My first thoughts on being back in America:

1. I have entirely way too much stuff. Despite the fact that it all fits neatly into boxes in one closet, it still feels like too much.
2. Since when do we have to pay for bags at the grocery store?  I leave for 3 months and all hell breaks loose.
3. Speaking of all hell breaking loose, there is a hideous ferris wheel on the Seattle waterfront. I'm sorry, did a bunch of carnies move in while I was gone?  It looks ridiculous.  If you want views, that is what the Space Needle is there for.  We don't need both.  Thank god I took plenty of pictures of the skyline over the last 5 years.  I certainly won't be taking any more.
4. Furthermore, why is the Space Needle painted orange right now? When is the next mayoral election?   This crap can't continue.
5. Today, I observed a group of construction workers on a smoke break on the street. They were also drinking kombucha.  Only in Seattle.
6. A haircut and an eyebrow wax can make you look like a brand new person.
7. I don't like wearing seat belts.
8. As expected, the sun does not shine here. :(
9. Everything is so orderly! 

Tiger Kingdom

I miss cuddling with tigers. Drugged or not.

Hvar

Well, our hostel is full of drunk idiots, but hvar is beautiful.  We have to stay in our hostel again tonight, but tomorrow we're moving to a private apartment.  Looking foward to another day of sun!

The chameleon at our hostel

Onward

We had a great day in split yesterday and we are headed to hvar this morning via boat. I successfully downsized my bag. I'm now traveling with a daypack, a computer bag, and a purse! FTW!

Split

Safely arrived to our hostel in split!

Zagreb

We successfully made it to Croatia!  We're spending the day in Zagreb, and we have a flight to Split tonight.  I'm certainly looking forward to a day (tomorrow) that doesn't involve travel.  We're sitting at an outdoor cafe in Zagreb right now, trying to beat the heat. We will be staying in Split for two nights, and then we're heading to Hvar for 3 nights.  I can't wait to be back near the water!

Interlaken2

Well, interlaken was a total bust.  The storm literally shut everything down.  They weren't running anything (canyoning, paragliding, rafting, etc) today at all because there was too much rain and lightening.  So rather than sitting around at our hostel (that occasionally had power - it cut out during the 2nd half of the Eurocup final!) and dying of boredom, we decided to get the hell out of dodge early.  We're on an overnight train tonight to Zagreb, Croatia. We get there in the morning, and will spend the day exploring before catching a flight in the evening to Split. We're pretty excited to get out of the rain and into the sun.  We're both pretty disappointed that the trip to interlaken was an (expensive) waste, but oh well!  We just picked up a travel book on Croatia and we're chilling in a Starbucks in Zurich before our train leaves in a few hours.

Interlaken

We safely made it to Interlaken!  Unfortunately, it is storm of the century in Switzerland right now.  It is windy, cold, raining sideways, and there is occasional lightening.  No sign of improvement for the days that we are here. Oh, and did I mention that we're staying in tent/yurts?!  We're in for an adventure!

Zurich

Rachel and I safely made it to Zurich! I was able to get on an
earlier flight and got there 8 hours earlier to meet her! So far we
are both pretty jet lagged, but hoping for a good night's sleep!

Singapore

I'm currently enjoying a lengthy layover before I catch my redeye flight to Zurich via Dubai.  The Singapore airport is amazing.  It is like exploring a new city in itself.  So far I have devoured a burger king meal in an unladylike fashion. (I had only eaten peanut M&Ms since this morning).  I visited the cactus garden, which is a lovely outdoor area.  I've also obtained access to the free internet, shopped gucci, and scoped out the "resting" area.  I still have two more terminals to explore, and I still have to figure out how to spend my last 11 singapore dollars.  I can only hope that my layover in Dubai is equally entertaining.

Last night in Bali!

I celebrated my last day with a hot stone massage and two desserts. Zurich bound tomorrow! Albeit I have two extremely long (poorly planned) layovers in Singapore and Dubai! Looking forward to seeing Rachel in a couple days!

The Case Against Passion

The Case Against Passion

Great blog post! Worth a read!

The Bali philosophy comes to America

'Mindfulness' grows in popularity — and profits

http://mobile.seattletimes.com/story/today/2018484158/track-ip_news_lite-1.2.2-./



Get The Seattle Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/seattletimesmobile

Copyright (c) 2012 The Seattle Times

The view from my front porch

Yogabarn

Where I have been spending the majority of my time.

Chico

My new friend, at my new home

Other books I've read in the last few weeks

A Visit From the Goon Squad-randomly picked up in a hostel. Kind of boring. It was basically about a bunch of rockers getting old. It was entertaining enough to read at the time, but I've subsequently forgotten it.

