One of the world's most well-known waterfalls: Iguazú Falls

There are three waterfalls that are in completely different leagues of their own worldwide: Iguazú Falls, Victoria Falls, and Niagara Falls. If you ever have an opportunity to visit one of them, you will realize no other word than magnificent can better describe them.

I decided to take a trip to visit Iguazú Falls during Memorial Day weekend. The waterfall is a UNESCO World Heritage, and it is also one of the widest falls on earth.

My friend and I took uber and a taxi from our hotel, Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, to the park on the Argentina side. I would recommend having someone who is capable of speaking both languages Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Argentina) to be safe. Remember to bring your VISAs and passport because you will be crossing the border.

Iguazú Falls is a transcontinental waterfall between Argentina and Brazil. Each side has its pros and cons. The Devil's Throat, most commonly known and the highest point of the waterfall, is from Argentina side, however, the Brazilian side provides a great panorama view of the waterfall.  

The view at the Devil's Throat was breathtaking and its flow rate was intense. The flow was so strong, that it caused so much mist constantly. My camera almost got wet and damaged, and it would be a disaster if I had to purchase another new camera.

If you are interested in visiting the Devil's Throat, you'll have to enter through the Argentina side. Note that the park is enormous, so it may take up your entire day if you prefer sightseeing slowly. Normally, people would spend a day in Argentina and another day in Brazil to completely explore the waterfalls.

• Orange route - Devil's Throat, approximately 2 hours
• Blue route - Upper Trail, approximately 2 hours
• Yellow route - Lower Circuit, approximately 1.5 hours
• Red route - San Martin Island, connected from the yellow route, approximately 2 hours
• Brown route - Macuco Trail, approximately 3 hours
• Green route - Green Trail Trilha Verde, approximately 15 minutes

I recommended going to the Devil's Throat and Lower Circuit first because they present a different perspective of the fall compared to the Brazilian side instead. Note that Devil's Throat may actually take up a lot longer than 2 hours especially during peak season because you have to take the train there, and the park is very crowded.

Within the park, you may see a lot of Coatis, a type of raccoon, but BE WARNED that they are very aggressive towards food and drink especially at the train station food stand. Please do not feed them randomly just because you want to take a picture with them.

After you finish visiting the Devil's Throat, I recommend stopping at Cataratas Station, because you can then head to the Lower Trail and visit some of the other waterfalls. There are only two ways to get to the Lower Trail, and both ways starting at the Cataratas Station: walk through Green Trail or take the train but it only stops there on the way back from the Devil's Throat.

When you initially enter the park, you may consider finding out the timing of the boat to San Martin Island first and plan your schedule accordingly. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to visit there as I arrived at the park in the early afternoon. The parks closed around 6pm, but the last boat stopped operating around 3pm.

The bottom line is, visiting Iguazu Fall over a long weekend was definitely worthwhile even with the little amount of time I spent there. I enjoyed my time in the park and got to witness one of the most spectacular waterfalls in front of me. It allowed me to relax and not worry about all the work I left behind, and I felt like I was truly living in that moment!

Eye-catching attractions in Rio de Janeiro

As a travel enthusiast, I always want to visit Brazil because of the most iconic attraction, Christ the Redeemer, from Rio de Janeiro. I swear to god that whenever people talk about Brazil, this picture would show up everywhere on the internet! Not only it's a gigantic statue (125' height) of Jesus Christ, the platform of where the statue also allows you to overlook entire Rio, surrounding sea and jungle. The view was absolutely mindblowing.

Here is a photo I took with the poster because the weather was ridiculously cloudy when I was there, it blocked the entire view among the statue itself. But I promise you that if you visit on a sunny day, this is the exact view you should expect to see.

On the other hand, this is what I saw instead...such awful weather when I was there...Check the weather before you go.

Tips: I strongly recommend taking a round-trip van transportation to see Christ the Redeemer because it may take you AT LEAST 30 minutes to wait for an Uber afterward since most likely they would have to drive up to the mountain. You can find the van transportation information here.

The next attraction would be Sugarloaf Mountain. No, it's not the same Sugarloaf in Maine or Maryland in the States! Here you can take a cable car to the peak of the mountain, and there is two stops total, so make sure you also visit the last one, which is the peak.

There is a helicopter tour at the platform of the first stop, and the tour flies every day from 9am until sunset. In hindsight, I would love to visit here during the day. I thought the view was underwhelming at night because there weren't enough lights in the city compared to other cities I have been to.

Don't get me wrong though. It was still absolutely worth to visit, but I just had a very high expectation that's probably different than some of you. If you have enough time, helicopter tour route 3 (there are 7 different routes) will even fly you over to see Christ the Redeemer from the sky. That would be awesome!

