One night, I was checking my emails when I came across a deal that was too hard to pass up. $279 round trip tickets to Belize 😱. Lucky enough, my sister, Tran, and friend, Carolyn also had the #yolo mindset. We ended up getting 3 tickets for the price of the average 1. I didn't know much about the country at the time, but I'd heard great things from friends who had visited. All I knew about were the barrier reefs.

After researching the country a bit more, I learned that it's incredibly easy for Americans to visit because 1) The flight is relatively short 2) No visa needed 3) English is the primary language and 4) the country interchangeably uses the USD and Belize dollar. Since USD is accepted, we didn't exchange any currency. $1 USD = $2 BZD.

I stumbled upon the cutest cabanas at Green Valley Inn in Unitedville, Belize. The top three things that drew me to this property were 1) affordable 2) hands-on host who accommodated us in every way possible 3) convenient to attractions. Prior to the trip, we worked with the host, Peter, to create an itinerary that met all of our interests including jungle adventures, caves, canoeing, waterfalls, etc. Considering that we were only on mainland for 2.5 days, we decided to go with a relaxing day, ATM cave, Xunantunich Mayan Ruins, and Canoeing on Barton Creek for the fullest experience. All of this costed a flat rate of $350 USD which also included breakfast, private transfers, admission, and private tours. This was a great deal because transfers alone costs ~$60 USD per person one way from Belize City to the jungle area.

Upon arrival to Green Valley Inn, we were all astonished by the beautiful surroundings and thoughtfully decorated cabanas. My favorite part about the cabanas were the outdoor showers, which had warm-running water. On our first night, the moon was full and bright orange. I'm sad that I didn't shower later that night because I'm sure I would've been able to see the stars from the outdoor shower.

Once we settled in a bit, we decided to walk a few blocks away to Jack's Shack to get some food. This is where we had our first freakout moment. After walking up a gigantic unpaved road, an aggressive rotweiller began to bark and charge at us. I was lucky to have Tran and Carolyn there to calm me down as we stood still, huddled around each other. Then before we knew it, 2 more rotweillers started charging at us. Once all three had arrived, they started circling us and I was scared to death that one of them would attack us. Thankfully, the owners came out to retrieve the dogs. Although Jack's Shack was closed, David, one of the neighbors, insisted on giving us a tour of the acreage and explained all of the beautiful plants and trees that surrounded the place.

After calming down a bit, we went back to the lodge to ask Peter to drive us a bit further down the road because we were too afraid of the large stray dogs everywhere. It was embarrassing, especially since we had just met Peter a few hours ago, but he was extremely kind and understanding. He dropped us off at a Chinese restaurant, which seemed to be the only restaurant open on a Sunday afternoon. I was a bit disappointed because I was really hoping for some chicken, rice, and beans, which is the local staple. After going to a nearby Chinese store, we decided to walk back to the Chinese restaurant, but funny enough, they ran out of Chinese food and were only serving fried chicken and burgers. So this was our first Belizean meal .

I didn't take any photos of the Chinese stores and restaurants in Belize, but here's what they typically look like. While on the road, I learned that over 95% of the grocery stores in Belize are owned by Chinese. The first Chinese arrived in the country from south eastern China in the late 1860s. I was a bit taken back by this because it seemed like such a niche pocket of residents in a seemingly unexpected region. About a week before our arrival, there was a strike between the Chinese and Belizeans after a Chinese businessman was killed after many incidents of harassment towards the Chinese population. The tension arose from the Chinese taking over local business. Many angles can be interpreted, but one that I've heard is that there could be a question of Belizean loyalty to their own stores, which price items at a few cents more.

On day 2, we went on an all-day tour through the ATM Cave. Unfortunately, cameras were recently banned after several tourists dropped their devices on skeletal remains and damaging the sacred artifacts. This cave is an archeological site where Mayans once lived and performed human sacrifices. It's ranked by the National Geographic as one of the most sacred places of a lifetime. If you're in Belize, go to the ATM cave!

