As many of you know by now, I'm in Australia. And hopefully even more of you are aware of the terrible state of disaster that Australia is in with insane bushfires.
I am grateful to be safe in Sydney, where the effects I've witnessed have been minimal in the two weeks I've been here so far. There have been some mildly hazy/smokey days, but nothing catastrophic. Last week the sun would shine through the windows casting a beautiful but eery orange/pink glow.
What I've seen in the news here is nothing short of terrifying, and the images/videos/stories I've seen on social media have been even more horrific. Fires are raging out of control across the country and being fought mostly by volunteers. The destruction and loss of lives (human and animal) continues to climb. I love this country and I am so happy to be back, but am heartbroken at the devastation it is facing.
On an uplifting note, it is amazing to see what happens when social media is used to spread awareness and the good that can come from it. Public figures have used their platforms to let the world know what's happening in Aus and raise millions of dollars. People have come together to support what the government has been unable to. Australian comedian @celestebarber has raised over $30 MILLION through a Facebook donation page (!!!) to help with wildfire relief. That's pretty mind blowing.
Something I've learned through travel is that often at the worst of times is when you can see the good in people and kindness of strangers. It's what makes me believe there is more good in this world than evil. Let's keep spreading the good, even if it means sharing the bad. #go4theglobe
If you're looking to educate yourself @helloemilie has a great story recap in her highlights and ways to help. If you're looking fore reputable places to make a donation, consider donating to @redcrossau, @foodbankaus, @salvosau, @nswrfs, @wireswildliferescue
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#travel #buddha #peace #spreadtheword #spreadkindness #travelgirl #yellowdress #iamtb #citizenfemme #girlpowertravel #womenwhoexplore #australiaisburning #australiabushfires
2020 is an open door, what's in store for you? 💙
New decade, new adventures! ✌️
Where's the first place you're traveling to this decade? ✈️
2020 is already filling up fast for me, I'm hoping to leave room for more spontaneity ✨
I have projects lined up that will take me back to some of my favorite countries, while I'm hoping to visit new ones in between 🙌
Any guesses where I head next after Australia? It's not too far from here and somewhere I've been before, but I had a cool opportunity that I decided to jump on! 🌏 #go4theglobe
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#myanmar #views #greenwalls #bagan #visitbagan #bluesky #clouds #mountpoppa #visitmyanmar #burma #adoorable #doorsofinstagram #window #travelgirl #dametraveler #sheisnotlost #backpacker #backpackersintheworld #barefoot #citizenfemme #thewanderingtourist #asiavacations #digitalnomad
Looking back on the last decade... ✨
As a 90's baby, the 10's have been my 20's and they have been crazy! I lived & worked on three continents/countries (US, Spain, & Australia), graduated with a degree in Journalism & Spanish from UW in Seattle, got my then-dream job for the Mariners & MLB.com, joined the corporate world with Microsoft, became a yoga instructor, served as my mom's caregiver for her final months of her life, quit my corporate job to travel around the world full-time, started a travel blog that gave me opportunities to travel even more, fallen in love and had my heart broken a few times, traveled to nearly 50 countries, and met so many incredible people. It hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies, there have been the fair share of storms and snails. But I’m grateful for everyday I wake up 🙌
2019 has been a year of growth and independence! I rang in the New Year in Nashville with family, travelled all over the US, taken international trips to Cuba🇨🇺, Guatemala🇬🇹, Mexico (twice)🇲🇽, and England🏴 , solo road tripped around the Pacific Northwest🇺🇸 and British Columbia🇨🇦, stood by my best friend as she married the love of her life, booked a one-way ticket to SE Asia where I explored Northern Thailand🇹🇭 , Myanmar🇲🇲 and Cambodia🇰🇭 , and am spending the holiday season in Australia🇦🇺!
Thanks to everyone who has been part of my journey! What have been the highlights of your year/decade? ✨ #go4theglobe
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#goldentemple #bluesky #travelgirl #myanmar #mandalay #mahamuni #temple #burma #visitmyanmar #backpacker #solofemaletravel #damestravel #gltlove #iamtb #onewayticket #worldtravel #bestof2019 #newyearseve
Merry Christmas! ❤️✨
I hope you are enjoying the holidays with people you love or somewhere you love, or if you're really lucky, a combination of the two! Although I'm missing my family today I am lucky to be in Sydney, somewhere I once called home, with friends I love!
What are you up to this Christmas? 🎄#go4theglobe
You might have noticed I've been a little off the grid the last few weeks. But my family could rest assured I was okay thanks to travel insurance from @InsureYonder. Whether I was hot air ballooning or learning to drive a scooter in Bagan, Myanmar (pictured) or snorkeling, kayaking, playing beach volleyball and night swimming in the sea with glowing plankton in Koh Rong Samloen, Cambodia, I was covered!
