Travel Tips – FestiBelt Adventures

Never travel without a FestiBelt!

FestiBelt: A better money belt.

Black Stained Glass FestiBelt for travel.
FestiBelts in the Tetons!
Black Galaxy FestiBelt on the beach.
Have snacks, will travel.
A FestiBelt in Japan.

When traveling it’s important to keep your valuables close at hand. Many people use a beige money belt to protect their valuables when they travel. The FestiBelt was designed with many features that make a FestiBelt your perfect travel companion. Here are just a few:

1- Low Profile: The FestiBelt’s minimalist design makes it easy to conceal under clothing and keeps your valuables out of the sight of pick pockets.

2- A Large Pocket: FestiBelts have a pocket that runs around the entire length of the belt and is accessed by a 7″ zipper. This combo makes it possible to tuck a passport around the back of the FestiBelt, keys or a slim wallet to each side and still have room for a large cell phone in the front.

3- Soft, Washable Fabric: FestiBelts are made of a durable, 4-way stretch fabric which feels soft against your ski, just like a pair of leggings. Your FestiBelt can be washed and will air-dry overnight.

4- Comfort and Safety: Since the FestiBelt is a continuous loop of fabric, it cannot be unbuckled, cut off by a pick-pocket or casually left behind. I just read a travel warning from a woman who accidentally left her money belt on a bus because the buckle was rubbing uncomfortably against her skin and she took it off! We get feedback that the FestiBelt is so soft that our customers forget they are wearing it!

Two sisters — A FestiBelt is a soft, colorful pocket belt that is hand sewn in Colorado by these two sisters- Jessie and Adrienne

The Beginning

The idea for the FestiBelt was hatched by Jessie (aka. SipSister2) when she started going to music festivals and found that her colorful dresses didn’t have pockets! When you’re dancing your face off, you need a secure spot to zip up your phone, keys and credit cards, so the FestiBelt was born! Soon, all of Jessie’s festi-friends were asking where she got that great pocket belt and Jessie sewed up FestiBelts for all her friends and family. Adrienne (SipSister1) thought that FestiBelts were SO handy that everyone should be able to buy one, so in 2017, the Sipkovsky sisters opened an ESTY shop.

Get your own FestiBelt at http://www.sipsistersco.com

Hike to a Sapa Homestay

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016adriennesipLeave a comment

We did a 4-hour turnaround in Hanoi after our Ha Long Bay experience.

It was a whirlwind but saved us a night in a hotel since we were on the overnight train to Sapa.

Unfortunately, it was not the idyllic, restful train ride we were expecting.

P1070686 — Our ancient, rattly, bumpy train to Sapa.

And too late, we heard that there is a new road from Hanoi and you can take a brand new sleeper bus with Wi-Fi for $15 each way!!!! We paid $45 each way. OOOOOh the agony! We didn’t sleep AND we paid $60 too much. We got there kind of grumpy and had to make a 6am transfer. Our mini-van was there to pick us up but we waited for an hour until the next train came in. Lesson learned. Take the bus.

Train to Sapa — Me, hopeful that our train ride to Sapa, Vietnam is as restful as the ride from Hue to Hanoi.

We were pleasantly surprised when we finally arrived at the Hoa Phong Hotel in Sapa.

Our hotel in Sapa.

Lovely room in Sapa.

We took a shower, dropped off our stuff and got ready for our 5-hour hike to our homestay in the rice terraces.

This is how our hike started, tourists, guides and local women- lead by Troy!

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Since the ‘road’ gently sloped downhill, the 5-hour walk wasn’t that strenuous. We were joined by a group of women returning home from the early morning market in Sapa.

Just as we were starting to get hungry for lunch, we arrived at our destination.

Restaurant. — Yep, the upper balcony of that ramshackle building is our lunch restaurant. There is a pig pen directly below.

Our guide had to shoo them away. He was quite angry that the little girls were not in school and he forbade us to buy anything from them.