Before the trek, we got suited with life jackets, helmets, and headlights. After a short walk, we dove into the first river crossing which was more like a swim for me 😅. This went on a few more times before we finally entered the cave, which was incredible. Our tour guide ranks the ATM cave a 3/5 in terms of danger and righteously so. I would not recommend this tour to people with asthma, claustrophobia, disabilities, or fear of water because there is a lot of swimming in deep water, blindly walking over rocks and puddles, climbing rocks, and squeezing through narrow cracks. It's humid with very little circulation. However, if you do make it, you will learn so much about the ancient Mayans and witness a magnificent piece of history.

We spent about 1.5 hours at this site with our private tour guide. Since we arrived in the early morning before the crowd, we practically had the ruins to ourselves. Like the ATM cave, there is so much history that comes along with the ruins. Xunantunich is considered the second tallest tower in all of Belize. Crazy, right?! We saw Guatemala from the top of the ruins, which wasn't difficult too climb. We opted for Xunantunich instead of the other nearby ruins because of its vicinity to our lodge. Given more time, I'm sure we would've gone to Caracol, which I've heard is even more magnificent. I thought Xunantunich was incredible, so I can't imagine what an even greater site is like.

I was initially hesitant to visit Barton Creek Cave because we had just visited the ATM Cave the previous day, but I trusted Peter's judgement in recommending that the experience is unique enough to check out. I'm glad I listened. Since we went canoeing, Barton Creek Cave felt a lot more relaxing and calm. We took two boats. Peter and the tour guide paddled one of each while us girls just sat, listened to the history lesson, and absorbed the sights. For this reason, Barton Creek Cave felt a lot more majestic while ATM was packed with adventure and physical challenge. In both caves, there is evidence of Mayan traces. 

On the way to/from Barton Creek Cave, we saw Mennonites, which led to a great history lesson from Peter. They were easy to identify because of their traditional clothing - women with bonnets and long dresses and men with overalls and hats. Mennonites in this region produce everything that they need for shelter, food, etc., so it was quite neat to see a glimpse of their life. Peter kindly asked us not to take photos of the Mennonites to respect their privacy. Pro tip: the ride was to/from Barton Creek really bumpy, so I recommend bringing motion sickness medication for those who may need it.  

We each spent $38 USD for roundtrip water taxi ferry tickets from Belize City to San Pedro. The ride was 90 minutes each way. The boats arrived and departed on time and were much cleaner and orderly than I had imagined. I have bad sea sickness, but was perfectly fine on the boat. Granted, I had seasick bands on and had taken a dramamine beforehand. But typically, even after preparing myself, I can get sick, so the fact that I didn't while on the water taxi reinforces how sturdy and smooth it is.

What's a girls trip without a photo session? Right across the street from our Airbnb was this amazing dock. We spent countless hours on it - just reading and relaxing. Due to the geography of Belize (something about it being surrounded by far-out reefs), there aren't much sand on the islands. In exchange, there are docks that stretch far out into the ocean. I actually prefer the docks because they're cleaner and attract less sand flies, which we were warned are actually a thing. Luckily, none of us got bit badly, but still, they were evident.

Our Airbnb host set up a snorkel tour for us to check out Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. For $60 USD per person, I'd say we paid a bit more than you would if you were to purchase tours from a local tour stand along the beach. However, the way I justify it is that we got a private tour and flexibility. We were able to easily postpone our tour back a day due to strong winds after a local told me that strong winds can cause water to go into the snorkel gear. I'd gone snorkeling a few times before, but this was Tran and Carolyn's first time, so I didn't want them to not enjoy it. 

On the day we took the boat out, it was still windy - enough to cause the current to ripple. Hol Chan wasn't as great as I had imagined - the water was clear but there just wasn't as much diversity in the ocean and the current was so strong that Tran, Carolyn, and I kept getting pushed towards each other by the water. We were literally swimming face-to-feet. I wished our tour guide, who was our host's son, better explained the different fish that were swimming around, but maybe it was hard to do that with the strong current. 

