Christmas on Koh ChangThe picture above is one of many sunsets I enjoyed on the island of Koh Chang in Thailand. I don't feel too guilty trying to make you jealous that I spent Christmas week on a beautiful island. It was my first Christmas away from home ever, so I was stockpiling ways to make sure I wouldn't be too homesick during the holidays. It actually ended up being one of the most memorable Christmases to date (sorry mom and dad). On Christmas eve, Pajamas Hostel hosted a huge buffet and gift exchange. Afterwards my roommates and I spent the evening lighting sparklers, drinking buckets of cocktails (actually drinking out of buckets), and dancing the night away on the beach. On Christmas day, we spent some time calling our families and then enjoyed a BBQ on the beach. There were no stockings or presents to open, no egg nog or special roasts, but it was as perfect as a Christmas away from home could get. Goodbye to 2014With Christmas over, it's time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the New Year which I'll spend in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. I spent a lot of 2014 saying goodbye to things that were good, but that weren't part of the story that I want to live moving into the future. The two biggest goodbyes were to my job and the city I loved. For the last three and a half years, I had a job with an amazing team of people, a company that wanted to develop my skills, and where I did a lot of traveling. It was a job that a lot of people would covet, but it wasn't what I saw myself doing for the next 20 years. If I was going to change that, then now was the time to do it. My heart had always been drawn to international people and places, so I left my job in August to pursue that dream. For the last nine years, I lived in Seattle. Seattle is a beautiful place that has all the conveniences of a big city with access to all types of nature from the beach to ski slopes. Seattle holds some of my dearest friends and family. Seattle is also just really cloudy (just admit and accept it). Seattle is also growing very rapidly and in ways that differ from the city I fell in love with. In September I decided it was also time to say farewell to Seattle for...who knows how long. Sometimes I wonder if anyone else feels the same way as I did about 2014. When I share my story as I travel, sometimes I feel really irrational. Why did I leave such a stable job in this unpredictable economy? Why did I leave all my friends and family to travel by myself? Then I remember why. Because those things were great, but I wasn't happy. I had been doing a lot of things that others expected or what I thought they expected of me. I forgot that I used to have expectations of my own. One of those was that I would live, work or volunteer, and travel internationally. I was working a job I didn't see myself in forever, in a city that I was no longer happy in, and had no responsibilities left besides rent and social obligations. It was time for a change. Saying "YES" in 2015I know that saying "no" and "goodbye" to things will be a constant throughout my life. However, moving forward I'm also ready to start saying "YES" to things that I do feel passionate towards. I guess you could call these resolutions, but I'd like to be cheesy and call them my "YES-solutions" for 2015. 1. YES to Where I Want to Go - The last few months of travel have been trial and error of figuring out what I like about traveling and how I want to continue this journey. I've met so many people at home and on the road and everyone has a say on where to go and what to do. I want to use all your advice and knowledge to make the best travel decisions. However, I need to start making my OWN travel decisions. I want to go to places that blow your taste buds out of the water. I want to go to places that will look drastically different in the next 10-15 years than they do today. I want to go to places that I've dreamed of for years but have been too afraid to voice. A complete list of criteria will come in another blog because I also want to say.... 2. YES to Writing - This YES-solution is a promise to myself and to you. I am so grateful for those of you that comment, email, or message me about my blog. Traveling solo is lonely sometimes, and my blog and social media are ways to share my experiences with others when there's no one to share it with. Not only that but writing is also something that brings me a lot of joy and is also really terrifying at the same time. I'm excited to use 2015 to really find my voice, as writers call it. One of my favorite writers, Shauna Niequist puts my feelings about writing perfectly, "Writing wakes me up, lights me on fire, opens my eyes to the things I can never see and feel when I'm hiding under the covers, cowering and consumed with my own failures and fears." Here's my promise to you (and me) - a blog once a week for 2015. There are only two YES-solutions for 2015. I'll have to get used to saying "YES" to things before I start adding more. ;) For now, I wish all of you a happy new year! Here's to exploring new horizons and saying YES to the things you want in life! Hello from Bangkok, Thailand! It's been about 3-ish weeks since my last post and I've been on 2 continents and in 5 different countries. It's strange to think that last week around this time I was bundled up and wearing all my clothes while exploring the Christmas markets of Budapest, Hungary. Tonight, I'm sweating it out at my homestay with all the fans turned on high in the middle of Southeast Asia. I have so much to write about and more posts are coming. