I recently returned from an amazing destination immersion experience in the province of Guizhou, China. During my visit I explored the rich culture of Guiyang City – also known as “Cool Guiyang”. 

Guiyang is not only rich in culture, but it’s also home to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes. 
According to research conducted by the American Society of Travel Agents in their 2017 research report, “How America Travels,” 38% % of American travelers want to “see natural sights” as an important reason for leisure travel, and another 34% of American travelers want to “see historic sights” when they vacation. American travelers want more unique, off the path, experiences.

If this sounds like you – let me tell you about the Guizhou province in China and the capitol city of Guiyang. The Guizhou province provides what the increasingly demanding American traveler craves: some of the cleanest air in China, mild climate, outstanding historical and natural sites as well as being home to 44 of China’s ethnic minority groups. Guizhou is a foodie’s paradise as well! Not to mention the stunning geographical features like the Wangeng Forest and the Huangguoshu waterfall and Karst Mountains. This is a winning formula for any travelers who wants to go beyond traditional tourist hotspots in China’s east coast.

If you’re up for it, I’ll show you a different side of China: unique cuisine, unique cultures and unique natural landscapes. You’ll return home invigorated and inspired to explore more of the “Far East.” 

​Check out these pictures to get a taste of the experience I had.

I love finding ways to do thing more efficiently. In fact, in another life-time I was a business analyst where part of my job was to help my co-workers work smarter.  Here are three apps I've come across over the past year that have helped me travel better.

A+ Gallery
For those of you who want your photos organized, but don't want to spend the time actually organizing them, this is the app for you. It automatically sorts them by when and where you took them and includes a map view as well.  Just explore the map as your photos pop into view. Not only can you search for photos by date and location, you can search by color too. Plus, it includes a feature that allows you to hide an album from prying eyes.

Learn more about this incredible app here.

Hopper
I shouldn't tell you about this one, but here you go anyway. With airfare fluctuating constantly, it's hard to know when to buy your ticket to get the best rate. You check one moment and the next moment, the rate has already increased.  Hopper has a data science team mining through trillions of archived flight data to spot trends and predict when it's time to book your flight to get the best rate. It tout's a 95% accuracy rate

​Download it here.

Google Trips
I love Google and if you do too, then this app will change how you keep track of all aspects of your travel plans. It automatically pulls information from your Gmail account to build your itinerary for you. It stores your flight information, hotel reservations, car rentals, etc. in a concise way all by scanning through your email. Everything automatically appears in the app like magic. Plus you can add items to your itinerary that weren't found in your email. 

Check it out here.