Next, we went to Shark Ray Alley. The guides fed fish to the sharks to attract their attention while Carolyn and I jumped into the ocean. The sharks were freakishly huge and we were both hesitant to go in, but #yolo. I was afraid because I had some open wounds from the ATM cave tour and thought that the sharks would recognize the scent. Fortunately, they did not. 

For $55 USD a day, we rented golf carts to drive around town for 2 out of the 4 days we were on the island. Even if you don't intend to use it all day, it's worth the cost just to experience it because literally everyone drives a golf cart in San Pedro. The carts come with a lock, so it's perfectly safe to drive it from point A to B and park it before returning to point A. I was surprised to learn that the golf carts also comes with a small storage unit in the back, which is also lockable. We mainly needed the golf cart to get across the bridge because that's where Secret Beach, the truck stop, Ak'bol, and many other tourist attractions are. Since we stayed closer to town, most stores and restaurants were a walk away, so renting the golf cart for only 2 days was perfect.

In case you're wondering...I'm 4"10' and was able to drive it perfectly. Be warned that there are speed bumps all around town, so you will be getting a free massage while driving the golf cart.

On Thursday nights, you can bet where a chicken will take a shit. To play, you pay $1 USD and get a random number on a grid in a chicken coop. When the game starts, a volunteer from the audience will bless the chicken by rotating it around in circles and blowing air into the chicken's ass. S/he will then drop the chicken into the coop. For an extra small fee, some people buy corn to feed the chicken in hopes that it'll poop on their number. The crowd continues to cheer while the DJ cranks up the music. The game ends when the chicken poops. If it poops on your number, you win! 

The jerk chicken at Robin's Kitchen was the best thing I ate in Belize. For $14 BZD, you get a quarter chicken, rice, and some veggies. I shared with a friend and still felt satisfied with the portions. I highly suggest going early in the day because they sell out...quick! While eating, somebody stopped by to order 10 jerk chicken meals. After that, there were only 4 jerk chickens remaining for the day. It was only 12:30 pm at this time. Right next door to Robin's Kitchen is a fruit stand which sold me 4 oranges for $2 BZD.

Other than jerk chicken, I can't say that Belizean cuisine is mouthwatering to the point where I'd want to repeat eating it. It's possible that I fell for tourist traps and didn't go to the right local restaurants, or maybe the locals only cook and eat at home, but the food I ate in Belize wasn't that great. It didn't seem like Belizeans are keen about cuisine. The local food I ate such as chicken/rice/beans and pupusas were bland. I don't think shrimp ceviche counts at Belizean food, but that was really delicious. The shrimp portions were extremely generous.

I don't know about you, but when I go a week without doing yoga or working out at least once, I feel imbalanced. While driving to the Truck Stop in San Pedro, I spotted Ak'bol signs and made it a mission to check it out at least once. Unfortunately, it rained almost every morning, and the yoga sessions are only at 9 am on weekdays. On the last day, I woke up from the sounds of heavy rain dripping down the roof and I thought to myself, "If I don't check this yoga spot out, I'm gonna really regret it." So, my sister and I took the golf cart and drove it north of the bridge. The 1 hour class costed $15 USD with mats, blankets, and bricks provided. It was everything like I imagined. Every downward dog presented the unfathomable sight of palm trees and every supine spinal twist gave me a fresh scent of ocean air and turquoise clear views. Yoga's never going to be the same.

I debated driving to Victoria. But after extensive research, I found that it's more affordable and faster to go on a Clipper vessel. Driving would've took 5 hours each way and the ferry would've costed $216.60 USD roundtrip. Since Victoria is a very walkable city, we decided to ditch the car. The Clipper ride was only 2.5 hours each way and was equipped with restrooms and a little cafe. 

