Dating Archives - Pale Ale Travel

8 Date Ideas in Saigon to Ignite the Vietnam Romance Vibes

January 7, 2024January 8, 2024Asia, Travel, Vietnam BigBody Leave a Comment

I don’t think I’ve ever dated as proactively as I did when I moved to Saigon, as I was newly single and hot off a breakup that had me feeling like that one dude with mascara when they wouldn’t stop picking on Britney Spears. Leave Britney alone. That’s not because I’m some total casanova who the ladies swoon for and the men want to be. Au contraire. It was just time to put myself out there in an attempt to mend my (then) broken heart.

It worked. Kind of. I’m not crying. I just have something in my eye and there’s a lot of dust in the air.

Here are 8 certified date ideas in Saigon to spice up your next date night in Vietnam and ensure that you make the most of this vibrant, hectic, and enchanting city.

21 Date Ideas in Hong Kong to Avoid Becoming “The Boring Couple”

December 21, 2023October 22, 2024Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

I’ve been there before. You mindlessly scroll Reddit on your phone next to one another in bed, being intimate hasn’t been on the table since your mother-in-law moved in “just for a few weeks,” you look over at your partner and see them doing the same. Something snaps and you look at them, “Babe, have we become ‘the boring couple?”

“We’re not boring, everyone’s like this.” “Do you remember when we went whitewater rafting in West Virginia? Or snorkeling in The Maldives?” You smirk, “Or the time we did…on top of…while there were people nearby…”. You raise your eyebrows and give them a playful nudge. “This weekend, what say you and I get out and try something different?” Your partner’s eyes widen as they abruptly sit up in bed and begin to visibly shake with excitement.

“How about we ask ‘so and so’ and get a few drinks before?” “I said ‘try something different’ not ‘try someone different’.” “Oh. Alright. Then l know just the list of date ideas to choose from.”

Without further ado, here are 21 certified, tested, fun date ideas in Hong Kong for couples that want to avoid being referred to as “The Boring Couple” and reclaim a bit of spontaneity (without destroying your marriage) – or who just want to get away from their in-laws.

8 Christmas Date Ideas in Hong Kong to Unlock Your Own Winter Rom-Com

December 9, 2023December 3, 2024Asia, Hong Kong, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

‘Tis the season for requited love. Or unrequited love. Or that unspoken “group love” that your parents partake in every year in their late 60s when they go down to Jamaica for ‘Hedonism 47’ with ‘Aunt Sally’ and ‘Uncle Jim’ – who you only found out when you turned 18 weren’t related by blood. Whatever the case, love, tinsel, gingerbread cookies, and your local middle school’s rendition of ‘The Nutcracker’ are in the air – and it’s time to celebrate.

I have to be honest with you. Up until several years ago when I moved back to Hong Kong, Christmas was one of my least favorite holidays. Something about the shove-it-down-your-throat consumer and brand tribalism, needing to shovel my car out of several feet of snow regularly, and the fact that I literally could (still can’t) never figure out who the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ was in the Nutcracker until post-intermission, all were major factors that fueled this “bah humbug” mentality.

Now, I can’t get enough of it. Not because of the LED flatscreen televisions that sync with your frontal lobe and can be purchased via Amazon with a single click of a button, or the catchy Christmas jingles (found in every major Hong Kong mall) that bury themselves deep into your brain to the point where you end up in a content, infantile stupor like Danny Devito (aka ‘Martini’) in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or Hong Kong’s weather finally being palatable and not requiring you to take three showers every day.

6 Date Ideas For Couples in Taipei

June 7, 2020December 1, 2022Asia, Taiwan, Travel BigBody Leave a Comment

Whether you live in Taipei or are simply passing through, there are no shortage of fun date activities for couples (or even first dates) looking to spend some quality time together (or get to know one another). From incredible hiking trails and night markets, to international film houses and Japanese izakayas, all the way to rowdy arcades and quirky cultural parks, Taipei has it all, you can’t go wrong.

I’ve compiled a list of 6 of my favorite date ideas in Taipei, Taiwan, for you to choose from for your next date night (or day).