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see more up to date posts of where I'm at and what I'm doing, but the blog will give you more stories and insights from my travels. Yes, I just plugged my Instagram account (@travelismylovelanguage). For now, here are the highs and lows of the last 3 weeks. Thessaloniki, GreeceThessaloniki is Greece's second largest city and located in the north. Because it is home to a large university, the food and drinks are priced towards students. The cheapness though takes nothing away from the quality. I had some of the best Greek food here. Highs -Cheap, good food -Cheap drinks -Best hostel: Hotel Arabas (stayed at the brother's hostel in Trikola) -Met some really great, new friends at the hostel -Reaffirmed my love affair with Greece Lows -Too many cheap drinks -After Athens, which is mostly flat, the hills of Thessaloniki were a different kind of workout -Not a ton of sights to see, but much more of a place to absorb Greek culture Munich, GermanyMunich was a destination because I had heard that I really needed to go to a German Christmas market before I left Europe for warmer weather. Many Germans and people who have been to other Christmas markets will say and have told me that I didn't really pick the best one. "The ones in the smaller towns are much better," they say. This is probably true. Not knowing what to expect at all though, this met and exceeded all my expectations. I ended up seeing a lot more than the Christmas markets in Munich. I also saw the Neuschwanstein castle, Tollwood (a huge international festival), and the first concentration camp, Dachau. It was quite the range of sights. Highs - Couchsurfing: my host was kind enough and everything, but really couchsurfing saved me some major $$$ this trip. He was incredibly gracious and even cooked me dinner my first night! - Gluhwein: The closest we have is mulled wine. It's probably technically the same, but I just have never had mulled wine as good as the gluhwein (gluh-vine) in Munich. Maybe the atmosphere and cold weather help add to the flavor. - Sausages: The German know their sausages. I had so many types and flavors. The list (and jokes, I'm sure) could go on and on. - Meeting a beautiful new friend from Portugal who I spent close to two days touring sights with. Now I'll have to add Portugal to my list. - Dachau: It's hard to say this is a high, but if you are close to a concentration camp it is worth your time and money to see it. Lows - Cold: Munich was so cold. Worse than just cold because it's also humid/wet. It's the type of cold that sweeps into your bones and takes hours to thaw out. After a mild Greek climate, Munich was a polar plunge that I was not quite ready for. - Neuschwanstein: This castle is the castle that Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty's castle off of for the movie and Disney's parks. The pictures I saw and everything looked lovely. The fogginess of the day prevented us from seeing much of anything except the inside of the castle. - German Humor: Or should I say the lack of it. Even when they try to be funny or say sarcastic things, it feels like they just come off as mean. Maybe I just didn't meet the funniest Germans, but even they watch British and American comedies. Name the last German comedy you really enjoyed. - So Expensive: Munich was a huge sticker shock. I had been living fairly comfortably in Greece. In Munich, I couchsurfed and ate a lot of cheap pastries and sausages (good thing they were so delicious). Prague, Czech RepublicPrague is beautiful. The buildings and skyline are just spectacular. Prague was not originally on my list of places to visit, but so many other travellers said I had to go. I'm glad I did. Highs - Cleanest Hostel: I stayed at Sir Toby's, which is a little far from the city. However it is the cleanest hostel I have ever stayed at. - Beauty: The buildings and neighborhoods are so spectacular. I really have no other words. - Dinner with an old friend: I ended up having dinner with a friend from middle school. How random is that? We haven't seen each other in FIFTEEN years. Now, that makes me feel old. - Blabla Car: It's a ridiculous name, but an awesome way to travel in Europe. It's basically a ride share. People post where they are driving and you pay them to take you. It's like a social network for hitchhiking that you pay the driver for. I got shotgun in a nice Volvo all the way from Munich to Prague. My driver even helped me get a metro ticket to my hostel once we arrived. Lows - Overly crowded with tourists: When you go to a city, there's just certain things you have to see. While I understand not all of Prague is like this, the parts that are part of the main "attractions" are packed. I didn't realize that Prague is one of the top FIVE destinations in Europe. The castle was as busy or maybe even busier than when I visited the Tower of London. It blew my mind because I had not been expecting it. Wasn't everyone else like me and knew nothing about this little gem? - Clouds for days: I came to learn that Prague has very similar weather to Seattle, something I'm trying to avoid in the next city I decide to settle. I didn't see the sun once in the four days that I was in Prague. Budapest, HungaryBudapest was equally as stunning as Prague but cheaper and less crowded. I also had one of my new favorite couchsurfing hosts. She was just the best. I'm not going to share a picture of Budapest or my highs and lows just yet because I will return there in the spring to explore it some more. That brings me to what's next... Where to next?After a very short stint in Europe, I am determined to return. I had pretty low expectations of liking Europe because I had always been more interested in Asian culture and history. The little that I saw though, had me convinced I needed to return...just when the weather warms up a little. Like the birds, I have migrated south for the winter and will stay here until spring. Here is what the next few months will (probably) look like:
- Currently in Bangkok, Thailand until the weekend. - Christmas on the Thai island (a Thai-land, if you will) of Koh Chang. - Starting December 27th I have a 2-3 month volunteer position in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with KOTO. - March 28th I'll return to Budapest and the rest of Europe. While I'll spend a majority of time in HCMC, I'll have about a month break in my volunteering to do some major backpacking. The goal is to hit at least Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and northern Thailand. I'd also love to do weekend trips to Hong Kong and Singapore as well. There's more pictures and blogs from the last few weeks to look forward to (so many stories!) and more that's ahead. Thanks for following along and happy holidays! |