Category: Travel Reviews

Review: TransPennine Express Train from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

Like I mentioned in my other recent train reviews, before I reserve travel with a new company to trek across a country, state or city, I always look for detailed reviews of their service to know what I’m getting into and set expectations. However,  I often find that these kinds of detailed reviews don’t exist.

There are general travel reviews, but I prefer to know the nitty gritty so I can mentally prepare for what I’m about to do and hopefully not make additional mistakes that traveling in another country can easily result in.

So this was my experience using a TransPennine Express Train to travel from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland in the summer of 2025. Let’s see how it went 🙂 . Continue reading “Review: TransPennine Express Train from Liverpool, England to Edinburgh, Scotland” →

Review: Avanti West Coast Train from London to Liverpool, England

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

Like I mentioned in my National Express Bus review, before I reserve travel with a new company to trek across a country, state or city, I always look for detailed reviews of a travel company’s service to know what I’m getting into and set expectations. However,  I often find that these kinds of detailed reviews don’t exist.

There are general travel reviews, but I prefer to know the nitty gritty so I can mentally prepare for what I’m about to do and hopefully not make additional mistakes that traveling in another country can easily result in.

So this was my experience riding an Avanti West Coast train for the first time to travel from London to Liverpool, England in the summer of 2025. Let’s see how it went 🙂 . Continue reading “Review: Avanti West Coast Train from London to Liverpool, England” →

Review: National Express Bus from Bath to London Heathrow

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

Before I reserve travel with a new company to trek across a country, state or city, I always look for detailed reviews of their service to know what I’m getting into and set expectations. However,  I often find that these kinds of detailed reviews don’t exist.

There are general travel reviews, but I prefer to know the nitty gritty so I can mentally prepare for what I’m about to do and hopefully not make additional mistakes that traveling in another country can easily result in.

So this was my experience using a National Express Bus to travel from Bath to London Heathrow in the summer of 2025. Let’s see how it went 🙂 . 

Continue reading “Review: National Express Bus from Bath to London Heathrow” →

Slow Travel Review: Iceland – The Land Of Fire And Ice

by A Purple Life, posted in Budget Check-In, Finance, Food, Reviews, Slow Travel Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

So I don’t usually write a Slow Travel Review unless I’ve lived in a place for at least a month (hence the “slow” part”), but I’ve now visited Iceland for a total of two weeks across 2024 and 2025 and I have to talk about it. I love Iceland so much that I gush about it to anyone who will listen and today I’ll do a deep dive into why. 

Continue reading “Slow Travel Review: Iceland – The Land Of Fire And Ice” →

Medical Tourism: A $69 Dental Cleaning In La Paz, México

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

As I’ve mentioned, I’m in the ACA Marketplace and have dental insurance in the US. However, the fact that US medical care can be straight up garbage continues to lead me to often using medical tourism and paying out of pocket instead. Here’s my latest adventure wading through medical care.

Continue reading “Medical Tourism: A $69 Dental Cleaning In La Paz, México” →

Slow Travel Review: Auckland, New Zealand – The Land Of Nature And Cafes

by A Purple Life, posted in Budget Check-In, Finance, Food, Reviews, Slow Travel Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

When I first visited Auckland, New Zealand with my Mom in 2023 I thought, “My Partner would love this city”. It’s gorgeous, close to nature and filled with unique Mom and Pop coffee shops.

In 2025 after my Partner asked that we “meet in the middle” while I was in Japan and he was in New York, we met in Auckland and stayed for 6 weeks. I’m happy to report that he loved it for the reasons I suspected he would.

Continue reading “Slow Travel Review: Auckland, New Zealand – The Land Of Nature And Cafes” →

Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Tokyo, Japan to LAX for $44

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

We’ve finally reached the end of my “flying around Asia and Oceania on points” saga. This is the last flight I took in that batch that I booked with Singapore KrisFlyer points, which all together allowed me to spend the first quarter of 2025 galavanting around Japan and New Zealand while spending a total of $160.06 USD on international flights. Madness 🙂 . 

Continue reading “Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Tokyo, Japan to LAX for $44” →

Review: Stonehenge & The Cotswolds Tour From Bath, England

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

This summer I returned to the UK for the first time in about a decade and this was my Partner’s first time in the country of countries. His mother absolutely loves visiting the UK and her favorite part is the Cotswolds.

So one of my goals during our stay in Bath was to visit the smaller towns in the Cotswolds (I later learned that Bath itself is technically in the Cotswolds, but has a very different vibe since it’s a much bigger city). Continue reading “Review: Stonehenge & The Cotswolds Tour From Bath, England” →