Chris Backe's Blog, page 85

How we’ve solved 34 common travel problems as we’ve traveled the world

Three thousand days. Over eight years. That’s how long I’ve beentraveling.Here’s how we’ve solved some of our travel problems. Packing Is your suitcase messy?

Packing cubes are great, but I’m a huge fan of small, cloth, colorful bags. I picked up several of these in Ecuador and Peru – andthese are the perfect size for a pair of underwear, a t-shirt, and pair of socks.Go ahead and roll clothes as you’re putting them into the bags – instead of having to dig through your bag to find the three...

Destination: the Sex Machines Museum (Prague, Czechia) – a wonderful, raunchy, NSFW look at some kinky tools

Ready to get kinky while keeping your clothes on? At the Sex Machines Museum in Prague, you’ll enjoy how people got it on in decades and centuries past.

As you might guess, this post is NSFW – while you may know the country as the Czech Republic, it officially changed its name to Czechia in April 2016. The more you know…

Also known as the Prague Sex Museum, this is thefirst museum in the world devoted to sexual gadgetry. Exhibits date as far back as the 16th century, and after the museum was...

Random pictures: the ‘Nazca lines’ edition

The good ‘ol Nazca lines are best seen by air – but rough, expensive flights aren’t for everyone.

Sure, they’re a UNESCO World Heritage site, and they’re one of the few things to see while in this part of southern Peru.

Youdon’t have to fly over the Nazca lines to see them for yourself, however – the centuries-old glyphs can be seen from both constructed staircases and some of the foothills.

Walk along one of the main tourist-friendly roads in Ica and you’ll discover the public benches / s...

11 things I wish I knew about Vienna before arriving

Vienna kept us traveling for a full week with some of the most bizarre sights across Europe. Here’s what I wish I knew before going.

Vienna isacross of German efficiency and Swiss creativity, but less angsty than Berlin.

This first impression stuck with me the whole week. There’s still plenty of history despite the many bombs dropped during World War II, andthe mash-up of post-modern and centuries-old tradition is what makes Vienna come alive.

Grab the Vienna Card…

Unlimited public transpo...

Destination: the Thai temple with the bizarre illustrations

You can thank Thong Thipcha, a folk artist fromMaha Sarakham, for this one.

Probably built before 1917, the sim(chapel) was influenced by Vietnamese craftsmanship.It was officially proclaimed as an Ancient Monument by HM the King on December 21st, 2001.

Withthe thousands of temples scattered across the country, you’d be forgiven for wondering ‘what makes this one different / better?”

Some funky murals, anyone?

These murals tell the stories of Isaan folk tales and Buddhist legends – more spe...

Destination: Puno, Peru – Lake Titicaca, a temple of penises, and ancient burial towers

As part of our recent trip through Peru, we took in a city better known by its most famous geographical feature: Lake Titicaca. We didn’t stop there, naturally.

Puno holds the world’s highest navigable lake, which also shares a border with Bolivia somewhere in the middle of the lake.That said, the lake, and the roads to the lake, are as touristy as you might expect – plenty of souvenir stores and restaurants happy to overcharge you…

Yep, it’s a lake. To be honest, it’s a nice view, but it’s...

16 of the best mummies and skulls we saw in Peru

Let’s call this one not safe for kids and squeamish types.

Peru has a metric TON of dead people on open display. Churches and museums are great, but there’s also some open-air cemeteries toenjoy while in Peru as well.

The above skull comes from the Museo Larco in Lima, and is a good example of a trepanated skull. A hole was drilled into the brain as one of the earliest surgical operations. According to the sign, they were done to eliminate hematomas and remove pieces of bone or fractured sku...

Review: Filmora – an easy-to-use video editing tool

I haven’t done much in the way of video. The thought of spending hours editing and producingvideos has kept me from it.Wondershare’s Filmora promises to make that easier.

Disclosure: thisreview was sponsored by Wondershare, and a free license key was provided for testing purposes. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

From the makers of Dr. Fone (data recovery software for smartphones) comes Filmora, a program that promises to make editing and creating videos easier than ever befo...

July book reviews: traveling on an extreme budget, an intro to Bangkok, and books for your first trip abroad

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

Also, a quick disclaimer: review copies were provided or downloaded for free, and links may be affiliate links. These reviews cover the version of the book Ireceived, not necessarily the version that’s currently available. A newer or updated version may be available – check for yourself using the links below.

Want to get your travel...

Destination: Monasterio de la Recoleta (Arequipa, Peru) – the most random, bizarre monastery around

Presenting a place where order has been replaced by randomness – you have entered… the monastery zone.

La Recoleta, also known as El Convento Museo La Recoleta orMuseo la Recoleta de Arequipa, dates back decades or centuries, depending on how you’d like to look at it. The church buildings date from the 17th century, but the museum was only opened to the public in 1978.

First founded byFather Pedro de Mendoza in 1648, it was only a few years later that a small church and some of the cloister...