Jeremy

Jeremy founded Living the Dream in 2008 to chronicle his long-term trip around Asia. Since then he has been on two long-term trips, visited 69 countries, and is just getting started. He is now on a Lifestyle Design quest to build businesses to pursue a life of travel.

Hiking at the Gorgeous Robert H. Treman State Park Near Ithaca

You’ve likely heard the expression Ithaca is Gorges before, and when you visit any park in the region it will likely be the first thing that pops into your head. The reason? It really is gorges!

We love hiking through the landscape in and around Ithaca whenever we visit the Finger Lakes, and on a recent trip we hit up a park we’ve been wanting to check out for quite some time- Robert Treman State Park just south of the city. 

If we could sum this one up quickly it would simply be this- don’t wait as long as we did to visit.    

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Osaka to Shanghai – Making the Trip on the Su Zhou Hao Ferry

At this time I am unsure if Su Zhou Hao is still in operation; however, some of my thoughts may still apply to other passenger ferries from Japan to China and vice versa.

I can’t say that I am much of one for slow travel. I get impatient and anxious if I am in a city for more than just few days. This is partly because I would rather pack more in my travel allotment, accounting for time and money, then spending more time at one particular spot.

In fact, I have not visited any international city for longer than 5 nights on any trip. Sometimes, however, the financial aspect catches up to you a bit and slow travel becomes one of your only options. I found myself in that very same situation while planning my recent trip from Osaka to Shanghai.

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Unusual Temples and Other Incredible Things to Do in Kyoto

Kyoto is an amazing city, quite possibly my favorite in Japan.  It is one of those places you can picture yourself living if you had to move abroad. There is little else that can be said to generalize the place better than that. 

Although Kyoto has well over a million residents, it is hard to tell except for the southern end of town near JR’s Kyoto terminal which has a constant exchange of both locals and tourists alike. 

Unlike smaller towns in Japan, such as Nagano and Nagoya, the city of Kyoto has the benefit of having large town attractions as well, making it rather unique in the tightly packed country of Japan.  However, like all big cities, some of the tourist attractions fall short, especially when compared to other, more unique options that are available. 

The following is my take on some of my favorite things to do in Kyoto that I have visited in the previous 48 hours.

I must stress that this is my views after two weeks of travel in the country.  If Kyoto was the first stop on a trip, the sites may have been perceived differently.

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Packing Cubes Review – Which Are the Best to Save Space?

I recently got the opportunity to acquire a handy travel accessory that I would not have purchased under normal circumstances- compression packing cubes. These packing cubes were advertised to increase packing efficiency and available space in your luggage, and naturally I was a bit suspect.

The product always seemed like a bit of a wash to me, as it sounds somewhat unreasonable that a zippered packing cube best organizes my luggage and saves space. And prior to receiving them, they were not something that I would ever want to spend $20 per set for.

But after receiving them I have to say, I was impressed. Now I never leave home without them.

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