Surf towns have a distinct, laid-back vibe, judging from my visits to La Union, Baler, and Hale'iwa on the North Shore of Oahu. Among them all, tiny Liwliwa has got to be the chillest, stripped to the barest scene I've experienced.
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After foiled plans to go to Bangkok (the forecasts predicted daily thunderstorms) and Bali (late booking during peak season made everything absurdly expensive), we decided on a more practical destination that we were sure to enjoy even with minimal planning. Ry and I drove up to Baguio for his short, and only, vacation leave of the year. Not wanting to just replicate our previous trips, we asked friends who live in or frequent the mountain city for new things to try. The response was a list of food, breweries, vie[...]
Several blogs helped me narrow the choices down to Spreewald, Leipzig, Hamburg, Saxon Switzerland, and Dresden. All of them looked gorgeous in the springtime, thanks to all the featured photos; none of them advertised winter. What made me decide Dresden over Hamburg and the rest were 1. it was the shortest distance by bus, 2. its compact downtown area is completely accessible by walking, and 3. it had the best (warmest and driest) weather forecast for the day.
These past few weeks, I've been a riot of emotions because I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I felt muddled, unsure if my judgment was clouded, but I was sure some quiet time would help give some clarity. As with so many of my recent trips, this one happened with not much planning; a friend decided on a place and offered to provide transportation the night before, so I agreed. It was a treat for me to sit back and relax as I'm usually the one left with having to find all the details and rally people t[...]