Last but not least, have you seen countless of pictures showing that someone was holding on a dangerous cliff-edge drop!? Well, check it out Pedra do Telegrafo if you have extra time in Rio, but note that there will be a hike so leave yourself enough time. Or you can choose to visit one of the most famous beaches, Copacabana beach, which is not too far from the Sugarloaf Mountain.

8 Must See Highlights in Death Valley National Park

I fell in love with astrophotography as of late, so I decided to research into parks within the States recommended for stargazing. Even though stargazing at night was where Death Valley originally caught my interest at first, I ended up liking a lot of spots within the park just as much. You can expect very little to non-existing light pollution at night in the park, so prepare yourself for a stargazing feast under the starry night.

The main reason I chose Death Valley was because there is a direct flight between Vegas and Philly. The park is roughly 2 hours drive from Vegas, which isn't so terrible if I want to make a weekend trip after work on Friday!

Here are the top 8 must-see highlights from my trip with 1 honorable mention that unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to make a stop at, Devil's Golf Course.

1. Dante's View
2. Zabriskie Point
3. Golden Canyon
4. Artists Palette
5. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
6. Badwater Basin
7. Racetrack Playa
8. Ubehebe Crater

The first point of interest I would recommend is Dante's View. Standing atop the mountain hill here allows you to capture the entire view of the valley as well as the Badwater Basin, and it's the lowest point in all of North America with a record of 282 ft. below sea level.

Did you know a shot of Dante's View was used to recreate an overlooking sight of the spaceport town Mos Eisley on the fictional planet Tatooine in the film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope?

Next up, the Zabriskie Point! This was definitely my favorite spot in the park. Not only did the valley have a unique landscape of erosion, but it also offered multi-colors badlands with stunning rock formations.

Did I mention that Zabriskie Point is also one of the most famous sunrises or sunset photo spots? During both sunrise and sunset, the sunlight brings out the contrast and enhances the color variance that mother nature grants us daily.

Since Zabriskie Point was only a few minutes from The Inn at Death Valley, I also came here to stargaze at night.

Here is the Red Cathedral at the end of 3 miles hike

When I reached the Golden Canyon, I realized I had plenty of spare time before sunset, so I decided to take a hike in the canyon (which was roughly 3 miles one way.) Unfortunately, nature would prove me underestimating its might yet again, as I found myself slightly dehydrated and sunburnt due to the lack of shades throughout the hike, so you should certainly come here well prepared.

Artists Palette was located on Artist Drive, which was a small loop. Its vibrant colors looked absolutely surreal, and it would look even better at sunset (if you are not impressed with this stunning view already)!

Mysterious spot on Artist Drive

This mysterious spot cannot be found on the map because it didn't have an official name. However, the view was just as good as Artists Palette but in a different way.

Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, is essentially a giant salt flat. I found it interesting that there is a sign suggesting people not to walk on it after 10am because of how hot it is in this area!

The best time to visit here would be sunset because the salt flats were facing west, which makes it another popular sunset spot. consider walking further inside if you want to avoid the crowd. The further inside you get, the easier you can find some interesting hexagon-shaped formation of salt flat on the ground.

The last activity of the day was viewing sunset at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes before stargazing at Zabriskie Point at night. In hindsight, I should have arrived earlier, so I could walk far past the tourists and avoid tons of footprints to find a spot filled with a beautiful pattern of hills.

And I finally understood how it felt when one walks in a desert. Each step I took required so much more effort because there was an equal force on the opposite direction from the sand.

Teakettle Junction, on the way to Racetrack Playa

The next morning, I spent 6 hours round trip to visit Racetrack Playa, which is a dry lake feature with moving rocks. The drive was not fun at all because I had to drive a high clearance vehicle with four-wheel drive to be safe. And it was probably better to get there for sunset or stargaze at night as I was not impressed with what I saw during the daylight hours, quite dull and boring.

Ubehebe Crater is a volcanic crater on the way to the racetrack. Everyone should visit here at the very least, and whether to drive another 2-hours from here to the racetrack is your choice (I don't think it's worth it unless you are going there for sunset, stargaze at night, or you are a photographer). Be aware that the wind was very strong here.

Death Valley was one hell of a national park to visit because of much incomparable landscape it provided for photo shooting and hiking opportunity. However, the temperature here was also unrivaled to any other park, which held the highest record of 134 degrees F. Best suggestion? DO NOT COME HERE DURING SUMMER!

View more photos of Death Valley, click here

Will you be interested to come to Death Valley and see all of these phenomenal landscapes?

