Soy Milk Donuts at Nishiki Market | Kyoto, Japan

Japan had so many delicious treats and I found myself drooling every time we passed an eatery. We actually stumbled upon these tasty soy milk donuts, while we were exploring Nishiki Market. Markus is a huge fan of donuts, so we make it a personal goal to try all types and flavors. We've had them with bacon and butterscotch and even stuffed with red bean. I never heard of them made with soy milk, so it was an automatic yes, when we passed the stand.

The donuts were a steal at 250 yen (about $2.50) for six. They come three different ways either brown sugar, chocolate or caramel. I wish we had ordered all three variations, but we went with brown sugar. The donuts were so delicious. They tasted like regular donuts, but less heavy and a bit airy. The brown sugar was really subtle and didn't overpower the donuts. When Markus was eating his three, I almost stole one because they were so good. I could've chowed down on these for days. I wish that we did, but there is always next time!

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum | Nashville, Tennessee

I feel like I have to be honest with you, dear readers. I am not a fan of country music. Any time I hear it, I immediately get an uncomfortable feeling and seek any means to stop it.  I know it's a bit harsh, but it's the truth. I don't get annoyed by much, but playing country music is a sure fire way to irritate me. So with that in mind, imagine how I felt when my lovely cousin Joy suggested we go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Both Markus and I were uninterested, but she really wanted to go. We exhausted every possible option to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't budge. She even went as far as buying our tickets for us, so we had no choice but to go. I feel really lame telling you this story, because in the end, I actually enjoyed the museum.

Despite not liking country music, I'm a huge fan of folk music. I know, it doesn't make sense. In the museum there was a great section dedicated to old folk music. They explained the inception and evolution. It was great stuff. The rest of the museum was less about the music and more about the people that create the music. They even had some of the things that famous people owned. There were so many lovely items such as real blue suede shoes, a golden piano and a custom gun car. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there is a valuable lesson here about not judging things before actually experiencing it. Even though I enjoyed my experience, it still didn't change my mind about country music. I still don't like it. I'll stick to folk music, sorry country fans.

Japan Cheap Eats #2 | Nagasaki

This is part of a series about eating on a budget and I've titled the series, "Japan Cheap Eats". Many people think Japan is expensive, but I'm here to prove them wrong! We found many budget options and I wanted to share them with you!

Previously, I posted about eating cheap in Japan. As most people know, Japan is one of the most expensive countries in the world. Everyone always talks about how expensive it is, but Markus and I were determined to enjoy Japan despite being on a budget. One of the best ways to control your budget is eating frugally. For most of our time in Japan, we ate really cheap, but there were times that we splurged. I mean, I couldn't travel all the way to Japan and eat at 7-11 the whole time!

Another really cheap place to eat is the grocery store. Japan, like Korea, has really great supermarkets. They are filled with ready to made meals at reasonable prices. There is so much variety and it always took us a long time to decide what to eat. The food is made fresh daily and really affordable. They have everything you could want, sushi, bento boxes, salads etc. It's a really great alternative to eating fast food, which is always the last resort for us. When Markus and I got sick of going to marts, we always trekked to the nearest grocery store. 

For our second cheap eats, we decided to go a bit healthier. We didn't want to overload on ramen and fried foods. Markus and I always split everything, so that we can have a nice variety of tastes and meals. For this meal, we chose a salad, grilled eel with rice and sashimi with udon. Everything was really good. I couldn't believe that our meal was only $10. It was also nice to eat something that felt fresher and a bit healthier. If we spent all our time eating instant ramen and fried chicken, I'm sure our bodies would've hated us!

Cost Breakdown:
Salad: 105 yen
Salad Dressing: 20 yen
Grilled Eel with Rice: 498 yen
Sashimi with Udon: 398 yen
TOTAL: 1021 yen or $10.06

Koh Rong, Cambodia | 3 of 3

Nights on Koh Rong were really interesting and unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Life on the island really slows down. Everyone is very lackadaisical about everything. There is a definite hippie vibe. It took a lot of adjustment for Markus and I who like to have everything a certain way and at a certain time. There are heaps of hostels and hotels that line the beach and all of them double as restaurants. Regardless of where we were, every meal took at least one to two hours before it hit the table. We ended up spending at least 3 hours at a restaurant, which is not normal for us. After a couple days, we got the hang of things and spent the rest of our time there livin' that island life.

Gunkanjima | Hashima Island, Japan

Markus and I are a fan of films, which makes sense since Markus is an animator. When we travel, for some reason, I always tend to look for filming locations. We've been to Pemberely, Hogwarts, and 221B Baker Street. When I was planning our trip to Japan, Skyfall was just released in the theaters. When I saw the film, I remember being intrigued by the abandoned island that was featured. I've always wanted to explore a ghost town or an abandoned theme park. After a bit of research, I learned that it was in Japan. So, I made sure to include Hashima Island on the list.

Hashima Island is known by so many different names such as Gunkanjima, Battleship Island and Ghost Island. It's located off the coast of Nagasaki. The island was primarily used as a coal mining facility from 1887 to 1974. It was bought by Mitsubishi in 1880 and people lived and worked on the island. In 1974 the mine was closed and Hashima has been abandoned since then. Due to several typhoons, the buildings have taken a beating and the island was closed off to visitors. It's popularity has risen in the past few years and it was decided to open Hashima for supervised tours.

Markus and I used to watch a lot of those "ghost hunter" like shows. I'm really intrigued by places that are supposedly haunted and for some reason always end up watching shows like that on TV. I was a huge fan of Unsolved Mysteries when I was a kid, so I think this fascination stems from this. What can I say? I'm a bit of a weirdo, but at least it makes for interesting posts and travels!

I was a bit sad that we weren't allowed to freely explore the island, but I can understand the reasoning behind it. The tour took us to three different spots on the island. The tour was completely in Japanese so Markus just wandered around. It was also extremely hot that day, so by the time we reached our third stop, I was pretty over it. Despite the heat and not understanding the tour, I enjoyed being able to visit the island. It was really cool to see something so unique and unlike any other place. Maybe Markus and I will start searching for more abandoned places we could explore on our own.