EPISODES | GRRRL TRAVELER

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…)

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…

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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…)

Is Siloam Sauna the best jjimjilbang in Seoul?

Filed under * Korea tips & stays, Accommodations by Christine Ka'aloa on March 12, 2012 at 7:04 am {18 comments}

: Siloam Spa at night

So, I’ve promised some of you the inside tip on the best jjimjilbang in Seoul…

After the disappointment of Seoul’s much hyped Dragon Hill Spa, I was reluctant to return for another night of overnight non-thrill on a hard wood floor. However, I still wanted to stay at a jjimjilbang and enjoy the Korean bathing culture. Fortunately, a friend offered me an alternative suggestion…

From the outside, Siloam Sauna may not look like much. In fact, you may think you’re walking into a shady neighborhood jjimjilbang dive or a love motel. But step inside and explore its five floors of therapeutic health, bathhouse washing and 24 hour sleeping rooms and you’ll feel like you’ve hit the hidden jackpot of luxurious j-bang finds!

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BB Cream: Korea’s Best Kept Secret to Gorgeous Skin!

Filed under Glam Around the World, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on February 22, 2012 at 4:24 pm {20 comments}

: Hallyu actress, Song Hye Gyo, the face of Laniege

Why do Koreans have such luminous and flawless skin?

For a country fixed on skin-deep aesthetics, plastic surgeons, immaculate dress styles, pinpoint-fluffed hair and healthy diets, it stands to consistent logic that Koreans would know how to ‘create’ great-looking skin!

Back in the U.S., I used to spend hours in Sephora, dropping anywhere from $40-$70 on various bottles of moisturizer and spot lightening (more…)

Travel Bucket List 2012: Booking a role on Hawaii Five-O (Part II)

Filed under CHALLENGES, Hawaii by Christine Ka'aloa on February 17, 2012 at 1:54 pm {47 comments}

At Hawaii Five-0 studios in downtown Honolulu, I play my lines to the casting director in an bare room. It’s one scene and I’m an assistant to boss, who’s a murder suspect (Spoiler alert! …and murderer). I’m being questioned. The casting director has me perform it several times, adding different direction.

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Travel Bucket List 2012: Booking a role on Hawaii Five-O (Part I)

Filed under CHALLENGES, Hawaii by Christine Ka'aloa on February 15, 2012 at 3:00 am {20 comments}

Okay, some of you asked to see the competition…

Still wondering what some of those alternate plans for 2012 were, twerking with that university job in Korea? Here’s my hinted confession to one of those alternate things…

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Vaginal facials: Hip or hype at Seoul’s Dragon Hill Spa?

Filed under * Korea tips & stays, Accommodations by Christine Ka'aloa on February 10, 2012 at 9:15 am {12 comments}

On my return to Seoul, there was one “luxury” jjimjilbang I’d heard hype about. Dragon Hill Spa has been raved about by CNN.com, The New York Times and bloggers being one of the deluxe spas in Seoul, where celebrities frequent and TV broadcasts like Yoo Jae Suk’s show, Happy Together (I think), occasionally film. It was a spot I’d been dying to try.

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