Lunch!

We hike another hour or so, through the terraced farmland to our homestay.

Read my next post to find out about our homestay!

5 tips for ordering tailored clothes in Hói An, Vietnam.

October 25, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

P1060743 — Troy with his ‘regret’ face, in a jacket that turned out exactly like the picture, but not exactly how he wanted.

My trip through Vietnam last fall was vaguely planned (to leave room for spontaneous fun!) so while I had heard that Hói An was FAMOUS for custom-ordered clothing – I resisted making any plans to get something made until we arrived there. I was happy with the tailor and the experience but I was not happy with my garment. Here is a list so you can learn from my mistakes.

Here are five things to know before ordering custom clothes in Hói An.

1- Find a reputable tailor. Luckily, my friend Amanda had just been to Hói An and had some great advice: “There are like 300 seamstresses of which most are not legit and they will try to “pull you into their places”. Go to Kim Phung, she has a profession store and her “manufacturing” takes place right down the street. She can make your stuff in like 24 hours or so so go there first with your designs or pick something out there and you can most likely pick up next day and take with you – or pay for shipping. I shipped and it arrived three months later.”

Here is my friend Amanda with Kim Phung @ 119 Tran Phu Street, Hói An

10681532_10203780869016528_716177502_n — Amanda was well prepared and loved her garments from Kim!

2- Choose your items early. I had figured that I’d just pick out something from a book that I liked. That is not how it works. Spend some time looking things up online and save a few photos from different angles to show them how you want the garment to fit. I showed the woman 1 photo and she made some notes and showed me a similar photo in a catalog she already had. I ended up choosing a simple black dress that I thought would be ‘timeless’ in silk. It ended up looking like a frumpy dress you’d wear to a funeral.

3- Choose your fabric and know how to recognize silk. Hói An is famous for silk and silk lanterns. Therefore, I thought I’d get a silk dress! I had even read up on how to tell if it’s actually silk… but then when I got there it seemed like too much of a hassle to get the nice woman to pull strings off the fabric and burn them to prove it was actually silk.

4- Haggle for the best price. For many American tourists, haggling is stressful and the falsely inflated prices make it feel like you’re being cheated. Of course the locals overcharge the tourists sometimes but haggling can be fun! Ask the price, then counter-offer with 1/3 that price and hopefully you’ll come to a price that you both can agree on.

5- Plan an extra day for a 2nd fitting. The garment that they make IS based on your exact measurements, but they will cut it a bit larger to make sure that it fits. My garment was frumpy and didn’t do my figure any favors. With another day to cinch in the waist and adjust the darts, it might have been wearable.

Good luck!

A Vietnamese Adventure Begins: Saigon (HCMC)

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015adriennesip1 Comment

Oh how time flies! A year ago, I was making my way through SE Asia and had just met up with my Aussie friend, Troy to travel through Vietnam together.

This face says, “How do you eat this Báhn Xêo, which is larger than my torso?” Troy and I met in Ho Chi Minh City and spent the next day on a tour booked from our hotel, exploring the Mekong River.

The tour was very ‘touristy’ but gave a nice glimpse into the culture of the Mekong and lunch was a vast array of food. Including this giant fried fish.

HCMC was a big, noisy city full of an intense number of motorbikes. We didn’t enjoy it. In an attempt to ‘tourist’, we went to the War Remenants Museum. It had with a bunch of leftover US tanks/planes and interesting exhibits with graphic images of war. It was from the Communist view but I didn’t feel is was entirely propaganda- just the view from the ‘enemy’ in a controversial war. We were ready to move on pretty quickly. The only other entertaining thing we did besides eat a lot of Bahn Mi and gelato was take a walk in the park… where there were groups of high schoolers doing team building activities. Of course Troy inserted himself into the fun and harassed a poor teenager, then tried to put him in the trash can. There were also groups of women doing dance routines.

