This year while my family and friends were stuffing their faces with turkey and pie for Thanksgiving, I was celebrating Loi Krathong in Thailand! It is purely coincidence that Loi Krathong fell exactly on Thanksgiving this year, but I was happy to have a reason to celebrate while far from home. Loi Krathong is a…
Tag: destinations
A Weekend in Nan, Thailand
This weekend my fellow foreign teachers and I ventured away from our home in San Pa Tong to Nan, Thailand’s Northeastern-most province, which borders Laos. Just a cozy 5-hour night-bus away from the city of Chiang Mai, Nan is a rural province that borders Laos and is known for its spectacular national parks, the most…
Grand Palace, Bangkok
I have been to some beautiful mountain tops that can’t be beat, but the Grand Palace in Bangkok is by far the most beautiful man-made structure I have ever seen. It’s not just one Palace, but a complex of temples and buildings where the king lived for centuries (until the mid 1900s). The Grand Palace…
Nights Out in Bangkok
I only had one week in Bangkok, and because of jet lag and exhaustion from a busy teaching orientation schedule, I only had three nights out to explore the city. Night one was a trip to the famous Khao San Road, known as ‘the center of the backpacking universe’. This long street is lined with…
The Garden Route
Last weekend my housemates and I took a trip along the garden route, a famous stretch of coastline on Route 62 between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The garden route is 300 kilometers of beautiful South African mountains, Karoo plains, vineyards, and game reserves littered with lots of little towns and attractions. Views from the…
Echo Valley and Boomslang Cave
On Friday I headed to Boyes Drive just above the Kalk Bay train station for a 3 hour hike through Echo Valley. The Echo Valley trail leads up to Boomslang Cave, a cave that cuts right through the mountain. The hike to the cave was very steep and rocky, often requiring us to climb over…
Cape Malay Cooking in Bo Kaap
I had been looking forward to visiting Bo Kaap to see the iconic colorful houses since arriving in Cape Town. Bo Kaap, which translates to “Upper Cape” in Afrikaans, is situated on the slopes of Signal Hill just above the city center. Settled in the 1700s by Dutch colonists, the area is made up of brightly…
Kalk Bay
On Sunday, my friends and I took a train to Kalk Bay, a fishing village on the False Bay coastline. The scenic 45 minute train ride along the coast costed R13, the equivalent of about $1 USD. Sitting between the mountains and the ocean, Kalk Bay is known for its rich character and and colorful…
Rock Climbing at Silvermine
On Friday morning I headed to my job for what I expected to be another normal workday. At about 9AM my boss informed me that he would be leaving to go rock climbing with a visiting supplier at around 10:30, and asked if I would like to join. Determined to be open to lots of…
My Birthday Weekend in Cape Town
Last weekend I decided to celebrate my 22nd birthday South African style! I started by attending a rugby match at Newlands Stadium with my housemates. Surrounded by cheering fans, the Cape Town Stormers defeated the Japanese Sunwolves (probably because they knew it was my birthday). I wasn’t really sure what was going on for most…