southeast Asia
Bangkok, thailand
Bangkok was my home for six months while I lived in Thailand. I had no idea how much I would come to love this chaos. I don’t know another place that is such a mix of sin and virtue. One side of the road, a temple with monks, the other side of the road, a club with strippers. While it took some getting used to… I can’t quite express how much this city means to me. The motorbike taxis, the food stands, the skytrain, and especially, the markets. I would return in a heartbeat if I could.
Amphawa Floating Market and the Chatuchak Weekend market are both staples of Thai culture and tourism. I loved going to the Chatuchak weekend market – I went as much as possible while I was living in Thailand. Amphawa was outside of the city, so it was a bit harder to get to. Getting there required taking a taxi bus, then a train, then another taxi bus, then I had to get on the back of a local’s truck, then I had to walk a few blocks (and back again) but it was well worth the adventure.
ayutthaya, thailand
We explored the former capital of the Kingdom of Siam via rented bicycles. It was such a hot day, but it was a blast to be able to bike around to visit and explore the ruins so easily. My favorite was the Buddha face preserved and protected from Burmese raiders within the tree trunk.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
This mountainous, northern region of Thailand is especially popular with visitors and ex-pats, so I was surprised when my Thai friends were so adamant about taking me there because they love this city so much too! There are hundreds and hundreds of temples throughout this city, the greatest of them is Doi Suthep. Settled on top of the mountain, it has the best sunrises and a long staircase that requires stamina to climb!
malaysia
Malaysia is one of my favorite S.E. Asian countries I visited. Most of the countries I traveled to were Buddhist countries, but Malaysia is a Muslim country, which meant there were new cultures, traditions, and things to learn around every corner. One of the best experiences of my whole trip was getting to hear the Islamic prayer projected throughout old-city, Kuala Lumpur from the nearby mosque. Another experience that tops the list was accidentally stumbling upon the beginnings of the Thaipusam festival at the Batu Caves outside of KL. Had we been just a few days later, we would’ve joined millions of people making their pilgrimage to Batu Caves and up the long staircase to give their offerings at the temple in the caves. After KL we also visited the Cameron Highlands and Georgetown.
cambodia
I would love to return to Cambodia. I was so struck by the recent trauma this country has endured during Khmer Rouge. The Cambodian genocide is not something I learned about in U.S. History classes, and I was appalled that I was just learning about something so horrific and so recent for the first time while visiting. It made me appreciate my time there so much more. While Siem Reap was fun, and I enjoyed exploring the temples like I was Maze Runner, Phnom Pehn has my heart in a unique way that other cities don’t. I could spend weeks more taking tuk-tuk taxis and exploring that city.
Vietnam
I traveled Vietnam for a week and a half alongside a group from Gecko Adventures. I was interested in trying a traveling group for a few reasons… 1) It’s always nice as a woman traveling solo to have some friends along so you feel comfortable getting the full experience each place and 2) At this point, it was a lot of work to plan out trips and it was kind of nice to have the whole thing decided for me. We traveled from Hanoi in northern Vietnam all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam via bus, sleeper train, and boat.