We HAD to get out of there. After pricing the train from HCMC to DaNang and then finding a flight for THE SAME amount of money, we began our journey north. That night we stayed at a homestay in the darling town of Hói An.

Our homestay was really lovely. The house was new and the hostess was a local chef who gave us cooking lessons.

The best part of cooking class was walking through the morning market, buying the ingredients for our dishes. I adore this photo of colorful legumes and rice.

Everyone in town knew our hostess and she took great care to describe what we were buying to make spring rolls, Báhn Xéo and Cau Lâo: a pork dish made with yellow noodles made only with water from Hòi An.

Hói An has a beach, but we never saw it. Partly because Troy lives in Sydney and partly because of the weather. The rain turned the streets into rivers and when cars would pass by, the waves of water would lap up under our table inside the restaurant. Yeah, there was a lot of rain.

Our favorite hang-out was DK’s hostel, with insanely cheap ‘happy hour’ specials, wi-fi and a pool. We didn’t stay there, but we hung out enough to know that it’s a pretty nice hostel and we booked our onward travel with them. They can hook you up with some great trips. The ‘Top Gear Tour’ to Hue was a popular one- it’s from a popular British TV show with old guys who like cars. I was still determined not to be injured in a motorbike accident so we took the train.

One last tidbit: we met Thuy Anh Nguyen, the star of the Indie movie ‘Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere’ which played in Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Of course, Troy was happy to give her an acting lesson.

Smooth Sailing: Crossing the boarder from PP to HCMC

October 22, 2015October 24, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

This unique structure is the gateway from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City.

Here I got from PP to HCMC:

1- Get a VISA before you go. When traveling overland from Cambodia to Vietnam, you have to get your visa beforehand. Luckily, I was staying at a fantastic hostel in PP (name it here) and I handed over my Passport and $65 to the front desk. They sent it to Kampot and it was back the next day with my Visa.

2- Book a 6-hour bus trip from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

3- Spend an hour going through customs. (I waited much too long to get my passport back. As I watched the groups behind me get their passports, I began to suspect that the higher-cost tour companies get expedited. When they finally handed my passport back, it seemed to have a RED cover and upon closer inspection, they had given me TWO PASSPORTS folded together. I nearly walked out with the passport of some unfortunate Vietnamese woman.)

4- Arriving in HCMC and try to meet up with your friend. Troy had instructions to meet me at the bus but the drop off location isn’t always the clearly listed on the website. I had given Troy the address of the ticket office- but got dropped-off at the bus terminal. I eventually found the ticket office and contacted Troy with the Wi-Fi there. P1060327

5- Eat Phó! Troy had been staying in HCMC already and we took a cab back to the hotel, then headed out to find some Phó. Success!

5 things to do in Phnom Penh

June 2, 2015August 28, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

This is me, in front of the royal palace as Kate & I walked to our hostel, ‘Me Mates Villa‘. (Weird name, great hostel! They organized my Vietnam visa for $65!) I ended up in PP for 4 days longer than expected but there was so much to do! Here are some things I thought were fun. Also, markets and foot massages.

1- Visit Wat Ounalom and chat with the monks. The day we were there, Honda was handing out envelopes of good luck money. The monks wanted to get their photos taken with us.

2- Stroll the river walk down to the Royal Palace in the cool evening.

3- Watch a traditional Cambodia dance performance at the National Museum. The Apsaras were mesmerizing!

4- Eat/shop/get a pedicure or use the Wi-fi at Sister’s Cafe where women learn hospitality skills to become independent. The service at Sister’s isn’t amazing because each of these woman is in training. They are learning! The food is nice, the store is adorable and the women and kind. Give them your money.

