What about scuba diving?
This blog post deviates somewhat from my usual guide on traveling. Instead, this is about my experience in scuba diving in general. Although I’m not a regular diver, I did dive around 17 times in 3 different countries. As a beginner scuba diver, it is important to choose the site to dive, and who to dive with (for safety reasons). The first time I dove was at two different sites in Great Barrier Reef at Australia: Port Douglas and Cairns. Since I didn’t have my license at th
3 Months of Travel in 4 Minutes | Life in Mexico
Three months of Travel around Mexico in 3 minutes. I met amazing friends from Mexico and around the world (representatives from 14 countries). I saw every part of Mexico, from the ruins, jungles, forests, villages, to colonial cities, metropolitans, villages and resorts. I experienced everything that is unique to Mexico, such as eating tacos, drinking tequilas, dancing salsa on the street and watching the Mexican soccer league. These are my memories. Special shout-out to peop
Cacun Underwater Museum MUSA
One of the major attractions in Cancun is Isla Mujeres Underwater Museum, or MUSA (Museo Subacuatico de Arte). This museum was first conceptualized by a non-profit organization based in Cancun. The museum director hired sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor and submerged 500 different sculptures in the depths of the Cancun sea. Ever since 2008, the underwater museum became a major attraction of Cancun. Throughout the years, the sculptures have begun to develop into coral reefs. Micr
Cenote: The underwater world
Cenotes are major attractions in the Yucatan Penninsula. They are large underground wells that have long been protected by the Mayans. I've had the chance to explore two cenotes during my trip to Yucatan. One at Tulum and one near Chichen Itza. What is it? A cenote is an underground cave with freshwater pools. It was believed that an asteroid hit Yucatan and shifted the bedrocks in the area, the result is a collapse of limestone bedrock and then exposes groundwater underneath
Tulum: The new alternative city of Cancun
Cancun is a world-class tourist city and possibly the most famous city in Mexico. With its beautiful beach, never-sleeping night clubs and a rich culture (notably with Chichen Itza within driving distance), Cancun is a hot destination for tourists around the world. However, Tulum has been getting more attention in recent years. This is because the city also has a world-class beach (if not even better than Cancun) and also with fewer tourists. In addition, Tulum also has the a
Monterrey: Thank you for welcoming me!
It has been quite an emotional experience in my 3-month stay at Mexico. Before arriving to this beautiful country, I had my fair share of doubts about this place, whether it is related to some of the typical stereotypes or the danger of drug cartels. However, after meeting amazing people in Mexico, I have completely changed my perspective and my view about this country. This country offers much more than I had imagined. The people, the food, the culture and the weather have a
What is Mexico's Day of the Dead? Why so many souvenir skulls everywhere?
As Halloween is fast approaching, many people are dressing up for Halloween parties and kids are getting ready to go around the town for trick-or-treat. The same also happens in Mexico, but there is another important date that is very close to Halloween - The Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos). The first time I heard about the Day of the Dead was during my tour at a small village in Oaxaca, Mexico. My tour guide led me to a cemetery where people were decorating the tombstones w
Chiapas Mexico: The state of jungle
This unfortunately will be my last trip to visit another city in Mexico this year. Although this may sound a little sad, it simply gives me more motivation to come back and explore the rest of the country. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see my travel buddy friends again from Mexico City, namely Kirsty, Matias, Silvio and Lena. This time, onwards to Chiapas! This is also the first time that I chose Viva Aerobus to fly anywhere in Mexico. Viva Aerobus is a discounted airline, ext
Five Nationalities conquered the land of healers: Oaxaca Mexico
When people from five different nations gather together, great things happen. When I say great things, I mean that we used our limited precious time and actually made the most of our trip. In this trip, a Canadian, a Brazilian, a Russian, a British and an Argentinian really conquered the land of healers: Oaxaca Mexico. When I arrived at the airport of Oaxaca City from Monterrey, I was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group for a bike tour that starts at 1:30 pm. My fl
What is Quinceañera? (Sweet 15)
Being in Mexico, you must know what Quinceañera means. The first time I noticed Quinceañera was on a random street of Monterrey, Mexico. Instead of the regular bachelorette parties that I see, I saw a much younger crowd and with mix gender. That's when I raise the question "What is that? And what are they doing?" The simplest answer to this question is that Quinceañera is Sweet 15. However, there is a lot more to that. It's not like a Sweet 16 party in the U.S. where teenage
First time watching a soccer game live!
This is certainly an exciting day. My friend invited me to watch a soccer game live, which is what I always hope to do in Mexico. Soccer is like the national sport in Mexico. So to be able to watch a soccer game in Mexico is quite an exceptional experience. It is also exciting because I'm watching a game at Monterrey's newest built stadium - the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. In Monterrey, there are two soccer teams: CF Monterrey and Tigres UANL. Much like any sports with two teams i
The celebration of Mexico's Independence Day at San Miguel
We started the day waking up early at 7 am with a hangover. Great. We had to reach a Starbucks coffee shop at San Miguel to meet up with the owner of our AirBNB place. On our way towards San Miguel from Guanajuato City, the taxi driver was very nice enough to stop by a local eatery tent for breakfast. This place had many different kinds of fresh taco meat. In my mind, I thought this was an excellent solution for my hangover. When we reached at San Miguel, my first impression
