Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe the year is over! I haven’t decided yet if I will do a 2014 re-cap this year, as I see so many people are doing, but in the meantime, I will continue with my new monthly recaps:
Nov 28 – Dec 10: Koh Chang, Thailand
Over the past several months of travel, I’ve fallen in love with many places. When that happens, it’s sad to have to leave, but for the most part, I’ve been happy to travel on, knowing more amazing places are waiting. However, I truly left a piece of myself behind on Koh Chang.
Let’s see… how can I make you understand Koh Chang? Aside from being a gorgeous island with lush tropical rainforests and beautiful beaches, Koh Chang was a place where I felt happy and carefree. We stayed on the less developed side and I believe that made a huge difference in our experience. We swam in warm turquoise waters and laid on smooth white sands. We rode our scooter up and down windy mountain roads. We spent hours in the kitchen cooking and experimenting with local Thai ingredients, trying to replicate our favorite restaurant dishes. I even found my new favorite Thai dish there at a little roadside restaurant.
But more than that, it was a place where I felt like I was the best version of myself. You may remember that we spent our first week there without internet. In this internet-obsessed age, it could have easily been a catastrophe. But instead, I felt relief. I used that time to rediscover myself and to reconnect with D. I woke up everyday happy and energized, excited for the day to come.
I didn’t want that girl to disappear again once I’d left the island.
But I did leave bits and pieces of her behind on the island: her carefree laugh scattered by the winds, her joyful footprints washed away by the waves, and most of all, a little bit of her heart tucked away in that little cottage.
Not gonna lie: I’m tearing up slightly as I write this. Those 12 days spent on the island were some do my happiest travel days to date. And then, much too soon, we were headed into the big city once again.
We were only in Bangkok for 2 nights before flying to:
Dec 12 – 29: Siem Reap, Cambodia
How do I even start to write about Cambodia? How do I write about a country that has known so much recent suffering?
typical Siem Reap street scene
Before coming, I’ve never really thought about visiting Cambodia…. well, because I guess I didn’t know too much about it. And now, after 2+ weeks in Siem reap, I’m still trying to coherently gather my thoughts. But I can go ahead and tell you that Cambodia surprised me at every turn.
There are the cultural things: the US dollar is the most common form of currency (did you know?), traffic laws are practically non-existent, which made for a few heart-stopping tuk-tuk rides, and the French-influenced Christmas dinner. But above all, what surprised me the most is the genuine kindness of the people.
Like everyone else visiting Siem Reap, we came for the Angkor Wat ruins. We spent three days climbing the ancient temples. When we booked our stay here, we thought that the old temples were the only worthwhile things about the city. And other people even asked why we’re in Siem Reap for so long, when tourists usually only come for a few days. We wanted to get to know the city in other ways. And indeed, as amazing as the temples were, it was the no-plans days that I enjoyed the most. It’s strange, because there is really not much to do in Siem Reap at all. There’s no movie theaters, or shopping centers, etc. But there’s something nice about the slow, rural life.
I hope to share a bit soon about life in Siem Reap when not temple climbing!
at Angkor Wat
temple-hopping all over town
One thing I was excited about: exploring Khmer cuisine. I knew absolutely nothing about it, so the first thing we did was splurge on a Siem Reap food tour in order to familiarize ourselves with the cuisine. It was certainly a wise decision as we were introduced to some really good locals-only type places that we otherwise would never have found on our own. We loved one of them so much that we returned again and again for the remainder of our stay.
At multiple points, we even wondered if we could really come back and settle down here for a while. But one thing wasn’t jiving so well: our health seemed to be suffering. Almost the entire time there, we were both plagued with exhaustion and headaches (and even stomach troubles for D). I have a sneaky suspicion this is because of the yard of A HUNDRED ROOSTERS RIGHT NEXT DOOR, who seem to think that the middle of the night is a perfectly acceptable time to crow. Damn those creatures.
So in the end, as much as we were loving Siem Reap, it was time to go and try to heal elsewhere.
I can’t wait to share more about Cambodia in general, so stay tuned!
Dec 30 – present: back to Bangkok
Coming back to Bangkok for the FOURTH time in under two months almost felt like coming back home.