5- Have Lucky the elephant paint your t-shirt at Phnom Tamao Zoo. We paid $150 each for a behind-the-scenes tour with Wildlifealliance.com and it was totally worth it to spend time with such amazing animals and their dedicated caregivers. Please carefully research any tourist sites that feature animals as an attraction. Do not take elephant rides or selfies with tigers. Lucky the elephant has recently fallen ill and needs $40K in treatment. Donations can be made at their website.From their website: ‘Lucky was rescued from traders at the tender age of 6 months, and has been at the Center for almost 15 years. Her gentle nature has made her our Elephant Ambassador, and she has since touched the hearts of thousands and helped inspire the next generation of Cambodians to protect this Endangered species. When the injured elephant Chhouk arrived as a baby, she even took him under her wing and provided the orphaned elephant with motherly comfort. Lucky is an incredible animal that continues to inspire us all.’

(This was our American guide, getting some love from her favorite monkey-friend.)

All these outdoor activities may leave you dehydrated & exhausted. Plan a mid-afternoon smoothie stop then head back to your (hopefully air conditioned) hostel for a nap.

If you’re a local- just nap where you are.

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Sister Soiree 2009: An Introvert’s Illness

May 4, 2015May 23, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

Jessie got sick. It turns out that the sudden transition from non-electric island life to the bustle of San Ignacio (with a gaggle of exhausting extroverts) was a shock to the system of my introvert sister. (In 2009, J was an un-diagnosed introvert. Back then, she was just a girl who took naps with a frequency that rivaled most house cats.) Here we are, 3 siblings, practicing our napping.

When extra naps didn’t fix the mystery illness, we decided it was time to strike out into the unknown and see what magical cures the Pharmacia had in store. (Here’s me, in our $7.50 hotel room)

Ooh! Look at all the choices!
Jessie chooses the one with the best name… Chesty Cough Mixture!

Here goes nothing! In this photo, Jessie is experience the ‘Chesty Cough Mixture’s mentholated goodness!

And here is the moment when J decides that she is cured and will never need to take that medicine again!CURED!

Just for giggles, here is the EXTROVERT care card. (In case you haven’t met me… I’m a classic extrovert.)

Here to There: 5 Transportation Tips I learned the hard way

March 27, 2015May 4, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

I am a solo-budget-traveler who likes to book my long-haul flights to/from home and then leave room in my itinerary for unexpected adventures along the way. While this gives me the flexibility and freedom I enjoy, it also means that I find myself spending precious time considering all my transporation options. Here are the top 5 things I learned along the way.

1- Land vs Air = Time vs $$$

P1070686 Let’s say I want to get from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. First, I’d look up bus/train time tables and prices. Next, I’d hit up Skyscanner and find flights for my chosen time frame. If I could find a flight for under $70, it was almost always worth it since it saved me from sitting in a minivan all day. In Vietnam, I bought a flight from HCMC to DaNang that was the same price as an overnight train ride. Later, I rode the train from Hue to Hanoi and really enjoyed the trip.

2- If there is a border crossing: fly

P1060325 Crossing land borders adds 1-2 hours to your trip. First, you get out and stand in line to get your visa/stamp. Get back in the bus, drive to customs and unload your gear. Wait in line again. The best bus companies give you VIP passes that fast-track you through the visa process. The worst make you switch buses at the border.

3- Wait…WHERE is the bus station?!?

I noticed that the bus stations were located miles out of town and were only accessible by taxi. Sometimes, this means you arrive to your ‘destination’ only to find the cab drivers are charging $15 for the 7 mile drive to your hotel. The nine hour bus ride was only $14. Haggling usually works, but these cabbies know you aren’t going to walk to town, so make some new friends and split the fare.

3-Pay for the ‘Luxury’ bus

When the option for land travel is minivan, bus or luxury bus; spend the extra $5. I rode five hours in a minivan, with my hands braced against the back of the bench in front of me It wasn’t bolted down and tipped back, precariously, every time we accelerated. Luxury buses often give water or a meal as well. We also paid a bit more for our overnight train berths which slept four people instead of six people.

