Malacca, in Southwestern Malaysia, is a designated World Heritage City. The streets are lined with colonial buildings and ancient structures, and an even mix of Chinese and Malay cultures shape the city. After a long day of traveling, I was tired when I arrived in Malacca, but it was Sunday, the last day of the…
Tag: travel
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
After the heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and, well, everywhere, the cool, fresh air in the mountainous Cameron Highlands region was more than welcome. I only spent two nights and one full day in the tiny, one-street town of Tanah Rata, but it was a very productive day. The day started out…
Singapore Part Two
In my last post about Singapore, I talked about the shiny city with skyscrapers and clean streets that everyone associates with the city. In this post, I’m going over the other side of Singapore; the colorful, multicultural side that I didn’t expect to find in a city known for its financial hub and clean streets….
Ko Lanta, Thailand
A few weeks ago my mom visited me in Thailand! After visiting Sanpatong and a few market, waterfall, and elephant-filled days in Chiang Mai, we headed South for the laid back islands and beaches of Thailand. Before this trip I had only been to southern Thailand once, when I spent a weekend in Krabi, so…
Celebrating Loi Krathong
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…
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…
I Made it to Thailand!
After 30 fantastical hours of traveling (not really fantastical at all) I have arrived in Bangkok, Thailand! Before I write about my first impressions of Thailand, I have to mention how insane the Incheon/Seoul Airport is (insane in a good way). South Korea’s largest airport was not only massive, but also super clean (employees with…
Last Table Mountain Hike
On Sunday I climbed Table Mountain for the last time (that is, at least until I somehow make my way back to Cape Town in the future). I used the Platteklip Gorge trail, which is the most direct way up the mountain, but is also basically a giant, stone stairmaster. It took me a grueling…