After 50 days of travel in SE Asia, I got sick on my final day (bad timing for Christmas travel). I was lucky to make it safely to my friend's house in Sydney and that it ended up being some sort of 24 hour bug - but I felt secure knowing if I needed to go to a doctor or hospital I would've also been covered. I'm so thankful it didn't come to that and I got to enjoy Christmas!
A big thank you to Yonder for sponsoring my travel insurance, hot air balloon ride and scooter in Bagan! #sponsored
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#sunrise #bagan #airballoons #hotairballoons #sunburst #temples #myanmar #travelgirl #sheisnotlost #iamtb #wandernext #backpacker #magicisreal #solofemaletravel #merrychristmas #christmasabroad #christmasmagic #visitmyanmar #burma #balloonsoverbagan #insureyonder
Hsinbyume Pagoda is a must-see in Myanmar! 🇲🇲✨
When visiting Mandalay, Myanmar, take a half day trip to Mingun. The Mingun ferry leaves once daily at 9am and returns at 12:30pm. The river boat ride is less than an hour long and was a relaxing cruise. I enjoyed soaking up the sun - just make sure to wear sunscreen! ☀️
Check out snaps from this day in my "Myanmar" story highlight! ♥️
👀 Must-See Mingun Sites:
📍Hsinbyume Pagoda (pictured here)
📍Mingun Pahtodawgyi (the unfinished temple)
📍Mingun Bell (second largest bell in the world - the largest is located in Moscow, Russia)
💰Cost: Under $20 for the full-day! Here's the breakdown...
▪️5000 kyat ($3.33 USD) Roundtrip Ferry to Mingun
▪️5000 kyat ($3.33 USD) Mingun Zone Site Fee, includes entrance to all temples
▪️3000 kyat ($1.98 USD) Shared tuktuk truck in Mingun, our driver was very informative and also was a great photographer who knew where to get the best shots of the temples!
▪️12500 kyat ($8.27 USD) Full day tuktuk driver to and from Mingun ferry, this price also included a transport to lunch in Mandalay, a local market, and U Bein Bridge for sunset - I highly recommend @fatty4776!
▪️3500 kyat ($2.31 USD) Lunch at Pan Cherry in Mandalay, a delicious Indian food spot with huge portions and cheap prices
Is Myanmar on your list? ✈️
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#myanmar #burma #HsinbyumePagoda #mingun #whitetemple #yellowdress #bluesky #southeastasia #travelgirl #iamtb #travelblogger #girlslovetravel #backpacker #girlaroundworld #sheisnotlost
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill ❤️
Cheesy, but true 😝
I met these girls at baggage claim in Mandalay, Myanmar - "Are you guys heading into the city?" (duh, where else would they be going 🙃). That was my pick-up line 😜 I was looking to share a ride for the hour long journey into the city. I got a shared ride in and much more than I could have hoped for 💕 All of us are solo travelers, two of the girls had met in Cambodia, the third in Thailand, the fourth was seated next to them on the flight that we shared.
Here's to my MandaLadies, thanks for putting up with my countless photos! 😆📸 Excited to share some of my favorite shots with you all moving forward.
Where and when did you meet your last great travel friend(s)? Tag them in the comments to say hello 🤗 (I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from you!)
📍📸: This photo was taken at the top of Mount Popa, which is an extinct volcano outside of Bagan, Myanmar. To reach the top, you'll climb 777 steps barefoot while dodging monkey pee and 💩. Don't wear any sunglasses/glasses or hats here, the monkeys will steal them - but you'll be able to retrieve them if you pay a local to get them back for you 🐒 (we were warned about this but it also happened to my friend haha). Check out some snaps from this day in my story, including the glasses retrieval.
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#travelgirls #girls #hair #temples #views #mountpopa #bagan #myanmar #visitmyanmar #myanmartourism #southeastasia #backpackers #youthgoals #gltlove #wearetravelgirls #solofemaletravel #womentravel #girlslovetravel
Tis the season ✨
How is it already December?! It hasn’t felt like it yet in Southeast Asia but the magic from the Chiang Mai lantern festival definitely had me feeling all sorts of festive a few weeks ago.
Wat Pham Tao (pictured here) is not to be missed during the lantern festival! I want to point out I’m not dressed appropriately here, not just because it’s not glam for Instagram but because my knees and shoulders should be covered. I didn’t plan on visiting here on this particular evening, I was checking out the big Sunday street market in Chiang Mai before heading out with friends. I walked by and saw crowds of people and candles and lights so I popped into the surrounding area of to check out what was going on. Pure magic ✨
As for my current whereabouts, I’m lying on the floor of a monastery in the Shan State of Myanmar between 6 sleeping friends, where we are spending the second night of our 3 day, 2 night trek to Inle Lake. Im so grateful for this insanely cool experience, where I still can’t believe a 3 day trek costs 40,000 kyat (under $27 USD) with a guide, accommodation, luggage transfer, boat transportation and all meals included). This experience has been insanely cool and I’m so grateful, even with the lack of a proper shower (bucket showers that we’ve opted for baby wipes) and all the squatty potties!