“We’re home!” I exclaimed as we walked into our apartment on the 30th floor just after midnight, flopping my beat body on the sofa.
We’re also staying in the same apartment as the previous two times, so it really did feel like coming back to somewhere familiar. I’ve never exactly warmed up to this city, but I admit it’s nice to come back to the land of fast wifi, dirty cheap street food, and abundant Seven Elevens. I’m also hoping this will be the trip I learn to understand it more.
So, the main reason we flew back here is because we wanted to celebrate New Years Eve somewhere in style. And let me tell you, New Years in Bangkok was….
… insanely crowded
but it was also pretty spectacular :)
Coming up in January
After we finish up our Bangkok stay (on Jan 9), we’re headed to Vietnam! I’m SO excited about this because D and I both LOVE Vietnamese food. I think we will eat very very well there. :D We’re headed first to Hanoi for two weeks, with a weekend trip to Halong Bay thrown in. And then we’re going south to Ho Chi Ming City for another two weeks.
As always, any recommendations/tips for Vietnam will be great appreciated!
Happy New Year everyone! How was your December, and what are your plans for this month?
This post is linked up to Travel Tuesday with adventurings.
Well this certainly looks like the most epic month ever!! Your pictures are unbelievably gorgeous. And those food photos have got me drooling! I hope your January travels through Vietnam are just as memorable!
Thanks Courtney! I’m so excited for food in Vietnam! :D
Koh Chang sounds amazing! It’s going to be hard to choose which islands to go to when I make it to Thailand for the first time at the end of the year as there are so many! I will definitely put Koh Chang on the list though :)
We really really liked Koh Chang (but then again, it is the only Thai island we’ve been to) even though I know it’s not the most beautiful one. But it was really easy and cheap to get to from Bangkok and some of Thai locals friends we made from back home recommended it to us because it was their favorite one. :)
The NYE celebration in Bangkok must have been amazing! Also fascinating to hear more about Siem Reap. Pumpkin went years ago and liked the food – though apparently tried scorpion! My December was spent pretty much at home seeing friends & family but did one last spot of local travel on NYE exploring a charming little English village :-)
So like you to sneak one last trip in for 2014! I hope celebrating NYE there was amazing :).
I did like Cambodian food, though I must admit I got a little sick of it by the end. Good thing we also had a Vietnamese restaurant near by so we got our fill of pho! I didn’t see any bugs though, but I heard Cambodia is also known for fried tarantulas!
Sounds like your month was great – except for the roosters :)
(On a technical note, your blog always reads as http://www.slightastray... on the tab which always makes me think it’s not loaded. Just a heads up that you might want to adjust your settings!)
Thanks for the tip! That’s sooo weird because I don’t see it on mine..hmmm. I have no idea which settings to look at but I’ll try :)
I loved Koh Chang! And island hopping in Thailand in general. Koh Lipe was probably my favorite. And it’s funny how not having the Internet can be a relief. I’ve been on a blogging break for a few weeks, which has really been a break from my computer in general, minus occasional short periods to check emails (and buy things). I just really need to make this a regular thing.
Good for you for taking a break! When I had my forced break, it felt so good that I swore to myself I’d do it more. But now that I’m back in internet-land, it’s so hard to tear away, especially since I decided this is the year I should get more serious about blogging :/. I will just have to find that sweet balance :)
Well, you can always go back to Siem Reap but look for a different place to stay, just to confirm your theory about the roosters :)
Actually the villa we stayed at has another room that doesn’t face the yard of roosters. We already told the host we want to stay there next time! :D
What a busy December you had, full of all kinds of wonderful experiences! Your time in Koh Chang sounds absolutely bliss. I think it’s just so incredibly important to have time away from the computer/social media/blogging – you need that time to yourself and to reconnect with all the things around you! Mind you, sounds like you’ve got a bloomin’ marvellous January ahead of you so I can’t help but feel a little selfish when I say I can’t wait to read your fabulous posts about it all :)
Wishing you lots of happy travels x
Thanks so much Emily! Koh Chang was sooo amazing and I still dream of being back on that island, and I think a HUGE part of that is because I was able to have so much time away from the computer. I need to make it a goal to do that more often this year!
we were supposed to visit Cambodia this January, but had to put it off. Ive had a lonely planet book since i was a small child and I would love to go. Fingers crossed for 2015!