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for the next journey.

Cherry Blossom in Washington DC

Every April, travelers all over the world were thrilled for this one event: Cherry Blossom!

Today, I'd love to share my hanami, cherry blossom viewing, experience in Washington DC with you.

At first I didn't even know cherry blossom could have white color. Here they were, I was able to capture three different colors behind me in the first picture!

When I walked through cherry trees one after another one, some pink flowers started to fall, but they were just like dancing in front of me. I couldn't think of any other word better than romantic to describe this particular moment.

Tidal Basin by far was the best cherry blossom spot in DC because it was such a great spot to have a picnic and there were tons of cherry blossom surrounding the lake. I was able to find a lot of good angles for photo shooting with the Washington Monument or Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the background.

Be aware that this area was filled with full of tourists after 10am, and the traffic started to get worse as each hour went on until the end of the day. I would recommend to get there early in the morning and come back for the sunset.

Little did I know, there were two other variety of pink 5-petal flowers blooming almost at the same time as Cherry Blossom. First one was Plum, and it grew directly on the branches themselves, which flowers didn't have any stem. Second one was Peach. Its flowers usually came in pairs and have short stems. Unlike the Cherry Blossom pictures you see throughout this article, they had long stems and always formed multiple-flower clusters.

The US national park service will announce the date of peak bloom forecasts annually. 

Since the flower is heavily depending on the weather, the peak-bloom date may change from week to week. If you are not flexible with the time, I would wait until the last few days before making a reservation whether it's a hotel stay, flight, or transportation. 

You can check the peak bloom status here

I chose to stay at JW Marriott Washington DC because it's close to a lot of points of interest including Tidal Basin, White House, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and National Gallery of Art, etc.

The hotel lounge didn't open on the weekend, but it had a decent restaurant, Avenue Grill, on the lower floor inside the hotel. I didn't find the property particularly attracted other than its location, but I would suggest to find a stay within the area in the picture shown above.

I spent some time in Georgetown, but the town itself wasn't that special to me. However, the national gallery of art was fantastic on the other hand. It had so many collections, and they were all from many different era. One day wasn't even enough to see half of them.

If you were also interested in high end restaurants, I would recommend three of them, but you needed to make a reservation ahead of time during cherry blossom season.

1. Sushi Taro: 1 star Michelin high-end sushi spot
2. Little Serow: Weekly innovative set menu of Northern Thailand specialties
3. Farmers Fishers Bakers: Farm-inspired American food with great weekend buffet brunch 

Overall, my experience here was amazing. The city consisted of some upscale city vibe while retaining many historical sites. The street were spacious, and the area was unbelievably clean.

Last but not least, cherry blossom was beautiful. Every second here was well worth it!

Would you come to DC for Cherry Blossom next year?

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for next journey.

3 Amazing Hotels You Need to Check out In Turkey (Especially for Photographer)

What image comes to you when you think of the country, Turkey?

Maybe it's the colorful hot-air balloon rising above the ravine, the splendid Hagia Sophia decorated with mosaic and marble pillars, or the diverse culture and architecture spread around the country.

Well, I am here for all of them (read the full adventure here).

But today, I'd love to show you the hotels that I stayed during the trip. All three of them are fairly inexpensive given their values provided, and each of them has its own highlights.

1. Hotel Arcadia Blue (My rating: ★★★★☆)

Room type: Standard Room Sea View, $119/night

Hotel Arcadia Blue is located in the Sultanahmet district, which is known as the old city.

One of the best highlights of staying at this property is that it allows you to take a panoramic shot of both The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia museum directly from your room. You are able to open the windows completely to set up your tripod and capture the architectures from various angles.

(There is a balcony area outside the restaurant on the 9th floor, but they don't allow you to use the tripod there)

The hotel is also close to a number of historical sites, including Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, etc.

Things I don't like about this hotel:

1. The shower area can't be closed completely
2. The air conditioner is a bit weak. I felt pretty hot inside my room even I set the temperature to the lowest possible. The problem might just be my room though.

It's at convenient location that offers great photography spots. The reservation also includes free breakfast buffet as well.

You can also arrange airport transportation with the hotel. It is a lot cheaper compared to local taxi. Price for one way: IST - 25€ up to 4 people; ISL and SAW - 50€ up to 4 people.

2. Goreme Kaya Hotel (My rating: ★★★★☆)

Room type: Standard Room, $34/night

Want to know what living in a cave hotel looks like? Yes, that's what this hotel is about.

