40 Cheapest Places To Travel

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14946963/?claim=p7xrnf7smrm”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>   We all want to go to a beautiful, fascinating, relaxing place, but wouldn’t it be great if that could be one of the cheapest places as well?  There are such places – more than you might think.   The only reason we can afford… Continue reading

An Entire Exotic Island to Yourself in Tonga

  We had rented a cabin and were about to spend a week on an uninhabited island, Uoleva Island, in the Haap’ai Group of Tonga. It was an island we would have all to ourselves with absolutely breathtaking white powder beaches and crystal clear turquoise water (perfect for skinny dipping). There were no roads, no… Continue reading

Tonga: The Sexiest Men In The World

Sexy smiling Tongan man at Kava Ceremony

  First of all, there is something I need to explain. What you are about to discover is that in this country…. … the bigger and the broader you are, the more prestige you have!   Quite a reversal from the cultural expectations in North America! Every time I tell someone… Continue reading

Tonga: “But I’m Not a Pilot!”

Tonga Islands Aerial View

 [spacer height=”20px”]   Tonga: Going to Ouleva Island   We were flying from the Vava’u Group in Tonga to the Haap’ai Group, where we had arrangements to take a boat to an uninhabited island, Ouleva.   At the airport, as we walked out to our small 8-seater plane, I noticed the pilot was… Continue reading

Where On Earth Is The Kingdom of Tonga?

  Ever since taking an anthropology class at university, and reading about the Kingdom of Tonga, I had longed to go there.  Kingdom of Tonga   Anthropology of the Kingdom of Tonga   Reading that the bigger you are in Tonga, the more prestige you have, shocked me. There was… Continue reading

Places We Regret Going

  We’ve travelled to over 30 countries, and each one had something special, unforgettable and memorable.   But upon careful review, do we have any travel regrets? Have we travelled to any places that we wish we had not gone to?    There are a few that stand out above… Continue reading

How To Kill A Tongan

  Our taxi driver from town was hilarious.   “How do you know when a Tongan has had enough to eat?” he says, grinning.   Since the larger you are in Tonga, the more prestige you have, we were curious to hear the answer.   “When he only has enough… Continue reading

Tonga: Invitation To A Kava Ceremony

  Tonga is probably our favourite place in the world; a gorgeous chain of South Pacific islands with crystal clear turquoise water, white sand beaches, and sweet people. It’s the kind of place that is in your travel dreams. Tonga: Vava’u Group of Islands   The second island we stayed… Continue reading

“Aw Sha, It Could Always Be Worse!”

  Lost luggage is a fact of life for most travellers. It has rarely happened to me but it did once, at the worst possible time. Travel misfortunes are just to be expected. Ireland   We had just arrived in Ireland, and I was given assurance that they would find my… Continue reading

Cyclone In Tonga

[mapsmarker marker=”1″]   Our dear friends survived a major cyclone in Tonga this spring. Their beautiful private island, Uoleva, and their amazing cabins on an absolutely perfect South Pacific beach were destroyed. Their entire resort was smashed and they were were lucky to withstand the cyclone alive.   First, here are… Continue reading

Tonga: A Land Where Big Women are the Most Beautiful

A Land Where Big Women Are Most Beautiful

The Women of Tonga     The women in the Kingdom of Tonga are beautiful and large. Many are over six feet all and well over two hundred pounds.     In fact, the bigger you are in Tonga, the more respect you have.   That’s a hard concept for people… Continue reading

How to Overcome Your Fear of Spiders

  I have always been afraid of spiders – I’m not sure why, but they just seem creepy.    There are no dangerous wild animals in Tonga, and not many bugs, but they do have harmless spiders.     Ouleva Island, Tonga   We were on an uninhabited island, Ouleva,… Continue reading

Our Secret Beach (Shhh! Don’t tell anyone.)

  Shhh! Don’t tell anyone. This beach is so perfect, so tranquil, so gorgeous, we don’t want thousands of people to find out and ruin it. We’ll tell you about it, but we’re not telling you exactly where it is. It’s in Tonga, somewhere on one of the 176 islands… Continue reading