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Planet Pleva
Travels with Maggie and David


Part 20: Seoul, South Korea (#1)
Lotus Light Festival in Seoul 2025. Seoul A late flight from Taipei to Seoul plus a long drive to our hotel meant that we finally crawled into bed around midnight. Huge bowls of delicious spicy porridge the next morning got us motivated to explore. We quickly realized we had chosen a fantastic place to stay, but had no idea yet how true this was. Located in Insadong Neighborhood, our hotel was surrounded by a cultural center, a temple, and a walking street. Multiple palaces,
mpleva
12 hours ago10 min read


Part 19: Taiwan (#2)
The water taxi to Ita Thao, Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake: We were originally torn over whether to include Sun Moon Lake on our...
mpleva
Aug 2, 20259 min read


Part 18: Taiwan (#1)
The view from about halfway up Xiangshan Mountain, Taipei. Taipei: By the time we got to Taipei, street food and a convenience store...
mpleva
Jul 29, 20256 min read


Part 17: Hanoi, Vietnam
National Theater performance in the Nhà Hát Cải Lương Theater, Hanoi Vietnam. We left the comfort of our Dalat home for our last trek in...
mpleva
Jun 10, 20258 min read


Part 16: Dalat, Vietnam (#2)
The sea monster bar at Crazy House in Dalat. Continuing adventures in Dalat... there was so much to explore - both in the city and the...
mpleva
Jun 1, 202511 min read


Part 15: Dalat, Vietnam (#1)
Sunset from our "home" at Blue Mountain Homestay, Dalat. Interlude: We are so far behind in posting that this all seems like a lifetime...
mpleva
May 25, 202510 min read


Part 14: Hoi An, Vietnam
Street Mural in An Bang, Hoi An, Vietnam. Our next adventure was a week in Hoi An/An Bang Beach, with our friends Ed and Buffy, for...
mpleva
Apr 6, 20258 min read


Part 13: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Night life in the Binh Thanh District, or "Little Tokyo 2," in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Within a week of arriving in Dalat, our hosts...
mpleva
Mar 28, 20256 min read


Part 12: Con Dao, Vietnam
Hai An beach on Con Son Island, Con Dao Vietnam. At long last, Good Morning Vietnam! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) We finally made our way to...
mpleva
Mar 14, 20257 min read


Part 11: Ayutthaya and Bang Saen Beach, Thailand
Wat Klang Khlong Watthanaram in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Even after a hair-raising day of driving us all over the mountain, our new-found...
mpleva
Mar 3, 20256 min read


Part 10: More Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2025. Coming back to Chiang Mai from Mae Tha Village, it turned out that our hotel (near the famous Tha Phae...
mpleva
Feb 28, 20254 min read


Part 9: Mae Tha Village, Thailand
Tha Chomphoo Bridge in Lamphun Province, Thailand. From Chiang Mai, our friends Toby and Nuna brought us to their subsistence farm in the...
mpleva
Feb 17, 20253 min read


Part 8: Chiang Mai, Thailand
A Detail from Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Coming from Singapore, it was a huge contrast plunging into the crazy confusion of...
mpleva
Feb 15, 20253 min read


Part 7: Singapore
Supertree Skyway in Singapore Gardens by the Bay What better way to shake off a 10 hour flight than by jumping on public transportation...
mpleva
Feb 8, 20254 min read


Part 6: Queenstown, New Zealand
Moody Milford Sound on a cloudy day Flying into Queenstown gave us a great view of one of the rare "braided rivers" that occur here. ...
mpleva
Feb 3, 20253 min read


Part 5: Kaikoura, New Zealand
View of the Kaikoura Ranges, along the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway We caught the early morning train from Christchurch to Kaikoura, a 3...
mpleva
Jan 31, 20252 min read


Part 4: Christchurch, New Zealand
Memorial Bridge on the Avon River, Christchurch Our place in Christchurch was blocks away from the Riverwalk, a fun little district full...
mpleva
Jan 29, 20252 min read


Part 3: Rotorua, New Zealand
With our entire crew assembled, we were finally ready for a road trip. Driving from Napier to Rotorua took us through steep and twisting...
mpleva
Jan 21, 20252 min read


Part 2: Napier, New Zealand
Napier, New Zealand from above We made it out of the country! First stop: Napier. I was not expecting this place to be so adorable....
mpleva
Jan 17, 20251 min read


Part 1: Hawaii, USA
Hiking up to Makapu'u lighthouse Seven days was not enough - weird! We had a lot of loose ends to tie up, and new issues to solve that...
mpleva
Jan 14, 20251 min read
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