Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹
International Travel
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles
The Bavarian Royals sure know how to make some lovely castles. Settled in the hills these two castles are such a treat to visit. We visited in the winter so Mary’s bridge was closed, but we still got to enjoy the walks to the castles and the gorgeous scenery. We saw both castles (guided tours only) and grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants on the hill. It made for a lovely day trip. This visit was probably one of the most baby friendly things we did on this trip. There was stroller parking as well as changing facilities at both castles. A win win for all in the family!
A Brief Glimpse of Lichtenstein
Innsbruck, Austria 🇦🇹
Innsbruck is located very close to the southern German border. It is a lovely city (although compared to most Chinese cities the population is equivalent to a village) filled with good food, a rich history, and tons of outdoor fun.
We stayed right by the old town which was an excellent choice. We were walking distance from the Golden Roof, City Tower, shopping streets, museums, the ski bus, and the funicular up the mountain. The Aldstat (or old town) was truly magical to walk through. It was like being transported back in time with the cobblestone streets and historic looking buildings.
Innsbruck is a good choice for those travel couples who have one person that likes winter sports while the other does not. I found plenty to do in the town including the visiting the Tyrol Folk Museum, grabbing something to eat at a local cafe and taking the fundicular up the mountain.
Salzburg, Austria 🇦🇹
Home to Mozart, music, and Red Bull, Salzburg is a city we aren’t likely to forget. Even in winter, the scenery was gorgeous and the food sumptuous.
We started our adventure with a Sound of Music tour. One interesting fact was that this movie is not popular in Austria. Most Austrians have never even seen the movie. I have loved this film since I was a child so to see where Julie Andrews and crew shot the movie was quite entertaining. Plus you got to sing all the songs on the bus!
Salzburg is also a great city to walk around. Whether it is by the river or through the old town your stroll will have so many sights to see! Make sure you take the time to stop and try the Original Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher. The Austrians love dessert and this one didn’t disappoint!
Hallstatt, Austria🇦🇹
Hallstatt is a charming town known for its role in salt mining in the late 19th century. Since becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 the town has become quite overrun by tourists. We visited in the winter (and on a Sunday) so there were certainly less people taking in the beauty of the snow covered mountains. We enjoyed walking the narrow streets, dining at the restaurant in the Heritage Hotel, and simply breathing in the fresh crisp air.
Foshan, China 🇨🇳
We ventured to Songtang Village and Xiqiao Mountain for a lovely day trip with Banana Tours in Foshan. Foshan is about an hour southwest of the center of Guangzhou. The day trip was well set up for families and included a gorgeous lunch.
Songtang Village is a quaint place to visit on a Sunday. Many of the older villagers were congregated under the Banyan trees playing Cantonese Opera music. Chinese opera has a very unique sound and it only added to the ambiance of the historic buildings and alleys we wandered about. This village is known for the many scholars who achieved great academic success in ancient China. You can see where many lived and some of the schools that they built.
After lunch we went to Xiqiao Mountain Park. There is a small lake you can walk around as well as visit the Baofeng Temple and statue on the hill. The temple is Buddhist and has many stunning representations of Buddha. Be prepared for lots of stairs!
Wanzhai, Guizhou, China 🇨🇳
This past weekend was Dragon Boat Festival, which meant we had a three day weekend. Most of our trips we plan ourselves. However, this time around we saw an advertisement for a weekend trip to a place we had never heard of hosted by Pacha Mama Adventures. The timing and price were right so we took the high speed train about 3 hours northwest to Guizhou.
We arrived in Rongjiang around 2:00pm. Here is where we met the rest of our group. We were a mix of different ages and backgrounds, but were also curious to explore. After a quick bite of local noodles, we set off in our vans toward Wanzhai. The road there was quite bumpy, but the scenery was enchanting. We wound through the mountains alongside the rivers and rice terraces. Our vans made a stop to take a short hike down to a lovely waterfall. The stairs were super narrow and very slippery (it had just rained), which made for a few hairy moments. Luckily, we made it to the bottom of the second tier without injury.
When we arrived at the village we were greeted by some local Dong women with songs, snacks, and gifts. Their traditional costumes were really spectacular. The ladies and gent sang some traditional songs and fed us spicy fish and sticky rice. I was not prepared for the fish. Super spicy (for me at least) and of course tons of bones. 😬The village was so picturesque. Imagine wooden houses perched on stilts lining the side of a mountain.
30 minutes later we settled into our guest house and were treated to a feast that included the local rice wine. The Dong women continued their singing and offered a “rice wine waterfall” to all who were interested. Traditionally, the rice wine is served from a teapot into small bowls. 
The next day, we ate a quick noodle breakfast on the terrace. It had been raining so there were many low hanging clouds floating through the mountain peaks.
We started with a hike to the waterfall just outside the village. The path was somewhat better maintained than the previous day. At the bottom there was a lovely gazebo that overlooked a watering hole. Some more adventurous members of our group jumped in and enjoyed the cool waters of the swimming hole.
Continuing to embrace the local culture we headed to the village square to play with some of the children. They were super cute! We taught them several games and they taught us “Big Eagle and Mama Chicken” as well as a variation of “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Many of us brought along some small gifts and school supplies, which the kids loved.