If you are here for a hot-air balloon ride in Cappadocia (Goreme), I can't suggest Goreme Kaya Hotel more than enough because of three reasons:

1. Price was ridiculously cheap ($34 per night)
2. Stunning landscape outside of hotel
3. Amazing breakfast buffet

The room is big enough for a family in my opinion although I was by myself. Again, I don't like the fact that the shower room door can't be completely closed, but other than that, it's pretty comfortable.

It was also very warm inside without having to turn on the heater.

What I like about this hotel is that you don't sacrifice quality for the unbeatable price.

Definitely an affordable lifetime experience that you don't want to miss!

(You can arrange airport transportation with hotel directly)

3. St Regis Istanbul (My rating: ★★★★★)

Room type: Deluxe Guest room with Macka Park view, used free night certificate

On my last day of this trip, I decided to use one of my free night certificate from Marriott, which I got it from the Marriott credit cards. 

I choose St Regis Istanbul because I am a Titanium member with Marriott, so it comes with a wonderful breakfast, which is buffet style.

Their staff were very detail-oriented and proactive at initiating conversions. One of them saw that I like apple tea at check-in, and he offered to bring a pot of tea to my room later.

The bathroom alone was larger than my bedroom in the apartment...I only wished that the toilet was actually closer to the shower room because it was completely separated by a door. 

I also loved the double sinks set up even though I didn't need the second one, but it just added a luxury feeling, doesn't it?

It also has an eyebrow-raising breakfast buffet that offers food choices more than you can expect. There are a lot of options!

There is a restaurant on site, Wolfgang Puck's Spago, and it has a stunning views of Macka Park and the Bosporus. The restaurant operates from 3pm to 2am daily. Reservation is required.

The onsite gym has many equipment as well. Price of SPA is within my expected ranges. I was surprised that they have a sauna room however!

Overall, I enjoy my stay here because the staffs were so thoughtful and paid attention on small details on what I needed. For instance, they knew I like photography because they saw that I carried a camera and tripod around. And they showed me how to get around the sites quickly and provided few tips on best timing of visiting.

The entire property is very clean and neat. Even if you decide to pay with cash instead of redeeming a room, the price is still fairly affordable.

View more photos of each hotel, click here

Which hotel would you like to try out? 

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for next journey.

Banff & Jasper 4 Days 3 Nights - September 2018 [EN]

I've always dreamed about going to Banff National Park. My only exposure to this monumental beauty was constantly hearing about it from friends and seeing pictures off the internet, which doesn't fully capture its glamour. After living in hopes of going there, I decided to transform my dream into a reality by planning a family trip during Labor Day weekend. To my surprise, my older brother decided to join us this time 😲!

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Entrance of Banff national park. You could find the price information on the official website👈

My mom's birthday is few days after the Labor Day weekend, so I thought this would be a great opportunity for an early birthday celebration 🎂. Not only will this be an experience for all of us, but an unforgettable moment for the most important woman in my life. Now feast your eyes and come join me on a trip of a lifetime!

Birthday Present💥, Click Me👈

Itinerary
Taking into consideration my parents' elderly age and fragile knees, I attempted to avoid hiking and any strenuous activities.

8/31 Friday
YYC Airport ►   Banff Town ► Fairmont Chateau Hotel ►   Lake Louise ►   Moraine Lake ►   Fairmont Chateau Hotel

Moraine Lake at night💙

Banff Town, right across recreation center

9/1 Saturday
Fairmont Chateau Hotel ►     Moraine Lake ►   Wapta Falls ► Emerald Lake ►  Natural Bridge ►   Bow Lake ►   Peyto Lake ►     Tangle Creek Falls ►   Athabasca Falls ► Park Place Inn (Jasper)

Wapta Falls was 2.4 km away from the parking lot, I didn't end up going due to lack of time.

You could easily miss the entrance of Wapta Falls, be aware of the sign!

Saw a family of elks outside of Jasper village 😍! The dad was patrolling around continously.

9/2 Sunday
Park Place Inn ►      Maligne Lake ► Jasper Village ►   Athabasca Glacier ►   Takakkaw Falls ►   Vermilion Lakes ►   Best Western Plus (Banff)

Right when we left Jasper, we saw a little black bear on the side of street 😇, it moved quite fast!

9/3 Monday
Best Western Plus ►     Two Jack Lake ► Lake Minnewanka ►   YYC Airport

I got little sick on the last day, so we slept more than we planned to. As a result, we had to give up a few attractions.

YYC Airport - Chinook Lounge, pretty quiet and not crowded.

