Beijing

Travel Test! – Next week, WIN FREE GEAR!

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Top Knotch Gear

Now’s your chance to test your travel knowledge! Look at the image below and see if you can: 1) Tell us the name of the sites and 2) Tell us the countries where each site is found! We’ll post the answers to the travel test tomorrow (Friday) at noon!

This is a practice round. NEXT WEEK, we’ll have another travel test and the first person to name all 4 sites and the countries where they’re found will WIN FREE GEAR from TKG!

Can you name the sites shown in each picture? How about the countries where the sites are found?

Categories: Adventure, Asia, Australia, Backpacking, Beijing, Circumnavigation, Explore, Globetrotting, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Photography, Random, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Tourist Site, Travel, Travel test, Uncategorized, World Wonders | Leave a comment

Travel Tip Tuesday! – What kind of packer are you?

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Top Knotch Gear

Travel tip #13:

Part 1: For this week’s travel tip (sorry, we missed last week), try taking this quiz provided by Independent Traveler to see what kind of packer you are! Once you answer the questions, some tips will be generated that will help you fit your packing style. It’s fun and easy!

Take the quiz here: http://www.independenttraveler.com/packing-quiz/

Part 2: Tell us which kind of packer you are on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TopKnotchGear) and you’ll be entered in a contest to win our newest paracord key chain with a bottle opener carabiner! It’s just perfect for those summer brews and you can customize the paracord colors! We’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner on Thursday, May 26th at 12:00PM EST.

WIN THIS! To enter, take the packing quiz and tell us what kind of packer you are - post your packing-type on our TKG Facebook wall!

I’m a last-second lightweight packer!

I always bring my pack as my luggage. If it doesn't fit in my pack, I don't bring it and I don't think twice about it. The quiz had me pegged!

Categories: Adventure, Africa, Airplanes, Asia, Australia, Backpacking, Beijing, Caves, Caving, China, Circumnavigation, Cuba, Explore, Globetrotting, Hiking, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Latin America, Mountains, Nature, Outdoors, Packing, Parachute Cord, Random, Rock Climbing, South America, Survival gear, Thailand, Trails, Travel, Travel Tips | Leave a comment

Our Travel Bucket List!

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Top Knotch Gear
  1. Visit the wonders of the world.
  2. Cross every longitudinal line and every major meridian.
  3. Step foot on all 7 continents.
  4. Hike some of the Annapurna circuit.
  5. See Mount Everest (bonus points for climbing to base camp).
  6. Hike some of Kilimanjaro.
  7. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.
  8. Kayak through the mangroves in Everglades National Park.
  9. Visit the Grand Canyon.
  10. Visit all National Parks in the United States.
  11. Become fluent in French and Spanish. (Bonus points for using it abroad).
  12. Become certified SCUBA divers.
  13. Teach English abroad.
  14. Volunteer with a children’s organization abroad.
  15. Install water filters in a 3rd world country.
  16. Experience a sunrise in the Serengheti.
  17. Party on top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong.
  18. Climb a mountain (the entire thing – height doesn’t matter).
  19. Star gaze in South America.
  20. Take a National Geographic Linblad tour.
  21. Spend an extended time at a Buddhist monastery.
  22. Take tango lessons in Argentina.
  23. Visit the Amazon rainforest.
  24. Hug a koala.
  25. See the fjords in Norway.
  26. Celebrate Oktoberfest in Germany.
  27. Learn wine appreciation – and become connoisseur.
  28. Visit a medicine man and/or a shaman.
  29. Get our fortunes read overseas.
  30. Sleep in a hammock on a beach.
  31. Take a roadtrip across the U.S.A.
  32. Hike the Appalachian Trail – the entire thing!
  33. Swim with dolphins.
  34. See a whale in the wild.
  35. Swim/slide off of a natural waterfall.
  36. Hike the trail to the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong.
  37. Go on a mediation retreat.
  38. Take a helicopter ride over a volcano.
  39. Hike a volcano.
  40. See the cherry blossoms in bloom in Japan.
  41. Visit the family castle in Scotland.
  42. Eat authentic Italian food – in Italy.
  43. See the Olympics in person.
  44. Have a romantic dinner in Paris.
  45. Visit the Holocost concentration camps & memorials.
  46. Celebrate New Years in different countries (specifically Sydney and Hong Kong)
  47. Visit Iceland.
  48. Experience the Iditarod in Alaska.
  49. Experience Holi Day (Festival of Colours) in India.
  50. See the dragon boat festival in China.
  51. Carnival in Rio.
  52. Visit the Mount Gay Rum distillery in Barbados.
  53. See the Tour de France.
  54. Smoke a real Cuban cigar – in Cuba. Whilst drinking Cuban daiquiris.
  55. See the Northern Lights. (Bonus points for getting crystal clear pictures of them.)
  56. Go on a bike tour of Vietnam.
  57. Take cooking classes in India and Thailand – learn to make authentic coconut curry!
  58. Eat fresh seafood (this is a big deal for us because we’re both long-term vegetarians)
  59. Rock climb at Joshua Tree and Red Rocks
  60. Photograph penguins in their natural habitats.
  61. Visit the Jane Goodall Sanctuary in South Africa.
  62. Witness a tea ceremony in Japan.
  63. Live out of a pack for an extended period of time (which we’re planning to do anyway!)
  64. Celebrate the Festival of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
  65. Experience the Full Moon Party in Thailand.
Categories: Adventure, Africa, Airplanes, Alcohol, Animals, Asia, Asian Food, Australia, Backpacking, Beijing, Caves, Caving, China, Circumnavigation, Communication, Cuba, Disaster Relief, Donation, Drink, Explore, Family, Food, Fresh Food, Global Aid, Globetrotting, Hiking, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Latin America, Love, Mountains, National Geographic, Nature, Night Market, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Photography, Plants and Flowers, Random, Rock Climbing, Science, Seafood, Snorkeling, South America, Summer, Survival gear, Thailand, Tourist Site, Trails, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Volunteer, Water | 2 Comments

Beijing Night Market – Wangfujing

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Top Knotch Gear

The Wangfujing Night Market in Beijing is AMAZING. At nightfall, tons of vendors set up in the street and sell their skewered food. Everything from sea cucumber to strawberries, lobster to watermelon, tofu to starfish is sold on a skewer and can be cooked fresh on the spot. It’s an awesome site – even for a vegetarian, like me. The photo opportunities are endless, too. So if you’re ever visiting Beijing, be sure to check out the night market after dark!

Skewered seafood at the Wangfujing Night Market in Beijing, China

Just about any food you can think of is sold on a skewer and can be cooked right in front of you.

Want to purchase the images above? Check out my travel photography store, Top Knotch Travels, on Etsy!

Categories: Adventure, Animals, Asia, Asian Food, Backpacking, Beijing, China, Circumnavigation, Food, Fresh Food, Globetrotting, Night Market, Outdoors, Photography, Seafood, Skewer, Summer, Tourist Site, Travel, Travel Tips | Leave a comment

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