Where in the world are you this December? Are you feeling festive?
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#chiangmai #candles #lanterns #thailand #temple #yipeng #yeepeng #tistheseason #december #holidayseason #southeastasia #gltlove #sheisnotlost #backpacker #solotravel #traveltheworld #amazingthailand #thailandgram #tourismthailand
Happy Thanksgiving! ❤️
Although I’m not at home celebrating with family and friends this year, I have so much to be thankful for.
Tonight I shared dinner with 6 people who would’ve been complete strangers to me just a few days ago but when you’re traveling, strangers become friends, who become family. A Thanksgiving tradition I have at home is to go around the table after dinner and each person shares what they are thankful for (it has to be different from what everyone else shares) so I made everyone at the table partake in this tonight. I am thankful that 7 solo travelers could come together to unite to become family for Thanksgiving. I echo what others shared, gratitude for our health, our families, and having the means to travel.
What are you thankful for? 💛
I’m also so thankful for two dreams I’ve been able to make reality in the past few weeks!
✨ Celebrating the lantern festival in Chiang Mai
🐘 Spending time with elephants at an elephant sanctuary (pictured here)
I will get to make another dream reality tomorrow, as I will take my first ever hot air balloon ride - at sunrise over the temples of Bagan 🎈😍#go4theglobe
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#elephants #elephantnaturepark #careforelephants #thanksgiving #gratitude #elephant #travelgirl #Travelwomen #sheisnotlost #citizenfemme #thailand #amazingthailand #tourismthailand #chiangmai #nothernthailand #southeastasia #liveyourdreams
Hands up if you love waterfalls 💦🙌
On my last full day in Chiang Rai (I stayed three nights) I had the most epic day with friends.
Here's the itinerary (8am start time) with English and Thai names and prices:
◽️White Temple [Wat Rong Khun], 50 Baht/$1.65 USD
🔷Khun Korn Waterfall, 1.4km hike to the waterfall, closed if it is raining or has rained recently), Free
◾️Black House [Baan Dam], 80 Baht/$2.64 USD
◽️Big Buddha [Wat Huay Pla Kung] for sunset, Free
🔹Blue Temple [Wat Rong Seua Ten], Free
◾️Night Market for dinner (Bonus if it's Saturday, head to the Saturday night market for food, shopping, and dancing!)
It was my favorite kind of day, exploring, chasing waterfalls, motorbike rides, eating delicious food, spending time with great company, capped off by dancing in a big square with live music where we joined in on traditional Thai dancing. I was impressed by how well everyone picked it up! My cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much 😆
Nearly three weeks in Thailand have flown by! I came here knowing no one and am leaving with friendships I will always cherish (hoping paths will cross again at some point). Yesterday I started again at ground zero as I traveled to Myanmar solo. I was grateful to meet four girls at the airport in Mandalay who were also all traveling solo - Myanmar is off to a great start!
Due to the craziness of holiday travel prices, I booked flights in advance for the remainder of the year. Here are my plans, send recommendations my way and if you'll be in these places at the same time, let me know, let's meet up 🤗
🇲🇲 Myanmar: Nov 25 - Dec 6
🇹🇭 Thailand: Dec 6-7
🇰🇭 Cambodia: Dec 7-23
🇦🇺 Australia: Dec 23 - TBD
What are your plans for the rest of 2019? #go4theglobe
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#waterfall #jungle #travelgirl #wearetravelgirls #chiangrai #khunkornwaterfall #khunkorn #chasingwaterfalls #thailand #thailandinsider #amazingthailand #thailanddestiny #thailandgram #gopromoments #goprohero #roamingwomen #dametraveler #damestravel #sidewalkerdaily
I have a confession to make - I'm not much of a cook 😳👩🍳😂
I knew when I came to #Thailand this time, there was one major thing I couldn't leave without doing, and that was take a cooking class! If I'm going to learn how to properly cook, it might as well be my favorite food 😋
Do you like to cook? Have you ever taken a cooking class (at home or abroad)?🍴
When @grandmascookingschool invited me and a couple friends to their full-day cooking course, I was ecstatic!🤩
The class begins at a local market where our guide Rachael showed us the ingredients we would use, how to pick them out ourselves and what to look for if we want to replicate the dishes at home.