Lake Louise
Lake Louise was probably one of the most famous glacier lakes in the Canadian Rockies. The lake seemed to be slightly green because of special minerals in the beds under the rock of glaciers, and ultimately they moved to the bottom of the lake after years of erosion. The resulting color became what we saw today in Lake Louise.

Lake Louise

Rental of canoe on the left-hand side of lake; $75/30 min, $85/60 min, hours: 08:30~20:00

Sign of Fairmont at Chateau Lake Louise, right-hand side of the lake

Sunrise at Lake Louise, lighted up both sides of mountains

Thoughts: If you stay at the Fairmont, you could park the car in the garage. I would highly recommend to go there early if you don't play on staying at Fairmont. There were so many people trying to get a spot in the parking lot, and it would drive me nuts honestly 💢.

There were many hiking trails around the lake, but we didn't have much time exploring around. However, I would recommend you to go to one of them at least because it would give you a different experience for sure. Additionally, you could possibly view the Lake Louise from the top of the mountain 😎. Based on the research, Plain of Six Glaciers was highly recommended, 5.3 km one way, because there was a tea house at the end of it. Not only you could enjoy the lake view, but you could also sit down and drink little cups of wonderful hot tea 🍵!

Moraine Lake
The lake was about 18 minutes drive away from Lake Louise. It was surrounded by many snow mountains on the left and forests on the right. They were acting like supporting roles to make Moraine Lake looked even better. When I reached to the top of the mountain (10-15 minutes of hiking), I thought the view was absolutely astounding 💥, truly magical view.

Moraine Lake, such a fairy tale view 

Family take at Moraine Lake

I believed the person on the right didn't have acrophobia because his position was quite dangerous😱

Thoughts: In Summer, you might need a bit of luck in order to visit Moraine Lake if you didn't join any tour because it was so crowded, and they would close the entrance most of time to maintain a certain amount of visitors 😓...In the morning of the second days of my trip, the entrance was already closed when I got there at 7am because the parking lots up there was already full. I was told that I needed to come back later and tried my luck again...Right after I checked out from Fairmont at Lake Louise, I already lost hope to visit Moraine Lake, however, I realized the entrance was opened when we got there 😄. Later, when we finished visiting the lake, I saw that the entrance was closed again, so I bet a lot of people didn't have a chance to visit the Moraine Lake unfortunately.

There were many rocks stacked together right next to the lake. On the left-hand side there was a small walking path that allowed you to hike to the top of the mountain. If you had enough time, you could also consider the Larch Valley Trail on the right side of the lake, 4.3 km one way. There was a Lodge right next to the lake, so if you would want to secure a chance to visit the lake, then you might as well stay here for one night. However, I believed it would probably be the most difficult place to make a reservation during the peak seasons.

Lodge right next to Moraine Lake

Emerald Lake
The lake was located in Yoho national park, 30 minutes drive west of Lake Louise, and its color has been literally just like an Emerald stone 💚. With the forest in the background, the view was stunning. Although Emerald Lake was not as popular as Moraine Lake, it felt more like a fictional paradise 🌲.

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake

Right side of Emerald Lake

Thoughts: When you walked toward the lake from the parking lot, you would go through a bridge. Don't just focus on the left because it was beautiful on the right as well. Across the bridge you would find few houses and parasol on the outside ⛱. I found it interesting. The view was filled with white clouds in the sky ⛅, forests in the background, and a lake with emerald-like color in the foreground. I had never seen such a landscape before, and it was stunning.

Natural Bridge
It was basically right next to the Emerald Lake, approximately 10 minutes drive, so there was absolutely no reason to miss it. There were tons of sediments in the river leading to the natural bridge, and the bridge was the result of a thousand years of erosion.

Natural Bridge landmark

Don't get tricked by this picture. The flow was extremely fast and strong!

Looked quite interesting

Thoughts: For whatever reason, this attraction was not part of original itinerary because I didn't find any related information...I simply saw the sign of an attraction while I was about to drive off from the Emerald Lake area. I didn't want to regret it later, so I made a stop here! I liked my portrait shot above 👍. Realistically, you could climb around the bridge, but there were only two people including myself did it back then, and I was afraid of heights 😰...my brother thought I was walking with the speed of a turtle, so he was taunting me "the other dude walked up there normally, and I acted like it was a road to the hell or something" 😩 Be careful! Please evaluate your own safety.

That's me standing on the rock! Could you see me!? Haha

Upstream of Natural Bridge

Bow Lake
Bow Lake was the largest lake on the Icefields Parkway in Banff national park. The lake surface was like a mirror reflecting the mountains on the back one after another one 💕. The best time to capture a good shot was right after dawn because the lake would be just like a perfect mirror. It was such a fantastic spot for photographers. The lake was formed from Wapta Icefield. There were many Douglas Fir along the Wapta Icefield, and they were suitable for making bows, and that was how the name of the lake came from.

