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
Run in the direction of your dreams 🙌
Greetings from Chiang Mai! Pinch me, I'm actually here👌
Which shot is your favorite, 1 or 2?
Like I said yesterday, I hope you all like #temples, because there are a gazillion of them in Chiang Mai! But seriously, there are over 300 temples (just Googled) 😱I've already started to lose count of how many I've visited 🤪
Save this post for #ChiangMai recommendations from my first day in the city! ❤️
🙏Don't miss Wat Chedi Luang (pictured here)
Most temples in Chiang Mai are free to visit but this one will put you out a whopping 40 baht ($1.32 USD) as is has been restored by UNESCO
🛏 Budget Accommodation:
@Staywithhug_cnx - The shared dorm is just over $10 a night, I reserved it for $81 for 8 nights on @Bookingcom. The location is great inside the walled Old City, the dorms are comfortable with AC, and each bed has its own curtain, power outlet, light, and locker. Private rooms are available too.
🥭 Food:
💥Brunch at @seeyousooncnx cafe - Get the Superstar Waffle (195 Baht = $6.42 USD) that is loaded with fresh fruit. This cafe is on the more expensive side (relatively speaking) but delicious and has a great atmosphere.
💥Lunch/Dinner at @reform_kafe! Reform Kafe is a plant-based vegan cafe that is eco-friendly and makes an impressive effort to be sustainable. I spent 230 baht ($7.57 USD) for a mango shake (AMAZING), veggie/tofu green curry with brown rice (honestly it was a little bland, I would suggest ordering something else) and water. It is also a little pricy for Chiang Mai but makes up for it in atmosphere, a massive entirely plant-based menu & sustainability.
🛍 Other Highlights:
Wander around without an agenda - take photos & browse the shops! One of my favorites was @fairytaleschiangmai - they have the most unique, fun jewelry! #go4theglobe
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#chiangmai #watchediluang #temple #hair #thailand #northernthailand #thailanddestiny #iamtb #sheisnotlost #citizenfemme #dametraveler #unesco #amazingthailand #seasia #beautifuldestinations #thailandinsider
I made it to Chiang Mai! 🙌 No, this is not Chiang Mai. I arrived in the dark this evening after 24+ hours of travel & want to let friends/family know I made it safely - but decided these shots from my last hike in the PNW were slightly more visually appealing than my 4am airport shot yesterday morning 😴 😂 (it was in my story earlier). And just in case you all already forgot what I look like 😜
The journey here was smooth! I met a retired pilot in Seattle who was also on my same random 3-part flight route, slept, watched movies, journaled, and wrote a blog about how to survive a long haul flight across the globe! I’ve thrown in some tips on how I manage to score rows to myself without paying extra! So stay tuned for that, I’m excited to get back into posting blogs.
We will see how jet lag treats me with the 14 hour time difference! 😳 I’ll be taking the next couple days easy to adjust and explore my surroundings. And I have a little remote work operational project management gig to get done by the end of the week with a team in NY (yay travel funds). Follow the adventure in my stories!
📍Photo info: HeyBrook Lookout is a relatively short and easy 2.6 mile roundtrip hike with an epic fire lookout view! Catch behind the scenes look in my “PNW” story highlight 🌲🏔
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#pnw #firelookout #mountains #heybrooklookout #hikinggirl #evergreentrees #hiking #wanderwashington #hikinglocations #explorewashstate #visitseattle #pnwlife #pnwonderland #mountainchicks #lumix #lumixg85 #washingtontrails #alltrails
Do all things with love ❤️ Exciting news 🎉 and vulnerability ahead ✨
So I've been feeling a little lost and the other night before I fell asleep I decided to pray about it and ask my mom for a sign. I don't ask for signs often, I don't want to abuse the perks of having a dead mom (half joking 😝) but it was something I felt I genuinely needed.
In the past when I've gone through hard moments, I've been thankful to wake up to emails with exciting opportunities (I'll never forget the morning I found out I had an interview with the @mariners - I grew up the biggest Mariners fan, but I digress). Yesterday morning I woke up to an email saying my contract for the November Facebook event I was supposed to work on fell through. This email could've felt like the opposite, but in fact, it felt like the sign I was looking for. Time to finally book the damn one-way flight! ✈️
There's something so thrilling about a one-way ticket. How long will I be gone for this time, one month, six? Every time I book one I can't help but dance and jump and squeal.
I leave in less than two weeks! Stay tuned to find out where I'm headed! It's a country I've been to, but a city I've never visited, for a festival I've always wanted to attend. Any guesses where? I'm hoping to visit some neighboring countries I've never been to, but I'll figure it out as I go. Time to #go4theglobe ✨
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#heartshapedrock #redrocks #orangerocks #valleyoffire #valleyoffirestatepark #nevada #nevadastatepark #visitnevada #heart #orange #travelgirl #aloyoga #girlstoptravel #sheinotlost
Reflecting on Autumn 🍂
See what I did there 😜
Like the changing of leaves, a lot can change in a just a month (can you believe we're already a month deep into fall?). I've experienced the change of new projects and new people falling into my life ✨
Sometimes you have to climb the tree for the apple, other times it falls at your feet, but you in order to get the apple at all you have to take the initial step to go outside🍎🍁
This photo was taken last week while chasing autumn colors with @armandanorthwest. Armanda and I weren't looking for this lake, we were driving from one location to another and happened to drive past it. We pulled over and it ended up being my favorite spot of the day (I mean look at that reflection!!) 😍
Take that first step of putting yourself out there, you might find something better than you had known to look for ✨ #go4theglobe
Heck, you might find something worse, but that’s part of life 😝
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#reflection #mountains #lake #northbend #autumn #fallvibes #orangeleaves #pnwgirls #visitseattle #wanderwashington #washingtonexplored #nrthwst #citizenfemme #lumixg85 #wanderlustwednesday #pnwlife
