FRANCE

  • Yen, Paris: Delicious soba and tempura

  • L’Eclair, Paris: Cute place for cocktails

  • Marche des Enfants Rouges, Paris: Great food market

  • Puces de Clignancourt - Marche Malik, Paris: Perhaps the best flea market for antiques and oddities

DENMARK

  • Jesus Church, Copenhagen: The craziest church I’ve ever seen… read about the wild symbolism

ALBANIA

  • Arben Kola: The. Best. Guide. Ever.

  • Skenduli House, Gjirokaster: Old house with incredible symbolism

  • Castle of Gjirokastra, Gjirokaster: Castle with great exhibits on top of the city

  • Mrizi i Zanave Agroturizem: Delicious affordable farm-to-table

  • Valbona Valley National Park: Stunning Albanian Alps

CROATIA

  • Old Town, Dubrovnik: Iconic for a reason

  • Lubenicka Loza, Cres: Tiny outdoor bar in a tiny old town on a cliffside. Terrible food, mediocre drinks, stunning vibes and views (esp at sunset)

  • Diocletian’s Cellars, Split: Incredibly well preserved basement of the old palace

  • Roman Amphitheater, Pula: A mini Roman Colosseum in better shape that still hosts events and has an accessible underground

NORWAY

  • Lofoten Islands: Stunning hiking, kayaking, diving… truly an outdoor paradise akin to a seaside Yosemite. Be warned - the exposure is gnarly

  • Maren Anna, Sorvagen: Great food in a sea of stockfish

  • Tromso Bruktbokhandel, Tromso: A wild store stuffed to the brim with nerd shit. 11/10 just for the vibes

  • HIMKOK Storgata Destilleri, Oslo: Some of the best cocktails ever. Be sure to go to the distillery bar on the first floor and not the premade drinks above

  • Mathallen Oslo, Oslo: Great food hall

  • Telthusbakken, Oslo: Really cute street on a hill

Ireland

  • The House Restaurant, Howth: Delicious brunch by pretty cliffs

  • Toners, Dublin: Great pub

  • Bread 41, Dublin: Excellent lunch food

  • O’Loclainn’s Irish Whiskey Bar, Ballyvaughan: Margaret knows everything about Irish whiskeys and is an incredible guide

experiences

  • O’Sullivans Cascade, Kerry: Great hike through old forest

  • Gap of Dunloe, Kerry: Famous for a reason. Stunning. Recommend taking a boat taxi up to the gap and hiking it/the nearby peaks

United Kingdom

Food & Drink

  • Borough Market, London: Fantastic food hall and cute market

  • Koya Soho, London: Wonderful udon

  • Normah’s, London: Really good Malaysian food

  • Jinli Chinese Restaurant Mornington Crescent, London: Great Sichuan

  • Aizle, Edinburgh: Incredible high-end restaurant

  • Usquabae, Edinburgh: Mind-blowing collection of rare whiskys (one from ~WWII!)

  • Falls of Dochart Smokehouse, Killin: Really really tasty smoked fish and cheese

  • Bowmore Hotel, Bowmore: Peter is the savant of whisky. Best selection and best bar I’ve ever been to. I’d go every chance I’d get. Truly one-of-a-kind.

Experiences

  • Glastonbury Music Festival: Slightly traumatic fever dream, but some of the best musical acts I’ve ever seen

  • Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh: Great hike for a view of Edinburgh, and if you go when there is a concert at the castle you can hear it super well

  • Isle of Skye: World class hiking and views

Germany

EXPERIENCES

  • Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen: Overwhelming exhibit at Sachsenhausen concentration camp

  • Schlossgarten Charlottenburg, Berlin: Great gardens

  • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin: Super cool semi-destroyed church

  • Topography of Terror, Berlin: Excellently designed museum

FOOD & Drink

  • Liu Nudelhaus, Berlin: Fantastic Sichuan noodles

  • Alt Berliner Wirtshaus Henne, Berlin: Great atmosphere, only serves chicken

  • Markthalle Neun, Berlin: One of the best food halls I’ve been too

  • Holzmarkt 25, Berlin: Lovely area on the river for a beer and some snacks

  • Prater Beer Garden, Berlin: Great outdoor beer garden

  • Ruyam Genmuse Kebab 2, Berlin: Incredible over-stuffed kebabs

  • The Castle Berlin Mitte, Berlin: Lovely craft beer bar

Cambodia

  • LUM ORNG Farm to Table Restaurant: Well worth the journey and price

  • Changkran Khmer Restaurant: A nice hidden restaurant

  • Angkor Wat: Nothing new here to say, absolutely stunning. Personally loved Prasat Prohm Kel and Bayon Temple too

Laos

  • Wat Tham Sakkalin, Luang Prabang: Lovely temple with interesting caves on the other side of the river

  • Tamarind, Luang Prabang: Gorgeous restaurant

Vietnam

  • Quan Cao Lau Ba Le - Quan Cao Lau ngon tai Hoi An, Hoi An: Great food, try the cau lau

  • Banh Mi Phuong: Exceptional Banh Mi

  • Morning Glory Original: Great restaurant

  • OCHE Boutique - Tailor Hoi An: Hoi An is known for its great tailors and OCHE did an incredible job making custom pieces quickly for a very reasonable price