With my travel agent card, I was able to get a deal for roundtrip Clipper ride for only $100 USD for two adults. Typically, purchasing tickets at industry rates require stand-by, but I was able to guarantee the seats by combining with a hotel stay. I decided to go with the Parkside Hotel & Spa, which is a modern hotel with only suites and located 2 blocks behind the Empress. I chose the Parkside because of its amenities: swimming pool, hot tub, spa, theatre, restaurant, suites. Altogether, the hotel and roundtrip transportation costed $406 USD. Still, this was a good deal considering that purchasing a hotel separately would've costed that much alone.   

After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel, we walked around downtown Victoria. My first impression is that the city is very royal. I've never been to Europe before, but it reminded me of parts of Europe that I've seen in pictures. There were lots of brick builds, lamp-shaped tall street lights, red/green Christmas decorations, horse carriages, and chilly weather. 

We were mostly trying to kill time while we waited to go to the Buchart Gardens. We walked by a beautiful flower shop and many cute shops. The photo on top is of Brian in front of the flower shop.

On our walk, we came across this restaurant called Pagliaccis. I immediately thought about the Pagliaccis back home, which is a pizza place. So I thought, "hmm, ok, Italian sounds good." We were immediately seated. The restaurant was loud and filled with guests. It felt like a local favorite because of the artwork that was hung up and how busy it was. 

Brian and I decided to order our own meals. I can't remember what my dish was called but it had scallops and prosciutto. It was meh. Brian's pasta was also meh. The caeser salad tasted better than the actual pasta in my opinion. 

We purchased a coach ride + admission tickets to the Buchart Gardens through Clipper Vacations. Since we didn't have a car, going with a tour company made most sense. The other option was to take a cab, which would've costed ~$80 one way. Buchart Gardens is located about 35 minutes away from Downtown Victoria. Besides the blasted AC on the Clipper coach bus, the ride was smooth. I was able to take a nap and woke up right when we arrived around 2:45 pm. At this time, it wasn't dark enough to enjoy all of the magical holiday lights, but we still liked walking around with our cups of latte. 

​There was also a small ice skating rink, but we didn't go in since neither of us could skate very well. We really didn't want to fall on our asses in front of a bunch of Canadians who are born to ice skate. I had just as much fun watching them skate because it looked so effortless and beautiful. Since the bus ride back to downtown wasn't until 5 pm, Brian and I decided to do a half loop around the park to enjoy the lights one last time now that it was dark enough. I have to admit...we were kind of noobs to go so early because around 5 pm was when the crowd started go enter. This was when the lights were most magical.

Imagine cold sandwiches and cute little desserts. This is essentially afternoon tea anywhere you go. Our order came with Red Christmas Tea which was a very soothing choice. It wasn't too herbal nor cinnamon-y. It was just right for the holiday theme. The whole experience felt very regal. From the antiques of the tableware and fine china to the crowning around the perimeter of the ceiling. Since we were the only guests in the restaurant, I felt like royalty. We were left alone to eat - the server didn't stop by too frequently which I actually appreciated because it gave us more intimacy. 

Overall, the price you pay is not for the food, but more for the royal experience and great service. We took it up an extra notch by dressing up, but I noticed guests who were dressed very casual. It really depends on how you want to embrace the environment. Since it was our anniversary weekend, we made it more of a formal event.

For a taste of what privileged life was like in the early 1890s, we went on a self-guided tour at the Craigdarroch Castle. It first belonged to Robert Dunsmuir, who was at one point, the richest and most important man in Western Canada. There are artifacts around the house that detail his family's fortune and history. For someone who's not into history, this tour was quite interesting. I think it's because of all of the drama that occurred in the family and the many functions of the mansion thereafter. Before it was restored into a Victorian castle and the Dunsmuir's home, it was once a hospital and school. 

