Traveling through Asia has made me a little homesick for my mom’s food, and when I saw a small curtained shop that said “Mama’s Kitchen”, I walked right in without any hesitation. It seemed like a small ma and pa type shop, and I couldn’t have been more spot on. After months of eating out, …
Rishikesh is known as the Yoga Capital of the world, as many forms of yoga came from this area. It used to be filled with legitimate ashrams (the ones that don’t ask you to pay hundreds of dollars to get your om on) but these days, it’s heavily catered to the western yoga enthusiasts (and therefore use …
The first time I could smell, feel, and even taste, fresh, crisp relatively smog free air in India, I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face. I stuck my head out of the rickety government bus window (probably not the best idea since something could’ve swatted my head off or the bus would …
I like to think I am generally a confident person. It takes a lot to make me uncomfortable or second guess myself. However, nothing could have prepared me the amount of self-conscious anxiety I would encounter at an Indian wedding. Even after being in India for a few weeks, I’m used to the double-takes and …
Almost needless to say, Tina and I did not enjoy our time in Delhi. It’s louder, dirtier, crazier, and sketchier than any of the other cities we visited. We tried our hardest to get in and out as fast as we could but because we couldn’t access wi-fi to arrange our next set of long-distance …
Tina and I have been fretting about what to wear to this Indian wedding of a friend of a friend of her’s. So we mostly spent our only free day in Jaipur shopping/bargaining/hunting in the markets. Tina got a whole new custom tailored outfit while I was still trying to piece together my sari. haha. …
Flew kites. Became mini-town stars. Too much time spent shopping the markets. Climbed a hillside to a temple. Found a shirtless hippie American who was about to smash a guitar. We became friends. That’s the end of my riveting time in Pushkar. No really it was a place I …
For some reason, Indians really like to take pictures with foreigners. However, they must not care about Asians because I never get asked for a photograph but mobs of people will pull Tina away from me and ask to take a photo with her. It’s really quite hilarious. It must just be a white person …
With only a month in India and anticipated Indian wedding on Jan. 19, Tina and I had a limited amount of time in Rajastan, unless we were ok with backtracking. Which, neither of us were. So we decided to start our trip in Jodhpur, a desert city southwest of Delhi and make our way east. Jodhpur is …
I love trains. I really do. Even when I end up in the wrong place. You’ve heard me talk about it before, and all I’ve ever heard about Indian trains was that no visit to India would be complete without a train experience. The image that comes to mind are the small trains with overcrowded …
You know that scene in Cinderella when goes to wake her stepsisters and they have the vaulted ceiling rooms and she has to go clear across to room to draw open the ginormous drapes covering the windows? Ok, the guys have no clue what I’m talking about but I know at Leslie knows what I’m talking about. Well …
Everyone says traveling alone is hard, especially for women. So I decided I needed to keep a running list of this stuff as a young, independent, female traveler. This takes personal and other people’s experiences and talks about traveling with others as well. Some of it is funny, some of it is practical, some of it makes …
I wasn’t really prepared for India. I don’t think you ever could be. I was told to surrender all personal space, to get used to stares, harassment, and to be more careful than ever. I was told no matter how well you plan your time in India, it never goes according to plan (but I …
Probably the best 400 baht I’ve ever spent. Also because I didn’t have to paddle most of the time. 🙂 Let me introduce Dan to you. Dan is a true blue native of Nottingham, which I found greatly entertaining when I learned this. He teaches English in Korea with Nathan and decided to make a …
I wasn’t much of a fan of Krabi Town, so I was quite anxious to get to our New Year’s destination: The Bananas (or Bananas Bungalows). Located 2 km away from Tha Lane Pier, it has been the most remote location I’ve been to in Thailand. Not much is around, and even the Pier, which …
Railey vs Railay, vs Rai Leh, however you spell it, just pronounce it Ray-Lay Beach. I’ve seen it spelled quite a few different ways with the phonetic translations of Thai so I’m just going to Railay. Railey and Phrang Nga Cove are only accessible by boat. The closest pier from Krabi that would take me …
While I still yearned to be stargazing on my patio in Pai, swinging in the hammock of my new patio watching the waves crash and the stars peak out wasn’t so bad either. It’s been a while since I spent anytime near open water at night, and I was reminded how the salty sweet ocean …
When Nathan and I ended up at a new hotel called La Bateau Ivre (good deal 350-500 baht rooms, recommended if you are just stopping by or need a central place to start your exploration), I didn’t realize it was literally on the street where the infamous Chiang Mai Sunday Market is held. How lucky for …
Before Nathan and I even set food in Thailand we only knew where we were staying to square our visas away in Bangkok and we had a beach front bungalow booked up for Christmas in the northwest corner of an island called Koh Samui. Our sweet little bungalow wasn’t really in as much of a …
Waiting around all week to help Mink at the local farmers market wasn’t so terrible considering how much I loved Pai. I was so excited I even got up before the sun came up. It was the first morning I wasn’t woken up by the quacking ducks underneath my bungalow. I later found out it …
Pai has been a magical place for me. Everyone says you have to go to Pai, and even though what was once a small dirt road mountainside town 20 years ago has now turned into a nicely paved tourist destination, there is something in the air that still gives this place a laid back feel …
The past week has had a few random and (for me) almost embarrassingly flattering moments. I have never been able to accept compliments very well, despite what some may say about us Leos. I always find it embarrassing and I never know what to say. I’ve been working on saying thank you, but usually I just laugh …
I’ve had my fair share of full day feasts. I started practicing how to survive these events while growing up at any kind of Chinese family gathering. Copious amounts of food was required just as much as your presence. I thought I had perfected this skill while I was in Italy during the many – …
It was just about as magical as it sounds. Quite possibly the best day of my life. I have definitely never experienced anything like this before but it’s an experience everyone needs to go through. To be completely honest, I’m actually shameful that I actually had to contemplate this idea. Before I came to Thailand …
As Nathan and I made our way to Chiang Mai we made some quick one night stops. The first was Lopburi, also known as monkey town. You can see monkeys roaming the streets everywhere and there’s even a monkey temple for them. It’s like watching ants on an ant hill…except with lots of old bananas …
