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Travel Tips

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Iceland’s Ice Cave Tour in the Vatnajokull Glacier

Iceland is known as the “Land of Ice and Fire” for its extreme landscape and conditions. From massive glaciers up to active volcanoes, you can find something on both extremes. This time, we experienced some of the colder parts of Iceland, where temperatures dipped near 0°C and windchill would feel even more frosty. These are the perfect conditions for one of Iceland’s most stunning natural wonders – crystal ice caves.

Ice Cave Tour in Vatnajokull Glacier

One of the things you can only do in winter is an ice cave tour because the temperatures are cold enough to stabilize ice formations and slow running water. We took a tour with an Icelandic company, Local Guide, at about $189 per person.

The ice cave we were taken to is located in the Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe and covers 8% of Iceland. It was about a 45-minute drive from the Local Guide HQ, with the last 30 being very, very bumpy with the extreme terrain. From our parking spot, we were given helmets and crampons (metal spikes for shoes) before making the 10-minute walk to the entrance of the cave. On the way, our tour guide showed us different parts of the glacier and remnants of other ice caves.

When we reached the entrance of the ice cave where a few tour groups were already there admiring the natural spectacle. The cave is stunningly beautiful with crystal clear blue and turquoise colors, with air bubbles trapped in the ice and streaks of black that contrasts the other colors. Although the cave is formed by ice, the fluid wavy texture resembles frozen fire, and it is mesmerizing and breathtaking.

We got to spend 45 minutes in the ice cave and eventually the crowd thinned out for us to take some really nice shots. Unfortunately, one individual decided to bring out a flare for one of his photos. PLEASE DO NOT BRING FLARES! The flare was lit for at least 15 seconds before being put out, but the smoke completely limited the visibility of the cave and made it difficult to breathe due to little ventilation to get the smoke out. It took several minutes before most of the smoke dispersed, but some still remained for the incoming group.

Our final stop of the tour was also the remnants of a previous ice cave. All ice caves have lifespans and when one cave closes, a new one will be born. Although this one was no longer a cave, it had its own unique texture and was still beautiful nonetheless.

Visiting the ice caves at Vatnajokull was one of the coolest (pun definitely intended) things I’ve experienced. It’s one reason why you should make a visit to Iceland in the winter time at least once to see these spectacular formations. If this is one of your must-do activities, here are some tips to help plan your visit:

How Can I do this Ice Cave Tour?

Where to go: Vatnajokull Glacier is located near the town Hofn, 5-6 hour straight drive east from Reykjavik. Because of the many scenic stops along the way, it may take several days to get there.

When to go: Ice Cave Season runs from November through March.

Who to go through: There are various tour groups that offer ice cave tours, including the company we used, Local Guide, who are highly experienced and knowledgeable. Glacier hikes are also offered.

What to bring: Warm clothes and camera (best with a tripod). Waterproof shoes/boots may be useful if you need to step in water. Crampons are provided by the companies for your tours. DON’T BRING A FLARE INTO THE CAVE!

Additional Tips: Highly recommended to book in advance. Tour groups are fairly small and space is limited, so tours can be book several weeks out. Basic ice cave tours will be around $190-200 per person.

To see even more ice, check out our post for Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon!

 

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Din Tai Fung and Those Amazing Soup Dumplings, Taipei 101 Observatory

Taipei 101 is undoubtedly a signature tourist destination in Taiwan. It’s well-recognized for its architectural design looking like a tall bamboo stalk. Standing at 508 meters, it is far taller than any other building in Taipei and, at one point, was the tallest building the world. The first five stories of the building is basically a big mall comprised of various luxury brand stores and a food court in the basement level.

While there is plenty of shopping that could be done there, we had one main goal in mind during our visit at Taipei 101: To dine at the Din Tai Fung restaurant! Din Tai Fung is a Michelin Star restaurant that serves a full menu of Taiwanese dishes but is notably famous for its xiao long bao, or soup dumplings. While we’ve eaten at Din Tai Fung in Southern California locations, there was no doubt in my mind that the food would be far better at Taipei 101. We heard wait times could be as long as three hours but luckily we arrived around 4:30 PM on a weekday, which was just before rush hour, so we only had to wait five minutes to be seated!