  • Temple of Literature, Hanoi: Lovely old university complex

  • Ly Club Hanoi, Hanoi: Nice higher-end restaurant with interesting tasting menus

  • Cafe Pho Co, Hanoi: An oasis in Hanoi to grab a vietnamese coffee

  • Ha Long Bay: Obviously

AUSTRALIA

  • The Baxter Inn: Beautiful speakeasy, especially if you enjoy whisky

NEPAL

  • Tashi Sherpa: Tashi not only gave us an incredible tour of Nepal but taught us how to mountaineer, handled all logistics, and even orchestrated the transportation and hotels needed for us to go from Annapurna Basecamp to Kathmandu airport to get out of Nepal before it closed its borders within ~36 hours. Amazingly friendly, knowledgeable, and reliable. Could not recommend more: http://www.firstascenttashi.com/

Turkey

  • Hagia Sofia, Istanbul: Famous for a reason - truly spectacular. Go early in the morning to beat the crowds

  • Basilica Cistern, Istanbul: A huge underground ancient reservoir made from stolen columns. Awesome atmosphere

  • Kuzguncuk, Istanbul: One of the cutest neighborhoods I’ve ever been to

  • Zencefil, Istanbul: Amazing vegetarian restaurant with phenomenal bread

New Zealand

  • Thames Takeaways, Thames: One of the best (and definitely the cheapest!) veggie burgers I’ve ever had. And their tater tots were divine

  • Classic Campers, Auckland: Incredibly responsive and flexible - messaged us well into the night to ensure we could get a van when we landed due to a last minute change and gave us extra equipment for free

  • Mangonui Fish Shop, Mangonui: The best fish and chips we had in NZ. Doesn’t hurt that it has a beautiful view

  • Te Paki Sand Dunes: Sandboarding down massive sand dunes is the best way to spend a morning

  • Waipoua Forest: One of the last remnants of the old forest in New Zealand, the Waipoua Forest is has some of the last giants within New Zealand. An incredible park to explore. Plus, highway 12 going north through it is a stunning drive as it connects back to highway 1 meandering around a bay

  • Tongariro Alpine Crossing: A famous hike that isn’t overhyped - this hike truly takes you through Mordor and other stunning New Zealand terrain. Note - it’s not nearly as difficult as all the materials suggest

  • Hobbiton, Matamata: This was the big surprise of the trip - Hobbiton was not very kitsch-y and surprisingly lovely. The maintenance team does an incredible job at keeping all the details just right - from beautiful flowers to massive pumpkins. Also, the Mid-Summer Festival was truly magical

THAILAND

  • Tep Bar, Bangkok: A ‘Thai Culture’ bar with great food, drinks, and incredible staff

  • 23 bar and gallery, Bangkok: The owner/dj/bartender, Go, is a force of personality in this britpop/punk bar nestled in Chinatown

  • Nai Ek Roll Noodle, Bangkok: Delicious pork noodle soup

TAIWAN

TAIPEI:

  • Macu: Amazing fruit tea made with fresh fruit

  • Wenzhou Street Raddish Pancake, Taipei: I’m not sure what the actual name is (this is the name on google) but their fried daikon buns are SO GOOD

  • Old street, Jiufen: Reminiscent of ‘Spirited Away’, this tiny mountain town has a fantastic view and atmosphere (the latter only towards the end of the night when the rest of the tourists have left!). Be warned - it is a tourist trap but one that is definitely worth it

  • 圓環頂肉粽菜粽, Tainan: A tiny restaurant with good sticky rice and truly divine soup

  • FengJia Night Market, Taichung: A great sprawling night market filled with food, stores, and arcade games. Our favorite stall served a naan-esque green onion pancake near the OK convenience store

  • Biking around Sun Moon Lake: A beautiful mellow 30km bike ride around an almost tropical lake. Keep an ear out for the birds!

  • Din Tai Fung, Dongmen, Taipei: The OG DTF. It’s definitely worth the hype

PALAU

  • Sam’s tours/Paddling Palau: A partnership between one of the best organized dive shops and a very local group of kayak/expedition guides leads to easy and fantastic experiences. Dive at:

    • Ulong Channel (amazing biodiversity)

    • Blue Corner (the iconic Palau dive)

    • Blue Holes (really cool cavern dive next to Blue Corner)

    • German Channel (mantas)

    • Chandelier Cave

    • Hafaadai (wreck)

    • Peliliu (we didn’t get to dive here this trip but it’s where the pelagics are)

  • Drop-off: A local bar/restaurant with the freshest fish and comfort food

  • Penthouse: A delicious Palauan restaurant hidden inside a hotel

South Korea

SEOUL:

  • Slow Town Brewery & Food: great vibes and better Makgeolli

  • Gwangjang Market: amazing food (star of the Netflix Street Food episode!). Go to the Netflix Street Food knife cut noodle stall for the best kimchi

  • Dongdaemun Design Plaza: Awesome Zaha Hadid museum/park. Try to go for the winter lightshow - unreal cool!

FRENCH POLYNESIA

EXPERIENCES:

  • Swimming with whales: an unreal moment of awe

  • Rangiroa: cute thin atoll island with great dolphin diving and relaxed atmosphere

  • Mo’orea: Beautiful island. Wish I spent more time hiking/driving/climbing(?) around the island