Bow Lake

Right of Bow Lake

Left of Bow Lake

Thoughts: In all honesty, Bow Lake was not part of my original itinerary either lol 😂! Right before we arrived Peyto Lake, I was looking out of windows on the left, and the view immediately caught my attention. The lake was very wide. Even though the sky was cloudy  ☁, countless number of mountains and the clear lake with calm surface made me felt like the time completely stopped in the area ⏲. I didn't spend too much time here, but it was highly recommended.

They were talking about swimming in the Bow Lake. I was like "seriously!?"

Peyto Lake
Every summer there were going to have a lot of glacier flowing into the Peyto Lake. As a result, the color of the lake would reflect to be a mix of blue and greenish color under the light reflection 💙. Personal vehicle needed to park at the lower parking level, and it took about 10 to 15 minute hike to get to a platform, Peyto Lake Viewpoint, where you could see the entire lake. I thought the hike was quite steep. I loved Peyto Lake as much as Moraine Lake!

Panoramic of Peyto Lake

People didn't know how to move! OS: Get the hell out 😖. Tired of cropping people out of pictures

Peyto Lake View

Thoughts: Originally I thought the Summit and Peyto Lake were two different attractions, but then I realized Bow Summit was the highest point on the Icefields Pkwy, which was also the best spot to view Peyto Lake. There were upper and lower parking levels, but the upper level was for commercial bus and disability drivers.

According to the reviews online, it was suggested that you should continue walking toward the left upper side for 10 to 15 minutes once you arrived Peyto Lake Viewpoint platform and reached Peyto Lake View. In here, you would be able to shoot panoramic of Peyto Lake...I didn't think it was the best spot because the panoramic shot was vertical, and I was not a big fan of it. In contrast, I was able to take a wide angle shot from the Peyto Lake Viewpoint platform just fine, and it was my favorite 🙌.

Once you reached the platform, you could cross over the fences on the right, and there was a huge empty space to use for photography. I even saw a couple was having a picnic here! OS: He might as well propose here 💏? Please be careful and be aware of your surrounding!

Taken at Peyto Lake Viewpoint

Peyto Lake View

Tangle Creek Falls
Tangle Creek Fall located not too far right after passing through Glacier Skywalk, about a minute of the drive. This fall wasn't magnificent like other popular falls around the world, however, it had many layers and create another unique view for photographers. Apparently there was a chance to witness bighorn sheep here, but I didn't see any 😭.

Thoughts: If you were driving toward Jasper from Banff, then the fall would be on your right side. It was quite easy to miss the spot because it was right next to the road. Across the fall, there was an area where people could park there. I would recommend stopping by here, and it would only take a few minutes here, which was probably the reason why it wasn't crowded at all. In contrast, the Glacier Skywalk was like having the entire population of NYC and put them into a small area. I personally wasn't interested in Skywalk much, and it would take so much of our time, so I didn't go there.

If you were lucky enough, you would see the bighorn sheep on the top of the fall, and that would be absolutely amazing!

Athabasca Falls
Athabasca located on the Columbia Icefield, and it was a famous waterfall within the Jasper national park. It wasn't too far south of Jasper village. The fall wasn't high, but the flow was strong and aggressive. The structure was formed from the erosion of water years after years and eventually became a vertical state.

Thoughts: If you have seen Niagara Falls or Iguazú Falls, which were two of the most popular waterfalls around the world, then you should not expect much here 😂. I had seen Niagara Falls from Skylon Tower in Canada, so I didn't feel like it was amazing when I got here. Honestly, I thought it was pretty overrated lol 😕. But I had to admit that not everyone would have the same experience objectively. By the way, I planned to see Iguazú Falls in May 2019, and I was very excited 😍!

Skylon at Niagara Falls (1)

Skylon at Niagara Falls (2)

Maligne Lake
The lake was about an hour drive from the southeast of Jasper village. The parking lot here was enormous. Most of tourists would take a boat ride to visit Spirit Island from the right side of the shore. Many of the magazines of Jasper national park used Spirit Island as their introduction page photo because it was so attractive to see. Definitely don't miss the spot if you had time! There was a lodge behind of where you would board the boat, you could enjoy the view while having a nice meal in there, such a pleasant place to come. Apparently, one of the photography winning award was based on the Spirit Island 😲!