One of the things I thought was mesmerizing was watching the entire process to making the famous little soup dumplings. No less than 20 employees were churning this fine-tuned-dumpling-making-machine. Each individual had a responsibility from making the dough, creating small balls of dough, rolling the dough into small circles, making the filling, enclosing the filling with the dough and putting them in the bamboo steamers for cooking. I’ll post a video to show this process.

Being that we were all starving and wanted to try as many things as possible, we ordered a bunch of items from the menu. Of course we got several orders of the xiao long bao soup dumplings. Those delicate little dumplings alone, filled with tender meat and deliciously hot broth, would’ve made the visit entirely worth it. I’m pretty sure I had at least 10 soup dumplings by myself! But we didn’t stop there and also ordered their braised beef noodle soup, hot & sour soup, shrimp wontons, green dishes, steamed dumplings and buns. The dishes were all delicious and were overall better compared to the restaurants in Southern California. The ingredients and soups tasted much more authentic and flavorful. The staff was also very nice and service was great.

The total bill for our meal was about $70 for the four of us for a pretty significant amount of food. Each dish ranges from $5-10. I’d recommend going during off hours and weekdays when possible to avoid long wait times, but it’s well worth the time and price for any visitor try out some famous Taiwanese cuisine.

After our meal, we did the next touristy thing to do which was go up top to the observatory of Taipei 101. Tickets are available for $10/person on the fifth floor and our wait time to get to the elevator was about 15 minutes (but can be longer). When you get into the elevator, you will experience the fastest elevator in the world. According the the Guinness World Records, the elevator can reach the 89th floor from ground level in 40 seconds with a max speed of 37.6 mph.

From the observatory, you can walk around the observatory for a 360° view of Taipei. The views at night are beautiful and picturesque. It’s definitely part of the Taipei experience and worth checking out.

Here is the address, phone number and hours for Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101:

B1, No. 45, Shift Rd., Taipei City (Taipei 101 Mall)

TEL: 02-8101-7799  FAX: 02-8101-7800

Sun-Thu 11:00 am – 9:30 pm

Fri, Sat 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

 

For more information, visit their websites: Din Tai Fung and Taipei 101.

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Our Visit to Otres Beach, Sihanoukville & Koh Rong Island

On the last leg of our Cambodia visit, we ventured to the beaches to seek some relaxation. We spent three days between Otres Beach, Sihanoukville and Koh Rong Island. We didn’t go to downtown Sihanoukville and stayed near our hotel.

Otres Beach, Sihanoukville

At Otres Beach, we stayed at Tamu Hotel, which you can read our review here. The hotel was a great experience and one of the best attractions here. Our room was comfortable and the staff was very friendly to us. It also sits right on the beach, where there were plenty of day beds, a ready staff to bring anything you need and masseuses who provide one-hour full body massage for $8. The beach was overall very nice, from its pristine turquoise waters and fine white sand. Tamu Hotel’s stretch of beach was very well maintained, as its staff would comb the beaches and pick up trash every morning.

There were some parts of our experience that could be improved. While the hotel’s stretch of beach was very clean, other stretches were littered with trash and pollution. On the most southern part of Otres beach in particular was almost completely covered with trash and even dead animals. There were even some glass shards in the sand so I advise wearing shoes or sandals when walking up and down the beach.

There are locals that offer long-boat rides to nearby islands for snorkeling and fishing for around $10-12 per person. However, based on our experience, I would probably avoid this activity and look for other things to do in the area. Our boat was very late and disorganized, and when we did get picked up, our boat did not look like it was maintained and much of the snorkeling gear was broken. We were hoping that the island’s reefs would be fun to explore, but instead we saw most of the coral reef was bleached white, signaling that they were dying or had died, and there wasn’t much other marine life. It was a very unfortunate sight to see. We did manage to see a beautiful sunset on our way back, but it was still a disappointing experience.

Koh Rong Island

Next, we set off to Koh Rong Island for a short stay at Sok San Beach Resort. It took a boat ride and a truck ride through the island’s jungles to get to the resort. The hotel is right on the beach and we were able to get a room with a nice ocean view. The resort was almost completely empty, as it was the rainy season and very few people stay there. During the peak seasons, this resort can be very busy. Sure enough, it was scattered thunderstorms passed by the island dropping heavy amounts of rain.