When flights dropped to $200 per person, Ellen and I hopped on the opportunity to go to the world's largest hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The trip was 6 days long, but we really only had 4 full days to spend in the state. What started as an adventure to witness hundreds of hot air balloons turned into a 6-day adventure to embrace slot canyons, New Mexican pueblos, white sands, hot springs, adobada, and more. 

We also went to Santa Fe on our trip, but didn't document any of our activities. In total, I spent less than $750 USD for the entire trip. I would describe myself as a budget traveler. It helped that I have a national park pass, so many of the outdoor attractions that we visited were included in the pass, which costs $80 USD.

Below are mostly pictures describing the sites we visited. I've also created a short video, which details some of the local experiences that we went on. ​​

Our Airbnb host, Casey, provided a ton of recommendations for us to check out. We told him that we are both outdoor enthusiasts who aren't super athletic, but appreciate the good nature. On the top of his list was the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, which was only 1 hour away from the Airbnb in Albuquerque. When we arrived, there was a line of cars waiting to get through the first gates, which is also where you pay for admission. The ranger here told us that the park closes at 4pm, so we were quite nervous since we got there pretty late. All we wanted to see were the slot canyons, so we took our chances by waiting. A miracle must've happened, because not only did we get inside of the park, but also made it pretty far before a ranger turned us around. 

If you visit, bring at least a bottle of water because it was so dry and hot when we visited in early October. We spent about 1 hour here.

Old Town is a touristy spot with shops, restaurants, and souvenir stores. We visited a rattlesnake museum here. Parking was quite difficult during the fiesta season, but we parked across the street at a Walgreens. In total, we spent about 1.5 hours here. 

Ellen and I decided to ditch the car and buy the admission that came with shuttle transfers. After extensive research, we found that people have gotten stuck in traffic while on their way to the fiesta and unfortunately missing the whole show. We didn't want that to happen to us. There were many locations to board a shuttle, which was actually a yellow school bus. We went to one of the stops at the mall, which must've had at least 50 or so yellow school buses. It seemed endless.

We went to the fiesta on the very first day that it opened, and the shuffling of people onto the buses were a bit unorganized as I think the staff members were trying to figure out an efficient structure. We arrived about 15 minutes before the buses were supposed to depart. There were plenty of parking available at the mall. 

​When we arrived, we managed to go straight into the fiesta without ticket validations. I'm not sure if it was because we arrived on a shuttle or if it was because the staff were still trying to arrange a validation system. 

The first time we went to the fiesta, the balloons didn't lift off nor inflate due to weather conditions. Ellen and I stayed as long as we could until it became too cold. On the first day, we just laid on the grass, ate lots of yummy food, and walked around the site. Once we felt like we had enough, we just hopped back onto the shuttle.

Our second attempt at the fiesta also resulted in no lift off, but at least they inflated! We got to walk around hundreds of balloons to take pictures. Since there was no lift off yesterday, we were able to reuse our same tickets to get on the shuttle and enter the park.  

Can you tell that the balloons inflated AND lifted by Ellen's excited expression? It only took 3 attempts to finally witness what originally motivated this trip. To be honest, we were very tired and beginning to lose hope in the balloons lifting off, but we felt that it was necessary to give it at least one more try before completely giving up. We managed to squeeze in another attempt right before we headed to the White Sands. This time, we drove to the site and somehow managed to get free parking and admission. The ticket booth staff scanned our original tickets and let us in. I think it was still "free" because the balloons didn't lift off on the previous day.

Lessons from my experience:
- Keep your ticket because you can keep reusing it if the balloons don't lift off
- Give yourself 2-3 days to spend at the fiesta because the show is weather permitting 

The Petroglyph National Monument wasn't as fascinating as I thought it'd be. It's pretty small. Some of the petroglyphs were questionable since they were images of Hello Kitty and other modern characters. When we arrived, there was a shuttle driver volunteering to bring people to the bottom of one of the sites so that we didn't have to walk there. It's a nice gesture, especially for disabled visitors. I remember it being extremely windy here. We spent about 30 minutes here. 

