Drink, Dance, Discover: The Joy of Bar Crawls

Let’s play a quick round of two truths and a lie to break the ice:

• Our favorite pet is a cat.
• We’ve traveled to over 10 countries.
• We studied foreign languages in school.

If you guessed that our favorite pet is a cat—you caught the lie. The truth is, we’re not really pet people. Between bouncing from country to country and constantly being on the move, taking care of an animal just doesn’t fit our lifestyle. No offense to pet lovers—we’ll happily share a drink or a travel story with you, but we know nothing about animals.

Now, you might be wondering why we’re starting with a game. During a recent bar crawl we joined in Lima, Peru (check out the video below), this was how everyone in the group introduced themselves. It turned out to be the perfect way to break the ice, and it reminded us why bar crawls are one of our favorite things to do whenever we arrive in a new city. They’re not just about the drinks—they’re about connection, discovery, and fun.

Travelingrebelz

It was one of those nights… I’m still not fully clear on what all transpired🤣🤣 #limaperu #limanightlife #perunightlife #limaparty #barcrawllima #barcrawl #travelingtheworld

♬ Blame It (feat. T-Pain) (Club Mix) - Jamie Foxx

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Airbnb vs. Hotels: Who has your money?

There’s been a lot of debate online about which accommodations are better: hotels or Airbnbs. Some travelers have completely sworn off Airbnb because of all the rules — only registered guests allowed, no smoking, and of course the one that causes the most uproar: cleaning requirements on top of what can sometimes be an astronomical cleaning fee.

In recent years, reports of guests being robbed at Airbnbs have also made headlines, with some people even speculating whether hosts were involved. On the other hand, hotels — the old vanguard of accommodations — tend to offer predictable perks: free breakfast (sometimes), spas and massages, and a level of convenience where you rarely have to leave the building to be catered to.

From our perspective, there isn’t a right or wrong answer here. There’s space for both.

For us, Airbnbs make more sense for extended stays. Having a full house, a kitchen, and an outdoor space provides the comfort we need to feel “at home” — usually at a fraction of the cost of a hotel. For example, here in Quito, Ecuador, we pay around $900 a month for a very nice Airbnb in the La Carolina area. A comparable hotel, by contrast, would run about $1,700 per month. That extra $800? We’d much rather put it toward next month’s rent.

That said, when we travel somewhere new — especially if safety is a concern — we often start with a hotel for a few nights until we get a feel for the area. Hotels offer 24/7 staff and security, which can provide peace of mind when you’re in an unfamiliar place. Eventually, once we’re comfortable, we’ll transition into an Airbnb for the longer stay.

Of course, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. We’ve definitely been “catfished” by Airbnb photos that didn’t match reality. In those moments, hotels become our safety net. If something goes wrong in a hotel, there’s usually a team ready to fix it right away. With Airbnb, on the other hand, we’ve sometimes been given the runaround with little to no real help.

Honestly, there have been times when we’ve sworn off Airbnb altogether. But when we sit down and do the cost analysis, the math usually brings us back. For longer stays, it’s hard to beat the value.

From Panic to Holafly: Solving Our International Phone Problem

I don’t know about you, but when we travel our phones are our lifelines. Not just for social media—we’ve taken a step back there to focus on creating more intentional content here, which honestly feels more authentic. But we rely on them heavily for directions, emergencies, and of course Google Translate (because while we’re diligently working on our Spanish, we’re still a long way from fluency).

So imagine our surprise when T-Mobile basically shut down our entire network. Apparently (and yes, said with much annoyance), we violated their international travel policy, which only allows 90 days out of the country on their network. Funny enough, this isn’t the first time it’s happened—it also caught us off guard while living in Mexico.

Our solution this time was to add a second international SIM card to our phones, which runs about $60 per month, per SIM. We’re currently using Holafly. It’s too early to give it a full endorsement, but after another 30 days we’ll let you know if it’s worth it.

In the meantime, if you’ve had success with another international carrier, let us know. We’re always looking for smarter, savvier ways to stay connected while traveling.

Travel Guides

Traveling soon? We’ve added 2 new guides that may be useful for your upcoming travels. We only create guides for locations that we have traveled through extensively.

As always,
Stay wandering

Maurice + Albion