Later in the day, we went on a 3 hour hike around the rice terraces. Since it had been raining that morning there were lots of slippery parts along the trail. Our group managed to navigate the narrow paths, sticky clay, and slick rocks mostly unscathed. We ended up a muddy mess, but the views were well worth it.
Our evening ended with a superb barbecue at our guesthouse. We were treated to delicious veggies, rice, and grilled pork meat. All of the ingredients were grown and harvested in the village.
Our last day was spent winding down the mountain to Rongjiang village toward the train. We stopped in the little village to take in the scenery by the river as well as grab some lunch. The village was quite sleepy for two reasons. One because it was Sunday and two because it was raining. Nonetheless it was nice to see another rural Chinese village. Our lunch was really nice. I don’t know what we ate, but it was darn good!
Overall, our trip to Guizhou Province was a really spectacular one. As much as we love living in cities sometimes you need to get away from it all and enjoy the simple life.
Phuket, Thailand 🇹🇭
The last time we were in Thailand together was 2011. At the time we skipped the west coast of Thailand as we heard the weather in July wasn’t the best. Skip to two months ago and the airplane tickets to Palawan were crazy ($600 USD/pp). Where to go? We wanted beach and relaxation. And then we remembered a coast we had left unexplored…Phuket!
Phuket has a lot of accommodation options. Our filters included quiet, but with some options for nightlife, near the beach, a pool option, and a somewhat spacious room. Ultimately, we settled on the Kata Beach area. Patong Beach is known as the livelier of the beach areas, which just isn’t our scene anymore. Kata Beach had plenty of shops, bars, and restaurants that made it entertaining at all times of the day without the streets being too over run. Plus the beach was just crowded enough were there was food and drink options without there being wall to wall people.
Day 1: From the airport area we took a shared mini van to Kata Beach. Our hotel (Chanalai Garden Resort) was perfect. We had a sea view and two pools to lay out by for the afternoon. Our room was spacious and had a nice little balcony to take in the sunset. Some internet research lead us to choosing Kata Rocks as a dinner option. The restaurant had that sleek, minimalist look and overlooked a blue glowing pool. There was excellent customer service a delicious food. Thai style blue crab anyone? 
Day 2: We took a large boat tour to see some caves and James Bond Island. The trip was okay. It took a really long time to get on the water and then 1.75 hours to get to our first stop James Bond Island. The scenery was so-so, but the island was bombarded with people taking selfies with the rock formation made famous in The Man with the Golden Gun and shops selling all sorts of tourist junk. You can swim in the water, however, it was kind of murky and felt like bath water.
Screen capture from “The Man with the Golden Gun”
We then proceeded to Hong Island and Panak Island where we had a really nice Thai teenager paddle us around the lagoons and through the caves. This was our favorite part of the trip as the natural cliffs and rocks were really amazing. We felt so tiny in the water as the huge cliffs surrounded us on all sides.
Day 3:
We did a lot of relaxing! In the morning, we headed to Kata Noi Beach. The waves were a little rough at times, but the beach was good fun. Sadly, the rain funked up our beach plans. The rain continued through the afternoon so really the only thing to do was go get massages. Thailand is known for massages and they are oh so cheap. We enjoyed hour foot massages for ~$9USD.
Later that night we headed to Putong Beach area for some evening entertainment. If you do not like loud spaces with crowds and people encouraging you to excessively drink then Bangala Street is not for you. This pedestrian street is sensory overload. Everywhere you look there are lights, sad looking girls in skimpy outfits, and locals trying to get you to go to a variety of clubs and shows. We perched ourselves at a quieter bar to people watch. It was quite entertaining watching others reactions as they made their way through the chaos. There are other “quieter” sections of Putong, but to be honest we weren’t really up for navigating through the rain to find them.
Phuket has a little something for everyone no matter if you are backpacking, with your family, have a family, or want to live it up luxury style. It is a really ideal place to kick back and take in the scenery. Generally, we like to travel to places that have a closer connection to the local culture, but sometimes it is just really nice to treat yourself.
The Lost Pictures of Ubud, Indonesia
Ubud is a small town northeast of the Denpansar airport on Bali island. It is set inland so don’t expect to be hanging out by the beach. Instead we enjoyed the beauty of the rice terraces and rainforest that surround the area. We stayed in a hotel about 15 minutes outside of the city center. The city center was quite build up with shops and restaurants for every taste. We stayed in Ubud for about 1.5 days. To see all we wanted to see, we hired a driver to take us around the Ubud area for the morning. We visited the Tegenungan Waterfall, Tegalalang Rice Terraces, The Kemenuh Butterfly Park, and Tirta Empul Temple. We finished off our trip by visiting a lovely spa where we were treated to massages and mud baths.
Bali has so much natural beauty to it, but it is at risk for being over run by tourist. The center of Ubud was packed with foreigners from both Asia and Western countries. On one hand this made it very easy to get around and communicate with the local people (most speak amazing English). However, with the large population of foreigners there are those who don’t care about preserving the culture, environment, or local resources. We are all for traveling and exploring, but try to keep conscious of respecting the people whose home we are visiting.
Smithberrys Abroad 