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On the Cheap

Riding the Reunification rail

Discover authentic Vietnam on the Saigon–Hanoi train.

I’ve always loved riding trains: Pacific Surfliner, Starlight Express, Eurail, etc. The sound of the train whistle never fails to spark my wanderlust, and I find the combination of comfort and adventure when riding the ...

Perusing Poland

Gdańsk, Wrocław and more hard-to-pronounce Old World treasures.

A scenic train ride landed us in Gdańsk, at the edge of the Baltic Sea. Our apartment is 60M2. It's basically a two-bedroom apartment with a large living room that includes a third-floor balcony. I ...

Surviving the Swarm in Anza-Borrego

Just 2 hours from S.D., the great outdoors can still have its surprises...

As a young woman on a budget, I've found many ways to travel on the cheap, and one of my favorite destinations is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in east county San Diego. It's close, it's ...

Lucha Libre, T.J. Style

The Mexican wrestling spectacle goes off Friday nights in Tijuana.

“Did that really just happen?” A lucha libre wrestler had tried to roll into the ring, miscalculated, and slammed down hard on the concrete. Instantly, the arena erupts in laughter, and the wrestler begins yelling ...

Vamos a Las Gaviotas, Baby

Quality surf, cheap lodging, tequila y más.

Here’s what you will do: head south to the land of Baja California, where tumbleweeds run like wild desperados under the tangerine glow of a nuclear sun. Hard work is commended, yet siestas are encouraged. ...

Borderlands: Two Days in Ensenada

We drove through downtown San Diego in a state of anxiety, paranoia and excitement. It’s hard not to be affected by the constant media deluge of horrors from south of the border: decapitated heads, mutilated ...

Cabins, Karaoke and Snow Pain in Wrightwood

Giving the mountains a second chance.

Wrightwood, CA, is a ski town just 1–10 hours away from L.A., depending on traffic. Mark and I were excited for our fully stocked rented weekend cabin. It belonged to a friend’s soon-to-be ex-wife. We ...

Shoestring Travel: Madrid

Taking you to European destinations on a dime (7 of 7).

After leaving Barcelona and falling in love with the city, we hopped on the high-speed train to Madrid. Three hours later we arrived at our flat (that we found on AirBnb) overlooking Plaza De Santa ...

Discover Bolivia

Bolivia is unique. It is the only country in the “New World” where the indigenous still predominate. Imagine if 65% of our population was still Native American (versus the less than one percent we have ...

Madrid: The City that Always Sleeps

For a city known for nightlife, Madrid's residents sure like to sleep. Don’t expect to accomplish much in the land in la mañana. I remember hearing stories during a city tour: it took city workers ...