The beaches here were very clean and pristine. The waters were nice, warm and very calm. It was also very shallow, so shallow that you could go at least 25 feet into the water without being waist deep. We wanted to go kayaking and snorkeling, but there were somehow not enough kayaks, despite being very few people on the island. So we spent much of our time just swimming and relaxing in the water, walking up and down the beach, and catching crabs. We wanted to lounge in the day beds, but sand flies ruthlessly attacked us despite putting on bug spray. At night, we met some locals who were fishing for squid for a night time treat.

Obviously, three days is not enough time to explore and give a comprehensive description on these location. There are many parts we did not explore and many activities we didn’t do, but it’s a glimpse what these places have to offer. Hopefully, we’ll be back to explore these areas a bit more and give an update in the future.

 

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Siem Reap, Cambodia: Tips for a Quick Visit

Siem Reap, Cambodia is home to many spectacular temples and attractions that would take at least several days to visit them all. But you only have one or two days for your visit, where do you go and how would you get there? Fortunately, even for the shortest of trips, you can still get a full experience of what the city has to offer and we can offer a few tips to guide you.

How to get there

The quickest way to get to Siem Reap is by plane, but if you’re staying in cities like Phnom Penh, Battambang or even Pursat (where we were placed for our volunteering), the most economical method is by bus. A one-way ticket from those cities is about $7 per person and can take 3-7 hours, depending on your location. Giant Ibis is a well-known bus company with its fleet offering WiFi, air-conditioning, outlets for charging your devices, even overnight bus rides, and great customer service. You can also take a private bus or taxi rides, but they may run you a little more money.

Getting around the city

The most economical and fun way to get around is by tuk-tuk, which is an auto rickshaw. For 3-4 people, you can get a tuk-tuk to take you throughout Siem Reap and visit the temples for $15-20 for an entire day (but I suggest giving a really nice tip if they take care of you since many drivers barely make enough to support their families). We had a really great driver named Kent that picked us up from our hotel, drove us to various temples while giving us their historical context, helped us arrange bus rides and dropped us off at several other destinations. If you have a higher budget, you can opt for something more comfortable like a private taxi or bus.

Buying your Angkor Wat pass

In order to get into the temples, you first need to obtain an Angkor Wat pass. You can purchase one-day pass for $20, 3-day pass for $40 and 1-week pass for $60, and you will have your picture taken for the pass. For 3-day and 1-week passes, you can visit the temples on separate days within one week and one month periods, respectively. If you buy your 1-day pass at 5:00 pm, you can visit the temples in the same evening to catch a sunset, and you will still be able to use it for the entire next day until 5:00 pm. Make sure you keep it with you and dry at all times. If you lose the pass or your photo becomes unrecognizable, you will have to purchase a new one.

Where to go

The most visited attraction is Angkor Wat, one of the largest religious structures in the world. While you can visit the temple anytime, it is famously photographed during sunrises with the lotus ponds reflecting the structure and sky. Here’s my short timelapse of the spectacular sunrise we saw: Angkor Wat Sunrise. The other temples we were able to visit were East Mebon, Bayon, Ta Nei and Ta Prohm. Many of the temples are within a very close proximity to each other, and you can easily visit up to 6-8 temples in a full day. Check out our full video of our visit:

After a long day visiting temples, you can head over to Pub Street, a destination with a wide array of nightlife activities. There are many restaurants with local and western menus at reasonable prices. You can also hit up many bars, enjoy the live entertainment and party on late into the night. If you’re wanting to unwind and relax, you can get a full body massage for 1-hour starting at $8 or try a fish pedicure. There are also a variety of food and juice stands, and markets to buy clothes, crafts and other souvenirs.

Other Tips

All vendors will accept the US dollar, but bring mostly $1 and $5 bills, as local vendors may not have enough change for larger bills.