Felt like I could have taken this shot much better 😥

Skipped this attraction if the weather wasn't nice in my opinions~

Thoughts: Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to take a boat ride to visit Spirit Islands. However, I just felt alright about Maligne Lake because it wasn't as nice as I had imagined. It wasn't like the scene was awful or anything, but it was simply because there were so many lakes in Banff, Yoho, and Jasper national parks. So I felt like I had seen too many lakes by this point. Another major factor was that it was such a cloudy day, so I couldn't take a shot like the ones you would have seen online. I still liked to walk around the lake and was very chill and calm overall.

Spirit Islands. Source: 新浪博客

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier was sitting on the top of must visit list across any websites you went to! It was located on the Icefield Pkwy, and it formed between B.C. 126,000 and 238,000. Across the glacier, there was a tourist center, Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre. Please look up the ticket price and operation hours ahead of time at their website here 👈. Strongly recommended buying the tickets online ahead of time because there were so many people, and it was like people celebrating a new year or something😵!

Panoramic of Athabasca Glacier

River stream under the Athabasca Glacier

Thoughts: There was a parking lot at the bottom of the glaciers, and then people could climb up to witness the amazing view. Remember to wear a down jacket...I wasn't prepared enough, and I thought it wasn't cold at first, but it was ridiculous when you got to the top. As a result, I got sick afterward...😷. This attraction had to be one of your itinerary because an opportunity like this did not come often. Though I had been to Iceland in the winter, I wasn't as excited as my family members, but it was still worth it.

Takakkaw Falls
Takakkaw Falls was one of the most famous attractions in the Yoho national park, which was also the second highest fall in Canada right after the Della Falls in Vancouver. "Takakkaw" implied a meaning of magnificence in the indigenous language.

River I saw near the parking lots

Thoughts: This fall was so much better than Athabasca Falls, not even close bruh 😂. After walking through the bridge, I arrived to the bottom of the fall. Note that there were some paths that were quite narrow, but you could go through it and got to the riverside. I took my pictures here, which allowed me to get more of a wide angle shot.

Panoramic of Takakkaw Falls

Parents!

Vermilion Lakes

It was not as popular as other attractions, and I thought it was due to its location. It did not have a designated parking lot here, and it was right next to a narrow countryside road. On the plus side, the lake was very close to Banff town, literally within three to five minutes drive, and you could even consider walking here, which was about 4.5 miles one way. Nowadays, there were many water grasses causing the original one large lake into smaller lakes altogether.

Didn't get the reflection shot perfectly...💥!!!

Thoughts: It was beautiful and surprisingly empty! The fact that I didn't pay any attention to Vermilion Lakes made me surprised even more. The highlight of the scene was the Rundle Mountain in the background. From almost any angles, you could see the reflection of the mountain on the surface of the lakes. My first initial thoughts arriving here was that it was such an overrated attraction, but the more I looked at the pictures I took, the more I fell in love with this place 💗.

Lake Minnewanka
It was the finale of my trip, Lake Minnewanka. It was the largest and deepest lake within Banff national park. The location was in the northeast of Banff town, about 15 minutes drive from the town. The name came from local Indian tribes, and it implied a meaning of elf of water. I would say approximately 30 minutes to an hour would be enough to explore this area. Two Jack Lake was right next to the Lake Minnewanka, so it was pretty cool to see two attractions in one place, but I had to catch my flight in Calgary, so I left soon after taking a few photos here and there.

Thoughts: I almost couldn't catch my flight because I came to this attraction...I didn't have god damn time to discuss my thoughts...just kidding 😁~ With such a short amount of time I spent here, I wasn't a big fan of this lake. Although I didn't like it much, it was extremely close to the town. You might as well come too.

Airfares and flights

I helped my family to book their flights using Chase Ultimate Reward via Chase Travel Portal directly. I was trying to give us the most amount of time to spend locally. Each of flight required around 40,000 UR points. It was not particularly cheap because we chose to go there during the peak season, and it was a long weekend national holiday, Labor Day Weekend.

It was beautiful all year around in Banff national park, so my suggestion would be that you should pull the trigger on buying a cheap flight whenever you saw one. It didn't necessarily have to be during the Summer or Fall, and it wouldn't be as crowded, the flight would be cheaper as well 💸.

Hotels

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
One of the most famous hotels in Banff national park because its location was right next to the Lake Louise. Consequently, the price for one night was off the chart 💰. I booked one night using FHR via AMEX Platinum credit card. It was peak season, so I decided to book a lake view room directly, which had two queen beds. During the peak season, the area was filled with people, so it was very unlikely to have a chance to get an upgraded room. Moreover,  the hotel was completely full when I checked in, and I even saw some groups of people were trying their luck and came without reservations 😲. The cost after tax was around $1100, but I got $100 credits to use because of booking via FHR, and the credits could be used for breakfast or dinner. I didn't worry too much about the price because it was a family trip 👪. Money could always be earned more later on, and I didn't want to regret for not staying at this hotel after the trip. I wasn't allowed to use a gift card to pay via FHR, but I was allowed to use multiple AMEX cards to pay at checkout at the hotel.

