One of our interns, Temo, recently traveled to Mexico and climbed the tallest mountain in the country, El Pico de Orizaba. Below he shares his experience with us. Thanks Temo!

Mexico has been receiving some terrible reviews and travel warnings for tourists because of the violence and insecurity issues it is currently facing. But the reality is that the violence has seldom been directed to Mexican tourists and even less towards international tourists. The social situation has led to a major decline in tourism across the country and at the same time it has created some great opportunities for the savvy traveler and the budget conscious adventurer. Many small hotels and tour companies are eager to give special discounts during almost any season. This is how I found a great deal for my Mexico ecoturism adventure.

Last winter break (December 2010) I decided to rediscover some of my heritage and also challenge myself physically and mentally on a journey of self discovery. So, on my Mexico tours I decided that I wanted to climb El Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltepetl (which means the Star Mountain). At 18,800 feet it is the tallest mountain in Mexico and the third tallest in North America, only after Mt. McKinley and Mt. Logan in Canada. It is located in between the states of Puebla and Veracruz, almost a 3.5 hour bus ride from Mexico City.

Since I am based out of San Diego the easiest way to get there was to fly out of Tijuana International airport towards Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport. Upon arrival, and prior to the 3 hour bus ride to Puebla, I wanted to make a quick day trip to the beautiful ancient Holy city of Teotihuacán just an hour drive from the airport. The immense and beautiful temple pyramids of the Sun and Moon are one of my favorite places to visit in Mexico. It is said that ceremonial rituals were carried out at the tops of these perfectly constructed engineering marvels and were coordinated with the movements of the sun, moon and stars.

We are excited to have a guest blog post from one of our travelers, Vaychan. Vaychan just returned from an amazing trip with her husband to Vietnam and Cambodia. Thanks Vaychan for sharing your travel experience with us!

When we were deciding on the countries for our next international trip, I figured it was time for me to make it to Asia. Other than work trips to the Philippines & Japan, Asia was an unexplored continent to me. It wouldn’t be that odd other than the fact that I’ve spent a great part of the last decade backpacking through other parts of the world and second, I was born in Thailand to Chinese parents. We left when I was three- many stories passed on and a few pictures but no memories. Probably, the biggest hesitation with going to Asia was that I prided myself in being a traveler who plans her own itinerary and finding her own way around. But with Asia, I knew I was going to need some help planning and executing, if we were going to spend more time doing things rather than being in transit to somewhere.

Two weeks, two countries - we picked a Vietnam tour as our first country since my friend was born there (our husbands were game for whatever we decided on). For our second country, it was a toss up between Thailand and Cambodia, since China was too vast. My birth country or my parents’ birth country-Thailand seemed more fun with its beautiful beaches, but I was curious of how much of my upbringing was influenced by the Cambodian culture. My parents had been one of lucky ones who had escaped Cambodia to Thailand when Khmer Rouge took over in 1975 and made it to the States in 1979. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure I was ready to face that history since this was supposed to be a vacation, but curiosity won this one...

After an awesome week of hiking, kayaking, learning how to cook and sightseeing in Vietnam, we flew to Siem Reap, the city where Angkor Wat is located. Siem Reap has one of the quaintest airports in the world, with its slanted temple roofs visible from the tarmac.

Knowing some facts about the country you are planning on traveling to can be extremely useful and demonstrates your respect for the culture.

Cambodia is sometimes described as a less developed country in South East Asia. Despite the rough and the tough lifestyle they have gone through, including brutal wars and everyday hardships, Cambodians are extremely warm welcoming people and go out of their way for people visiting their country. Around 95% of Cambodians are Buddhist, which is reflected a lot in their daily lives. Cambodia is a collective culture that emphasizes a hierarchy within society. They live with a common hierarchy where you are taught to respect your elders and almost everything is based on your age. Common hierarchy guidelines are that the parents are superior to children, managers to assistants, and teachers to students. Monks will even walk in rank order, with the oldest in front and most junior at the end. As a foreigner you will notice that certain people will ask you more personal questions to identify your “rank” in their hierarchy. They may change the way they converse with you depending on what they think your status is.

We are excited to have a guest blog post from one of our travelers, Steve Wilson. Steve is taking an amazing trip and is chronicling his adventures on his blog, A Hungry Man Travels. Follow his travels by reading his blog and checking out his photos. Thanks, Steve, for sharing your Indonesia experience with us!

Julia Roberts and I haven’t had the priviledge to meet, but we've been close to each other – inadvertently AND innocently I might add. If I had the chance to meet Ms. Roberts, the first thing I would say is “Hi Julia, did you know that you and I shared a room at the Rimba Orangutan Eco lodge in Borneo?" If that fails to get a reaction (and lets’ face it, it wouldn’t), I would then quickly ask her: "what were you thinking getting so close to that Orangutan in your documentary?" Ok, I wouldn't quite say it like that but I sure would have to wonder what would possess one of the biggest stars on the planet to do something even us nobodies were told over and over by the guides, signs, and locals not to do if you ever meet an orangutan, especially the King of Orangutans, face to face. Ah Julia, the crazy world you live in. I know in your documentary you weren’t giving us your world famous laugh when Kusasi, then the King of Orangutans, grabbed you and held on while the guides had to pry him off you and I don’t blame you – it probably wasn’t a good time for you I’m sure.

We are excited to have a guest blog post from one of our travelers, Steve Wilson. Steve is taking an amazing trip and is chronicling his adventures on his blog, A Hungry Man Travels. Follow his travels by reading his blog and checking out his photos. Thanks, Steve, for sharing your Vietnam experience with us!

The reason why I chose to Vietnam tour wasn’t complicated, despite this post headline. I was fascinated by the country, its people and in particular the food. To me Vietnam just wasn’t going to be your typical tourist destination, and I was looking for that in my travels. Its war-torn history shapes its culture almost as much as the landscape, people, and the cuisine do. It’s impossible to come to this country without thinking about the Vietnam War. There are memorials everywhere. There are also absolutely lush, stunning green fields and tall palm trees – images that have been shown time and again in films about the country and the war. There are gorgeous red soils and tall mountains that straddle the rice fields where people in non las (conical hats) are hard at work. It’s so amazing to look at, yet so hard to take in. It’s akin to looking at a beautiful painting. You see it, you try to ‘get’ it, you even have a guide there to help you understand it, but even she can’t properly explain it. No matter what you do you still feel like something is off or missing - a vital piece of information that would bring more sense to the overall picture. See what I mean by complicated? Then again maybe it’s supposed to be complicated. Believe me after talking to other visiting tourists I was relieved to know I’m not the only who feels this way about Vietnam.