Christine Ka’aloa | GRRRL TRAVELER

About GRRRL TRAVELER

Christine is a Camera Operator & Producer for reality TV in North America. She enjoys photography, writing, creating art and traveling off-the-beaten path to remote countries and lifestyles she never thought she'd explore.
Website: http://www.grrrltraveler.com
GRRRL TRAVELER has written 383 articles so far, you can find them below.

Is being a female solo traveler easy? …Not!

Filed under Inspiration, SOLO TRAVEL by Christine Ka'aloa on May 14, 2012 at 8:00 am {19 comments}

: Is going Solo easy for women? (Ladakh, India)

You are very brave. I could never do what you do– traveling on your own…

[ HAhhh, here we go again… ]

How do you do it?

[ Well, you think this is a vacation? ]

No, I need to go with my husband. He always arranges and schedules things. I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to travel on my own…

[ Honey, you'd be surprised what you can do on your own if you had to or really wanted to. ]

If I didn’t have my husband, I wouldn’t go anywhere.

[ ...or, you could choose that option too. ]

Shweta was an intelligent and forward Indian wife and university professor in her 30′s, vacationing with her husband in Ladakh, India. We were sharing a truck through the icy slopes of Nubra Valley and I was being bombarded with the questions that many females ask about solo travel, when they’re standing on the opposite side of it. As Shweta listened to my answers, her eyes drew a hallowed (more…)

Budget Hotels: How far would I walk to find Mr. Right?

Filed under Cambodia, Phnom Penh by Christine Ka'aloa on May 6, 2012 at 5:28 pm {10 comments}

: Window shopping in Phnom Penh: How far would you go?

With budget hotels in Southeast Asia, you never know what to expect.

Sometimes, you stumble upon a princely palace that’s cute, charming and cheap, all in one.

Other times, a first impression doesn’t always do a place justice and you can’t always tell a bargain when you see it.

It’s like that first 15 seconds of surprise, when you meet a blind date in person and discover he’s mildly errr… ugly or just not your type. It kicks your *shock* notch up a little. But maybe after 15 minutes after the initial stun wears off, you warm to him; find he’s actually a nice guy. But do you dream about a second date? Not necessarily.

You still need perspective… to shop around a bit.

(more…)

Are you a street-smart traveler or just travel-jaded?

Filed under Cambodia, I Survived! by Christine Ka'aloa on April 30, 2012 at 6:04 am {26 comments}

: Streetwise or travel-jaded?

Street wise.

Been-there and done-that.

Old hat.

After traveling in Asia over the course of a year, there were two things I felt I had become proficient at: haggling and avoiding scams.

If I sensed a scam, my windows rolled up and my auto pilot kicked into a prickly cold shoulder with a ‘Don’t fuck with me‘ attitude. In a negotiating situation, I’d never trust the first price up front. Assuming the dealer was trying to score a few extra bucks, due to the “tourist” sign blazing on my head, I’d shoot for lower or walk away… and keep walking.

Did I forget how to have fun at these times? Maybe so. But as a solo female traveler looking out for my own back, I’d learned to cultivate street smarts.

Then again, maybe you’d call me …travel- jaded. (more…)

Top 3 cheap travel insurance carriers for the American traveler

Filed under Trip Planning by Christine Ka'aloa on April 20, 2012 at 7:24 pm {18 comments}

The following is not a sponsored post.

It sounds like it would be. I wish it were; then I’d be getting paid for advertising. The sad truth is… no. I do have an affiliate link to World Nomads, however. If you choose to go with them, please click on my link to help support what I do.

Recently, a friend asked my advice on how to find cheap travel insurance. She’ll be on an overseas program for several months, and the program mandates she get travel insurance coverage.

(more…)

Cambodia: Which of these Fear Factor foods would you eat?

Filed under Cambodia, Fear Factor Foods by Christine Ka'aloa on April 12, 2012 at 4:34 am {28 comments}

: What’s Cambodia’s Fear Factor?

By the time I got to Cambodia, after having visiting much of Southeast Asia, I found there really wasn’t many Fear Factor Foods I haven’t seen.

’Same Same’… but not too different.

Still, it excites me to explore cultural differences, even if it makes me squirm a bit.

Here’s a few interesting foods as well as, a couple of players I haven’t yet seen…

(more…)

What are STD shops in India for?

Filed under Delhi, India by Christine Ka'aloa on April 1, 2012 at 4:05 pm {7 comments}

: STD Shops in India: It’s not a shop to contract sexually transmitted diseases

STDs.

You see them advertised everywhere in India. They’re posted on banners outside shops, lining highway roadsides, in towns and in busy cities.

To travelers, the abbreviations are misleading. They’re not what we know them as in the U.S.

(more…)

Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghats reveals India’s remarkable laundry men

Filed under India, Interesting People by Christine Ka'aloa on March 28, 2012 at 12:29 pm {9 comments}

Dhobi Ghats, Mumbai, India

Mumbai is an unrelenting and persevering city.

It drives hard to catch up to the city’s honking horns, foot traffic and bustle. However, as much as it powers through on old railway cars, this international city never seems to catch up to the modern age (read my post here). In many ways, I’m glad it hasn’t caught up. It preserves the kind of (more…)

Hello Kitty! What’s up with Korea’s cutesy cafes?

Filed under Cool/Veg Restaurants & Bars, Crazy Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on March 23, 2012 at 1:26 am {14 comments}

: Exploring Seoul’s theme cafes with my mom

A while back, I wrote a post about cafes and Koreans and the subject of breakfast. This is a followup on some of the cafes…

There’s nothing half-hearted about Korea.

When Koreans stage things like festivals, theme parks and museums… they do it enthusiastically and with full explosion!

You can add cute cafes to that list too.

(more…)

Photo Essay: A Teddy Bear Museum on Jeju Island?

Filed under Jeju Island, Photo Essays by Christine Ka'aloa on March 19, 2012 at 2:45 am {20 comments}

Do you like to visit museums when you travel? What’s the cutest, quirkiest or most bizarre museum you’ve been to?

I was an art major so to some degree, I can take interest in art museums from time-to-time. But what about war museums, a Chocolate Museum, Sex Museums, a Trick Art Museum or a Sound Museum? Jeju Island has loads of unique museums to pass time with (read my post on things to do on Jeju). But how about Teddy Bears?

Personally, I never cared for them as a kid, so why would I visit a museum full of ‘em, as an adult?

Why? (more…)