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2010 has been a tough year for me – mentally and emotionally. I know I haven’t been cranking out as many original posts as I would have like to lately. I’ve been working really hard and I can’t wait to fill you in on what’s to come in the near future. But first, I’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to  all my readers for visiting my travel blog, my guest bloggers who help keep my blog running and all the friends I’ve made since I starting writing about my travels. I hope you know that every time you leave a comment, send me an email or tweet at me, it makes my day a little brighter because it reminds me that there’s more to life than my 9-7 grind.

2011 is going to be another crazy and busy year. I can’t wait to share my travels around the world and my travels through life with you. So wrap up this year, here are the top 10 posts on A Pair of Panties & Boxers in 2010. I hope you enjoy these posts. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays wanderlusters!

15 Ways To Volunteer In Africa

Guest post by @BorderJumping

Our Journey began in October 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — when we left to visit nearly every country in Africa. At every stop we are meeting with farmers, community organizers, labor activists/leaders, unions, non-governmental organization (NGOs), the funding and donor communities, and local press. Read more

One Week Itinerary For Honduras

It’s two months away but I still have the urge to take out my backpack and starting packing. I’m eager to leave, eager to see and eager to live.  I can’t wait till I get on that plane to Honduras. I booked it for only $280! I’ve got my plate full working 50 hours a week, volunteering, studying for GMAT, researching grad schools and running random errands I don’t have time to do during the work week.

I haven’t had a chance to do much planning for Honduras. Although, experiences have taught me that things never…Read more

Temples From Europe To Asia

Temples. Temples. Temples. What can I say about temples?

Let’s just look at pretty pictures of temples instead.

Here is a collection of images submitted by travel writers around the world of temples from places like Uluwatu, Madrid, Greece, Cambodia, Italy, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Japan and Indonesia. Read more

I’ll be calling for photo submissions in the future for an upcoming photo collection post. If you’d like to contribute, please feel free to email me at monica@apairofpantiesandboxers.com.

7 Essential Items For Light Travelers

Sometimes I forget to eat when I travel. I get full off of life and everything else around me. That is until my stomach starts growling like a dinosaur and I realize that I’m half way up the mountain already.

Afterward, I started packing crackers. It was cheap and it was good enough to hold me down for the time being. Then I realized that granola bars, although slightly more expensive, are much better and healthier alternative.

Read more

Jaw-Dropping Sunrises Around The World

Today’s Photo Friday Special is inspired by my previous blog post, Sunsets From Around The World. It was such a big hit that I decided to feature sunrises in this edition. I thought I’d be receiving a lot less sunrise submissions than sunset editions. I mean, unless you’re jet-lagged or an insomniac, who gets up at the crack of down to catch the sun rise?

Read more

Traveling Latin America Safely – It’s the little things

Guest blog post by @Brendanvanson.

I remember the first time I left home on my own to travel the Central America I was 20 years old.  Everyone around me warned of the thousands of dangers – real and make believe – that would exist in this strange part of the world of which I knew little about.  I remember clearly my mom telling a friend of hers that I was going to Central America, where “the favourite pastime of people is kidnapping foreigners.”  The truth of the matter is that the media always has a way of accentuating the negative aspects about different parts of the world. Read more

新年快乐！ Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is on Valentine’s Day this year. It’s different every year because the holiday is based on the lunar calendar. Learning about my own traditions has always been a hands-on, and sometimes painful, experience. When I was 5, I stuck my chopsticks upright in my bowl of white rice and got whacked. I later learned you only do that when making offerings to the deceased. Oops!

Chinese New Year celebrations began with the legend of a wild beast called Nian. “Nian” in Chinese means year. Read more

Hangzhou, China: A Stunning Sunset On The West Lake

The travel bug bit somewhere between Wuzhen and Suzhou. We returned from Suzhou Saturday night. But by Sunday morning, JC and I already had our bags packed and a one-way ticket in our hand. We took the next departing train fr0m Shanghai to Hangzhou. It was an hour and a half of smooth sailing.

The first thing we did was go island hopping. In Xihu (West Lake), the most famous lake in Hangzhou, there are three smaller man-made islands. Nearby are three small pagodas erected from the water. Read more

Things I Can’t Stand When Traveling

I use to think that I was the most level-minded person on the face of this earth. I always heard two sides of the story before passing judgment and I’ve been told countless times before that I’m an extremely understanding person. I use to think I’d make the world’s coolest girlfriend. That was before I got  a boyfriend and that was before I started traveling.

I guess certain things never use to bother me because I controlled everything. I planned for everything. I let no surprises hit me with a curve ball. That wasn’t always successful but most of the time it worked. But after I started traveling, I realized that I can’t stand it when…Read more

Make Your Bucket List Less Daunting With A F***-It List

Guest post by @Jetpacker

Bucket lists are cultishly popular right now.  It seems like everyone is making a list full of life goals so lofty they make The Most Interesting Man In The World look like an incompetent jackass.  Conquering fears.  Gaining independence.  Finding enlightenment.  It all sounds so… overwhelming.

I needed something that would make my bucket list seem less daunting and more realistic. Read more

Which one is your favorite?