Siem Reap is generally hot all year round (reached 40°C, or 104°F when we were there) and very humid, so bring thin and light colored clothing. Traditionally, you should have clothing that covers the shoulders and the knees when visiting the temples. I brought along Columbia Convertible Pants, which had many pockets for security, is made with very light fabric, and unzips at the knees to turn into shorts. You can also purchase elephant pants for a couple dollars, which are very light, flowy and will keep you cool

It’s important to stay hydrated in the intense heat. Vendors are plentiful that sell water bottles and soft drinks from 50 cents to $1. There are also many juice standings selling ice cold smoothies for $1, but be careful of smoothies not using filtered or bottled water, which can easily give you diseases or viruses.

Carry plenty of sunscreen and bug spray. Always protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays by reapplying sunscreen, including your head if you’re not wearing a hat. Bugs can also be very vicious and unforgiving, so apply at least one good layer for defense.

While vendor food and drinks may look delicious, there is always a risk of contracting viruses or diseases from poor hygienic practices or water sources. Everyone in my volunteer group got sick from eating or drinking food there, including me and another member contracting viruses that gave us fevers reaching 104°F.

 

Hope you enjoy the tips that we laid out based on our personal experiences. Leave a comment with some other tips that would be helpful when venturing to Siem Reap!

 

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4 Places with Awesome Food in Iceland

Icelandic Plate Combination

Even though we were in Iceland for only a few days, we could not stop raving at how delicious the food was! Ok, so we didn’t get to try out that many places and we didn’t try some of Iceland’s most traditional dishes like sheep head, whale meat, puffin or shark (which I’m not sure I’d have the stomach for some of those things)…but the stuff we did eat was amazing! What interested me the most were how simple these dishes were, yet they were some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. However, if you’re on a tight budget, don’t expect to find cheap prices on these menus compared to the United States, but they’re reasonable compared to other parts of Europe. Here’s a list of four of our favorite places we did dine at.

Cafe Loki

Located in Reykjavik, Cafe Loki sits directly across Hallgrímskirkja church and specializes in traditional homemade Icelandic dishes. We tried several dishes including their meat soup, one of their Icelandic Plate combinations, a vegetarian plate and rye bread ice cream. I loved the rye bread combination dishes, which consisted of smoked trout, smoked lamb, mashed fish or egg and herring. But our favorite had to be the rye bread ice cream, which was possibly the best ice cream I’ve ever had. The combination of flavors is unique and absolutely delicious.

Cafe Loki Icelandic Plate Combination Rye Bread with Egg and Herring Rye Bread Ice Cream Cafe Loki Mural ICELAND 1 & 2_158

Restaurant Brúin

Located in the town of Grindavík, this family-owned restaurant was our surprise dining discovery. As we were going through the town, our group was hungry and needed a break, and we came upon Restaurant Brúin. Little did we know that we would have some exceptionally good dishes. We tried some pan-fried fish, soup and even their traditional Saltfiskur, which is essentially salted fish. All of our food was very fresh, as all of the fish were caught on the same day they were cooked. I did like the Saltfiskur, but it may not be for everyone. Their traditional fish soup was also interesting, when it didn’t come out as soup, but as mashed up fish. But to our delight, the traditional fish soup was really good! So if you’re passing through Grindavík, be sure to take a break at Restaurant Brúin for some good homemade Icelandic food.

Hotel Skogafoss Bistro Bar

After our visit at Skogafoss, we needed something to eat before our long drive back to Reykjavik and Hotel Skogafoss Bistro Bar is right next to Skogafoss Waterfall. Presumably, it has a great view of the falls, but it was completely dark by the time we sat down. The interior is very modern and has a nice ambiance. But we enjoyed most the food we ordered. I ordered the lamb leg, which was simply amazing. The meat was fall-off-the-bone delicious and tasted so fresh and tender. We also tried the lamb soup, which was also very good. Another great dish was the baked cod, which was lightly seasoned and cooked perfectly. Fair warning though, we’ve seen negative comments about the dishes, but there was nothing about our food that was short of excellent.

Sjavargrillid Seafood Grill

Also located in Reykjavik, Sjavargrillid Seafood Grill is a great choice for some fine dining Icelandic dishes, although the prices easily exceed far above the other options listed here. The main dishes were pretty high for our budget, so we chose to order some appetizers and light main dishes instead. Our dishes were fish or seafood dishes, and all of the food was very fresh and tasty. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t try some of the main dishes, but if you have a bigger budget, you definitely should try Sjavargrillid Seafood Grill.

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