Oh no! I hope you get to make it to Cambodia still this year! We only explored Siem Reap this time (we tend to like to take it slow), but I really really want to return and visit more cities. I left with such good memories of this country!
Okay, HOW did you get all those gorgeous temple photos without any other tourists? Seriously?! That was so hard for me. And I also loved the Khmer cuisine! Rice for breakfast? Count me in! :)
Haha, it was NOT easy! Angkor Wat was so crowded and I never even got that famous shot of the peak across from the water! Luckily, we managed to find a corner that was completely empty even though I think it was the best picture taking spot! And omg, we had to wait in line at Ta Prohm for forevvvvver to get a picture with the Lara Croft tree thing!
Wow, this looks so amazing and I really love that first yoga pose photo, it’s stunning! I like how you wrote about Siem Reap as I loved it just as much as you did :)
Thank Marcella! I’m so glad you loved Siem Reap too! I still can’t even articulate why I liked it so much, because there is really not much to do there. But I know I’d love to return one day. :)
What a great month you’ve had! I hope to have travels like yours one day! x
Thanks Amanda! Long term travel is truly life-changing and I hope you will too one day, soon!
And P.S. I’d totally love to be able to live in London one day!
WOW, is all I can say…. such a great travel experience, and wonderful photos to boot!
Thanks so much for dropping by Ashley! It was certainly one of my favorite travel months!
What a great recap! I’ve made notes of a few of these things in my travel plans, Koh Chang and Siem Reap Food Tours particularly. Sounds like a great month! Can I ask what app/website/program you’re using to make your photo collages? They look awesome!
I bought the app PicStitch on my Windows 8. It’s awesome for collages!
If you make it to Koh Chang, I hope you love it as much as I did!! We stayed on the east side, the less developed side, and I really enjoyed that it was away from all the bars and tourists on the west side. In my post “Unplugged”, I have a link to the airbnb cottage we booked if you’re interested!! We LOVED it so much!
I feel you so much when you said “I can be the best version of myself there”. These places are so important. I have a place like that for me and I just wanna stay there and never let it go, however impractical it really is. I’m always trying to figure out how to harness certain parts of that feeling to take with me wherever I go…. your time there really did sound magical. Hope you have a wonderful time discovering Vietnam! Ahhhhh Vietnamese food.
What place is that for you? I wanna know! I know what you mean about wishing you can take that feeling with you everywhere. I wish too.:/
And yessss, I’ve been LOVING the food in Vietnam! It’s so much more than just pho!
Hehe, I kind of left that out ;) Berlin, Germany: I always feel like the city brings out the best of myself…. but I could absolutely see feeling like that on an island somewhere too. Once when I was visiting my friend there, she told me she actually thought I was high because of this happy, dream-like state I went into upon arrival. High in a “being in your favorite place” kinda way, I suppose!
We finally got a restaurant in town that serves some semblance of Vietnamese food- so happy! It’s quite “Czechified” but better than nothing.
Ahhh Berlin :). I can see how people love it, but for some reason, I just did not like it at all when I visited! I wouldn’t mind giving it another try though, especially if someone who loves the city can show me around!
For me, it’s definitely somewhere nature-y that brings out the best of me! The jungles and waters just make me feel so alive. :)
Anna, your posts and your photography is awesome. Seems you have enjoyed 2014 upto fullest. Wishing you the same happiness for 2015 also. Make a visit to India too. Surely you will enjoy. And do not forget to visit
http://dedicatedtopeople.org/
. Happy journey for Vietnam ! :)
Thank you so much for stopping by and for the warm wishes, Survi! We have been talking about going to India maybe in the next couple of years (or maybe even this year!). I will definitely keep your company in mind. :)
Thank you so much for stopping by and for the warm wishes, Survi! We have been talking about going to India maybe in the next couple of years (or maybe even this year!). I will definitely keep your company in mind. :)
which was your fav. khmer food? i’m impressed you like prahok! =D
Yeah! I actually really did like the prahok with minced pork dip and all the veggies. The prahok dip with Khmer bbq… I didn’t like too much hehe.