Special note: Few months ago, Fairmont had a promotion deal that they sold their gift cards at 20% discount. I wasn't able to grab one of them because for whatever reason I encountered a payment issue in the end. If I was able to get the gift card and booked it directly instead of using FHR, it would be cheaper.

Front entrance of Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Lakeview room!!!

Park Place Inn
I wanted to take my family to explore around Jasper. I searched a good amount of websites for our stays including American Express Travel Portal, Chase Travel Portal, Hotel.com, Agoda, Booking.com, and Rocketmiles. I chose Park Place Inn in the end. The cost was around $276 per night. My floor plan was Luxury Room 6. It had two queen size beds, and a queen size sofa bed. The room was very big, and it had SPA in the bathroom as well. I thought it was above average overall.

Entrance

Room floor plan: Luxury Room 6

There was a SPA button on the left side of hot tub

This shower looked quite interesting to me 👍!

Best Western Plus Siding 29 Lodge
Originally I was going to book with Delta Hotels by Marriott Banff Royal Canadian Lodge, but I was too late on making a decision, so there was no availability anymore 😣. I had to search for other options, and I found that Best Western Plus gave a free breakfast for four people! If you were interested in staying with Delta Hotels, then you must book it few months ahead of your trip because it was such a popular tourist place to visit. Another option would be Airbnb, and a lot of them actually looked a lot better than the images online.

I booked with Hotel.com along with the benefit from TopCashBack. Paid by PayPal would be another 10% discount, and I also collected one night credit from Hotel.com. As a member of Hotel.com, once you had ten night credits, your 11th night would be deducted by the average cost of your previous ten nights. If you hadn't applied for an account on TopCashBack, you could use my referral click here👈.

Entrance, Parking garage is on the left. Source: Google Image

Lobby. Source: Google Image

Breakfast room, western style.

Two Queen Beds, free breakfast for four people, Around $340 per night originally, with 8% discount ($27). Gained one night credit using Hotel.com, so essentially it was another 10% discount on top of everything too. However, I would still probably try to book with Delta Hotels under Marriott next time.

Restaurants

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise:

Lakeview Lounge Dinner

Top left: Vegetarian Curry

Bottom left: Canadian Club

Top right: Rocky Cheesesteak

Bottom right: Smokey Bear Burger

Poppy Brasserie Buffet Breakfast

Entrance and inside

I thought that was orange juice originally, but it was not. 

Variety of fruits

My favorite smoked salmon!

Omelette, ham, toast, etc...

There were soups. You could also customize the omelette.

They even had Congee!?

They had sausages that were made by beef, but the taste was weird~

Buffet breakfast

Jasper Village: ALBA Italian Restaurant

Top left: Pappardelle with Duck Leg Confit

Bottom left: Seafood Spaghetti

Top right: Herb Crusted Sockeye Salmon

Bottom right: Carbonara Alla Jasper

Banff Town: Seoul Country Korean Restaurant

#28 Kim-chi, pork and tofu in a spicy stew

#32 Beef with vegetables and tofu in a hot pot

Notes
1. If you planned to visit Athabasca Glacier, you would certainly want to bring a down jacket. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared because it didn't seem that cold from the bottom initially, so I got sick the day after 😭
2. I only had to get gas twice based on my itinerary, and I got gas from The Crossing Gas Station and Store within Saskatchewan River Crossing area both times. They had some foods here, but the prices were ridiculous (both foods and gas).

The Crossing Gas Station and Store food court

The Crossing Gas Station and Store area(1)

The Crossing Gas Station and Store area(2)

3. You could buy some snacks and drinks from the supermarket in the Banff town because there weren't many stores within the national parks.
4. Most of public restroom smelled terribly, and they only had hand sanitizer.
5. Planned enough time for a chance to visit Moraine Lake during the peak seasons.
6. Downloaded Google Maps ahead of time. It was very useful to use offline.
7. There was a very good Korean restaurant in Banff town (information was provided above), especially the beef soup, #32 on the menu...heavenly taste! The average cost of a dinner was around $30-40. There was a public parking lot on the Bear St, which was right behind the Korean restaurant.
8. Fairmont Lake Louise had so many international staffs. A lot of them came here and worked for a year before returning to where they came from.