If you find yourself going to the White Sands National Monument, make sure you add a stop in Truth or Consequences to your itinerary. You won't regret it. Our Airbnb hosts told us about Riverbend Hotsprings in T or C and we made sure to stop by. After many days of adventure, a relaxing break was very much needed. It only costed $12 for the property pass which included 1 hour admission to any the common grounds, sauna, and hot springs. The facility even had a changing room which came with 3 showers and plenty of clean towels.

The springs were incredibly relaxing. The area we hung out at overlooked the river and mountains. We wish we could've spent more time here, but we spent about 1.5 hours including showers. 

We unfortunately visited the White Sands on a fairly cold day. It was also cloudy. The pictures didn't turn out so nice, so we didn't try too hard to take pictures because we wanted to embrace feel the whole experience. It was cold and chilly, but that didn't stop others from changing outfits and taking photos. Ellen and I went to Target the day before to buy some objects for us to sled down the sand on. We ended up with cardboard Halloween trays that we later converted into a flat surface. It didn't work. Thankfully, a kind lady who was leaving the park gave us her bright orange sled that she purchased at the souvenir shop. That also didn't work. Nonetheless, the place was beautiful and we spent a lot of time appreciating the surroundings. We spent about 1 hour here.

It was really hard to slide down any of the sands at the park. I'm not sure how people manage to... The sand was really soft on the foot but hard at the same time. It was also kind of hardened by the cold weather. It's not as lush as it looks in pictures.

I went on this long weekend trip with my good friend, Ellen. Together, we flew into LAX where we spent a few days visiting a few sites including Santa Monica Pier, The Griffith Observatory, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and more. During the last two days of our trip, we drove our rental car to Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. 

It probably wasn't smart of us to visit the desert during this time of year as the temperature was well above 105 degrees F. At one point, I remember us not wanting to step foot outside because of the burning heat. Thank goodness we had a functioning AC in our little Airbnb RV. Below are all the free sites we visited while in the desert. 

On our way to Joshua Tree, we stopped at the Cabazon Dinosaurs, which is a roadside attraction with giant dinosaurs and a museum. We didn't go into the museum since it looked pretty small and we really came just to check out the roadside dinosaurs. There are two of them as pictured in this blog. The sun was scorching that day! Ellen and I had to go in and out of the car to protect ourselves from the heat and strong sun rays. We spent about 20 minutes here.

I'm not sure what the address is for this place, but it wasn't too far from the Cabazon Dinosaurs. It's really hard to miss. The windmills created so much wind that we could feel the pressure from inside the car. We were the only ones at the site, which made it really fun to take photos. The whole trip eventually became a photo session. I don't think this is a site for visitors, but we went anyways, and had a blast. Plus, the photos came out really nice. We spent about 30 minutes here.

The Noah Purifoy Foundation has an outdoor museum which is free, with donations encouraged. There was only one other group at the attraction when we arrived. The place is huge. There wasn't anyone monitoring the donations box. We were able to enter freely and spend as long as we wanted there. My first impression was, "whoa." There was just so many things on site. It kind of looked like a junk yard, but you could tell that somebody put a lot of thought into creating some of the pieces such as the toilet bowl heart pictured below. We spent about 45 minutes here.

We were originally going to camp at Joshua Tree, but I'm so glad we didn't because of the heat and the insects that I later learned inhabit the park. We drove our car around the whole park. The road was extremely well maintained and barely had any cars. It was just about sunset when we arrived. Because of this, we even spotted a huge hare come out for food. It was so cute! We spent about 1.5 hours here.

Of all my Airbnb experiences, this was the most creative, intimate, and cool experience. We stayed at a little RV in the middle of the desert under the starry night. It came equipped with BBQ gear, a hammock, and outdoor shower. Everything we needed was provided including towels and kitchen utensils. We spent a lot of time in the RV because of the heat. So thankful that there was AC. We spent 1 night here.