4- Avoid driving a motorcycle/scooter

P1050520 During my pre-trip research I read it over and over again; moto travel is dangerous! I promised myself that I wouldn’t travel by motorcycle while in Asia. Reinforcing my fears, I met numerous travelers with broken bones/terrible road rash and scary stories. I was NOT going to be one of them! The last week of my trip, I rented a ‘scooter’ from our hostel to explore the low-key island of Koh Lanta. Luckily, nothing happened to me but my scooter wasn’t so lucky. Uneven pavement and a well-placed guardrail resulted in a hefty repair fine that my travel insurance wouldn’t cover. Lesson learned. Next time rent a pedal bike.

5- Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Eventually, I learned that ANY time I changed locations I should just plan on using a full day of travel time. So, I tried to relax when in transit. I talked to other travelers, binge-listened to my favorite podcasts and watched the world go by outside my window. The journey is part of the adventure and makes the destination sweeter.

One more thing- Ride the SkyTrain from BKK to Bangkok for $3!

A cab can get stuck in traffic for HOURS and cost $27us! Bypass that hassle and figure out if your destination is near a SkyTrain station.

Why did I pack that? Packing regrets.

November 30, 2014May 4, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this regret-filled blog are mine alone.

You may be super happy that you brought a travel clothesline… But I never used mine.

Or the duct tape… Or the travel sewing kit. Or the super glue.

A Tiny Backpack

Encouraged by all the stories of SE Asia packing (It’s always warm so you carry fewer clothes!) I ditched my awesome Eagle Creek roller bag with zip-away backpack straps and put everything in this CamelBak to avoid luggage fees. I ended up buying a 2nd backpack in Vietnam and checking a bag anyways. The luggage fees were usually $10.

Fleece Jacket.

Growing up in the mid-west, I cannot fathom wearing short sleeves for 3 months and never wanting something warmer. So, of course I packed my fleece jacket, in case it got chilly in the mountains or on a boat during my travels. Now I realize that a long sleeve wicking shirt under my Patagonia windbreaker would have been plenty. (The coldest place we went, Sapa, Vietnam is also famous for $15 knock-off North Face jackets in case I had needed a warmer layer.)

Rain Jacket.

I arrived to SE Asia at the tail end of rainy season but my lovely Marmot raincoat was basically worthless for 2 reasons. 1- When it rained, it down poured and it the rain would sluice down my jacket and soak me from the waist down. At least my top half was dry, right? 2- Nope. It is intensely hot and humid so even with my pit-zips opened, there is so much sweat inside the jacket that I’m wet anyways. Next time, I’ll bring an umbrella.

Tummy Meds

SE Asian food is so great. Street cart skewers, giant Vietnamese omelets, spring rolls with shrimps. With a bit of careful eating (no uncooked veggies, only bottled water, no spicy food) I was happily able to avoid any stomach ailments and didn’t need the Gas-X, Cipro or rehydration salts I brought. Even if I needed those things, I could have purchased them at any local Pharmacy. PS- I chose not to risk eating these yummy-looking Popsicles.

First Aid

I used a few Bandaids but haven’t touched anything else in my kit. As with the medications, anything I needed would have been easily purchased at the local shops.

Adapters

I did my research & took 3 different adapters but most outlets work with 2-prong US plugs and 2-pin Euro plugs. I did end up using the 2-pin adapter a few times just to get through the stiffer doors over the outlets.

Silk sleep sheet

A small bundle, just bigger than my fist- I figured that the sleep sheet would be perfect for hostels where you had to rent bedding or weren’t sure about the cleanliness of the sheets. But all of the hostels provided bedding (usually no top sheet) and usually towels too. Could have left this at home.

Cotton t-shirts

The heat and intense humidity turned my t-shirts into stretched out, damp messes. I could wear my wicking tanks 3-4 days in a row, but the cotton t-shirts were always slightly damp. I also would have brought fewer tank tops since I couldn’t wear them any day I might be going to a temple where covering shoulders & knees is required.

