be relaxing, yet is close enough to be able to enjoy the macaques at Monkey Forest and take in performances on several stages. It is also a stone’s throw away from some great restaurants, including many vegan options. […]
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Flanking Yogyakarta on opposite sides, the ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur lies in the west and the Hindu temple of Prambanan sits to the east. In the spirit of convenience, we reluctantly signed up for a tour to visit both temples in one day. If we had the chance to do it over again, though, […]
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Si Doi Hotel Legian is perfectly located for a quiet stay away from the loud party scene of Kuta, yet still close enough to the restaurants and the famous Kuta Beach. Along with its sister hotel in Kuta, Si Doi in Legian is locally owned, family-run and the staff has high standards of hospitality. First […]
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Any time we take a trip to a new country, we research scams we may encounter. In preparation for our month-long visit to Indonesia, this was no exception. We learned about bank machines that would only collect our account information rather than dispensing money. We were prepared for friendly strangers inviting us to an art […]
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Teba House is located on Jalan Sugriwa, one street east of Hanoman Road. Within a stone’s throw away from many restaurants and a short walking distance to Monkey Forest and the Central Market, Teba House is the perfect spot to spend a few nights, while exploring all that Ubud has to offer. First Impression From […]
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After a wonderful four days in Bali’s northwest village of Pemuteran it was time to move on to the next adventure and Ubud was calling our names. The options for getting there, however, were either very expensive (500,000 Rp to hire your own driver) or very out of the way (going all the way to […]
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Island View Bungalows is located on the quieter, western shore of Gili Air off the coast of Lombok in Indonesia. Be sure to head left off the ferry and only after a short 20 minute walk through gorgeous scenery you will find yourself comfortably relaxing in one of Island View’s traditional Sasak-style bungalows. First Impression We […]
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As we had a bit more time in our time budget than our financial one, we opted to cross central and eastern Java by train. Our adventure began shortly after our arrival to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, where we caught the Damri bus direct to Gambir Station. Gambir is one of the main train stations […]
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Located 32 km east of the Balinese ferry port of Gilimanuk, lies the village of Pemuteran on the northwestern coast of the island. Dotted with a number of large-scale resorts, it’s the small Taruna Homestay that stands out. First Impression Tired and weary from our long day of traveling from Surabaya, we arrived after dark […]
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