We traveled to Grandma's Home Cooking School which is an absolutely gorgeous property outside of Chiang Mai. Rachael walked us through all the different crops on the farm and explained how they are used in Thai cooking.
We made three dishes and got to choose from a menu of selections, starting with soup (I chose Tom Kha), then curry (green curry is my favorite, swipe to see mine), and finally Pad Thai (see the beginning and end stages in this post). The meal was completed with butterfly pea mango sticky rice for dessert! I learned butterfly pea is a purple flower (see it behind us in the final photo) that is used to color/flavor the rice and other sweets in Thailand (like butterfly pea lemonade or tea).
Don't miss this cooking class if you are in Chiang Mai! I can't recommend @grandmascookingschool enough. Thanks for finally teaching me how to cook! 😂 #go4theglobe #gifted
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#thaifood #cookingclass #thaicookingclass #chiangmai #greencurry #padthai #mangostickyrice #thaicooking #amazingthailand #thailandinsider #thaifarm #thaimarket #southeastasia #backpacking #femmetravel #damestravel
I've fallen into the Pai hole 🌱
Welcome to Pai, pronounced pie 🥧 cue all the pie puns 😝People joke that when you come here you fall into the Pai hole, you'll plan to stay for a couple days and never leave. I can see why, I've been here a week (but I climbed out today).
*Funny side note, last night I came back to my hostel from a bar purposefully to post this and the internet was "down in all of Pai" (according to the hostel receptionist 😏). My friend and I couldn't get anything done we planned on, so we had to just go back out 🤷♀️ At least I tried 🤪
The 3.5+ hour journey from Chiang Mai takes you 128 km north on a road with 762 turns. A mini bus ride will cost you 150 baht (less than $5 USD). I’m not usually one to get car sick but this ride is no joke.
There's so much to explore - rice paddies, bamboo bridges, waterfalls, hot springs, caves, canyons, mountains, big buddhas, oh my! 😝 Perhaps once off the beaten path, now it's heavily trafficked by tourists & backpackers. It has boho & yogi vibes (I practiced at two different yoga studios the last two days!). You can chill & relax or you can party on "bar street" or in the jungle. The "walking street" street market can't be missed. It happens every night from 6-10pm with food stalls galore, bring your appetite! You can find Pad Thai and for 40 baht ($1.33 USD). Last night I had the best coconut banana pancakes for 20 baht ($0.66 USD)🤤
The Bamboo Bridge (pictured here) costs 30 baht ($1 USD) to enter & is 7km outside of the center of Pai. It's a gorgeous drive & I was grinning like an idiot the whole way there from the joy of being back on the back of a motorbike in the sunshine, going on an adventure ☀️
I've been practicing self-discipline the last couple days & finding cafes to get blog redesign work done in, which is tough to do when you just want to go float the river & would rather "work" on getting a tan. But when travel friends start to go separate ways I've found it's a good opportunity to be productive (& do some normal things like workout & practice yoga) -until new ones come my way to distract me again. Grateful for friends I can balance both with! #go4theglobe
Solo travel - aren't you going to be lonely?💕
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about solo travel is that you'll spend so much time on your own, when in fact, typically the opposite occurs. When I travel alone is when I meet the most people. It's been two weeks since I left home and I can count the times on one hand that I've been alone. I've cherished the rare time I spent wandering solo and enjoying my own company as much as the new friendships I've made.
This photo was taken on my first afternoon in Chiang Mai after having brunch with two cool people I met at my hostel, before wandering around on my own.
My biggest tip for solo travelers looking to make friends is to stay in a hostel - it's a wonderful way to meet people who typically share a love of travel. You'll find you aren't the only one traveling alone and you won't be alone for long. If you want to be on your own you sometimes have to make more of an effort to do so.
Have you stayed in a hostel before? Where was the best one you stayed? If you haven’t, would you ever??
Now my current struggle is to find a balance between being social, exploring, and taking time to work on #go4theglobe. It's easy to get wrapped up in social activities when majority of the people I meet are on holidays. Going out to grab dinner (I mean, a girl's gotta eat!) typically ends in a night out whether it's a jungle party, fire show, cabaret show, etc. (which means a post doesn’t go out). But I'm grateful to have met a cool German girl in my hostel in Chiang Mai who is up past 1am with me in Pai while I work on this post as she's redesigning my logo 🤩 (thank you @janina.leoni!). We opted to share a private room today for our own office/personal space ($12 a person instead of $8-10 = totally worth it). Here’s to finding balance in the world of solo travel!
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#temple #thaitemple #chiangmai #cnx #thailand #thailanddestiny #thailandgram #southeastasia #solotravel #girlslovetravel #solofemaletravel #citizenfemme #visitthailand #seasia #asiavacations #wandernext