Sink Plug and Laundry Soap

I planned on washing my essentials in the hostel sinks but soon realized that the humidity prevented my things from drying in a timely manner. Besides, laundry service was $1.5/Kilo and my t-shirts would come back from the dryer their normal shape & smelling good to boot! Additionally, many local women make a living off of tourist laundry.

Cooling Bandana

REI talked me into this purchase: a bandana that absorbed water and cooled you as it evaporated. Unfortunately, there is little evaporation happening during Cambodian heat waves. It was soggy and useless.

Wish I had some Vitamin C/Airborne. More wicking t-shirts. My mesh sided baseball cap. Hair conditioner.

I WAS GLAD THAT I BROUGHT:

So happy to have my Patagonia Hoodini! It’s the perfect layer for early morning bike rides or drizzly evenings.

I used these things almost everyday.

A pen! My ipad mini with a keyboard case. Wi-Fi. (Apps: TrailWallet, Agoda for booking rooms, Ulmon maps, FB, Postagram, Instagram, Podcasts… (Y’all should be binge listening to Serial) and e-books).

A collapsable water bottle. A quick dry bandana. My Patagonia Atom shoulder bag. (It was so handy that Kate bought one when she got home!). My Sherpani zip-close wallet on a strap that my passport fits into. A dry bag/compression sack. My Chaco sandals. Headbands by Jessie. (Ps- please note that my hair was only this shiny and soft when I stayed in Bangkok with Bryan who had Pantene and amazing water pressure! Thanks!)

I was super happy for an old pair of cut-off leggings that were soft & lightweight. I often wore them to bed in the hostels and always wore them under my skirt at the temples. Multiple kinds of sunscreen: Neutragena 70spf face stick and 50spf face lotion. Bug spray. Polarized sunglasses. A Timex watch with a light up face & an alarm. Sleep mask & earplugs are essential for hostel dorms. My headlamp. I ate all my granola bars and fruit leathers! My Lumix LX7 did a fantastic job at being smaller, lighter and cheaper than my Canon 60D but still taking post-worthy photos. (My 1 wicking t-shirt got a lot of air time!)

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How to survive a night in a Capsule Hotel in 5 easy steps.

September 26, 2014May 6, 2015adriennesipLeave a comment

Trip Date: 9/24/2015

To give you an idea of what its like sleeping inside of a capsule, let’s use our imaginations. Picture two bathtubs stacked on top of eachother (lip to lip) and bolted in place. A large hole has been cut into the end and covered with a retractable screen. Inside, there is a TV bolted to the ceiling and an array of plugs and dials. It looks like someone from the 50’s was asked to create ‘the bed of the future’.

If you are ready to cozy up inside of 2 standard-size bathtubs or 1 refrigerator box, then you’re ready to stay in a Capsule Hotel! Just like ME!

Reasons to stay in a capsule hotel.

It’s usually the cheapest way to sleep in Tokyo. ($25 vs. $85!)

Free amenities. PJ’s are provided Aso, disposable slippers that smell like almond. Free towels.

All the toiletries you could ever use. (Plus the toothbrushes come loaded. Awesome. Why don’t we have that in teh US?)

Great showers! Lots of hot water. Good pressure & it only took a few tries to figure out how to adjust the temp.

The toilet lids are heated, mechanized & play music. (I still have’t figured out what all the buttons do…)

The Wi-Fi is pretty fast! (This is notable: Japan has weak/hard to find WiFi.)

FYI- This capsule hotel has a lot of rules. And rule #1 is no shoes past the entry way. They are super strict and make you lock your shoes in a locker and bring the key to the front desk before you can check in. Also, no eating in your capsule … Or the shower. Seems reasonable so far. They keep everyone out of the hotel every day from 10 am until 4pm, even if you are staying multiple days. They charge $4 to keep something threre from 10-4pm.

I really enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the capsule hotel. The female guests were Japanese business women, with a few travelers thrown in for good measure. I’d go back! You should try one.

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