It’s been almost a week since I’ve accessed my email, social media accounts, blog stuff, or the internet in general. 6 days of being completely disconnected from the outside world (except for the occasional Facebook update from D, who has a data plan on his phone). But I swear I have a good reason! Here is where I have been: Okay, not actually in the ocean, but on the island of Koh Chang. We chose Koh Chang for our Thai island experience based…
A day in the life: Nimmanhaemin, Chiang Mai
aka. how much do we eat in one day? aka. how much does it all cost? Days in Chiang Mai begin slow and lazy. Because D ends us working in the middle of a night a lot (and me with him), we don’t set the alarm and let ourselves naturally come out of slumber. But some days, the day begins early. Sometimes much too early, like today. I stir, reach for my phone, and groan at the hour: 8 am…
Finding my stride in Chiang Mai
You guys… I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to become a backpacker cliche. You know the ones… the ones who travel to Southeast Asia (specifically Chiang Mai, Thailand) to find thrills and indulge in good food, all while (and most importantly) living on the ridiculously cheap. And the ones who inevitably settle down there because, why else would you go anywhere else now?! But I have something to confess. I LOVE Chiang Mai too! I love it so much…
12 Lessons from 3 months in Europe
Europe was my first experience with fast paced travel, and what a different experience it was from our South American trip! In short, our summer Euro trip can be condensed into 11 countries, 7 flights, 16 trains & buses, 13 apartments, and 1 mansion. 80 days and 80 Instagram posts. And several lifetimes worth of memories and experiences. I can vividly recall the day I flew into London as a wide-eyed wanderer, and how I ooh‘ed and aah‘ed at everything. As the…
Scary bathrooms and other irrational travel fears
I’m so excited to co-host this Friday’s bloghop link-up with We Took the Road Less Traveled! This week’s theme is “3 irrational fears.” Honestly, I can probably come up with a dozen irrational fears that will make me sound totally crazy. But definitely a couple are at the forefront of my mind these days. As some of you may have gathered from my last post, we are going to Southeast Asia next! I’m SO excited about it because it seems…
Can you ever go home again?
I meant to publish this before my flight… but seeing how I have had half an hour of internet in the past 3 days…. here it is, a day late… You’re probably reading this now as I sit on a flight somewhere over the Atlantic, on my way back to Southern California. The plan is to be back home for 3 weeks before flying to Southeast Asia on a one-way ticket… this time with no set return date in the books. I’m…
On wealth: a week in a mansion
I am aware and fully appreciative of the fact that we have set off on this journey with more room in our budget than the typical backpacker. This means we can stay in nicer apartment rentals instead of shared hostels. We don’t need to constantly cook at home (getting groceries is a lot of work!) and miss out on local eats. And we can splurge on fancy cups of drinking chocolate (my current weakness). But still, no matter how roomy…
Couples Travel: Lesson One
D and I almost broke up twice in the past 3 days. No joke.* (*Ok.. maybe joking a little. Before anyone freaks out, we are now back on track on Operation LoveyDovey.) It always happens something like this: I make some innocuous remark that D deems to be annoying (for example: are you sure we can eat here? It looks too fancy…). But instead of letting it just quietly blow over, the simple, stupid argument escalates and goes into all the…
Little moments in Budapest
I would really like to start blogging in real-time more… mainly because my memory gets fuzzy when too many days have passed. And well, then it’s impossible to capture your true feelings about something you barely remember. So even though I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog (more of Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Berlin), I’m here today with a real-time update on Budapest. I had hoped I’d like Budapest, but also didn’t want to force expectations. (Seriously,…
Paris… I get you now
Oh Paris, what can I say about you? Paris – the ultimate dream destination for hundreds of millions of people around the world, the city of love, the city of lights. But Paris – a city that has never called out to me. I’m not sure why but I’ve never felt a huge desire to visit Paris. When asked where I’d like to go in the world, I can come up with dozens of places I’d like to see ahead…