The Lotus Eaters - good! About a female photographer working in Vietnam during the war (fiction)

Imagine- about the science behind human creativity. Excellent for anyone who wants to understand creativity from any perspective

50 shades of Grey - very trashy romance novel. Don't judge. Nevermind the fact that it was originally published as twilight fan fiction....

Liar's Poker- great read about the craziness of the bond market in the 80s. I think if you just changed the dates, it could be republished as a book about the wall street of the 2000's

Currently reading: Steve Jobs' biography - I haven't really been able to put it down so far. I feel a little strange reading it on my nook. I feel like I should be reading it only on apple products.

Yoga Blitz

We are back in Ubud staying at a homestay. We are really close to the yogabarn, and looking forward to doing more yoga!

Gili Islands

in case you get lost...refer to the "info" sign

This is the only way I will drink coconut water 

Our new home on Gili T -- Pondok Santi, the most amazing place I've ever stayed

A swing in our palm tree grove

You haven't lived until you've showered outside.

Standard.

obligatory annoying foot/beach photo

Escape!

Uh oh...who let Lars out of wal-mart?

Banana pancake

I just devoured a banana pancake for breakfast and am now uncomfortably full. Luckily I have this view to distract me. The last couple days on Gili Air have been amazing. It is kind of like camping at a fancy resort. We have nice beds and AC, but we need headlamps at nighttime, and we walk through a field of cows and chickens to get to our room. We've done yoga and meditation with hippie island expats for the last couple days, and it had been great! So far this morning, our hotel has played TLC, dire straits, frank sinatra,and the theme from Hawaii 5-0. Also great. Headed back to Gili trawagnan for a couple more days of island fun before heading back to Bali.

Gili Air

Gili Trawangan

After a scary boat ride, followed by a horse-drawn buggy ride, we safely made it to our hotel on the gili islands!

More travel reading

The Alchemist - fable about a boy searching for his destiny in life
Heart and Soul - imagine General Hospital in book form, set in Ireland.
Why Good People Can't get Jobs - examines the US labor market and explains how companies can improve their hiring process

Currently reading: Predictably Irrational - behavioral economics

What would Elizabeth Gilbert do?

We're in Ubud, Bali (made famous by Elizabeth Gilbert with Eat Pray Love).  So far, it is amazing.  We've gone on a health kick.  We're going to yoga every day, and drinking at least 2 fruit smoothies per day. In the evenings, we go to cultural activities, like Balinese dance shows and cooking classes.  For the record, Balinese dance shows are kind of weird and not worth your time, no matter what the guide books tell you.  We're heading to the Gili Islands on Saturday morning!

The zombies are coming

Seriously.  Now is the time to freak out.

Stock up on tuna fish, twinkies, and munitions at your local Wal-Mart ASAP.  If the shiz goes down within the next month or so, the rendezvous point is Bali.

Many thanks to Erin B. for sending the article :)  

Bali!

Arrived in Bali today and met up with Tatyana! Looking forward to learning how to surf!

Singapore Day

Today, I explored Singapore by foot!  This is probably the most walking that I've done since since EBC.  It felt good!  I also went on a short (free) walking tour. I was going to go on one that cost money (but came highly recommended). I opted for the free one instead.  A few interesting things I learned:

-86% of singaporeans live in government housing. You can only live there if you are married.  Until then, you live with your parents.  If you're over 35 and single, they let you into the government housing.

-The racial mix in the government housing must be proportional at all times.  They won't let you in if the mix isn't right.

-Singapore was founded by a Brit named Stamford Raffles. Best name ever.

-You cannot buy gum here.

-Gambling in public is illegal.

Walking along the river

$1000?! Doesn't that seem a little extreme?  That's around 700 USD.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Outside the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, looking back towards the city

View of the city from the observation deck of the SwissHotel (71st floor)

Chinatown.  Looks suspiciously clean and organized, right?

Buddhist temple in Chinatown

The street my hostel is on

Singapore

I successfully made it to Singapore this evening. Unfortunately, prices have more than doubled here. I miss the cheapness of Thailand already. But, I'm excited to explore the city for the next few days!  

The rainy season is coming

This knocked out the power for a couple hours last night.

The music of Thailand

These two songs are extremely popular at the beach parties of Thailand.  AKA, you'll hear each of them at least 3 times a night.  Given that I OCCASIONALLY have the musical preferences of a 13-year old girl, I quite enjoy them.



la gente esta muy loca....hahahah

Last few days in Thailand

I can't believe that my time in Thailand is almost over!  I'm flying to Singapore on Monday and staying there for a few days.  Then, I'm headed to Bali on June 1st, and I'm SOOOOOOO excited that my friend Tatyana is going to join me for a couple weeks!

Books I've read so far:

What is the What - lost boys of Sudan
Marco Polo Didn't go There* - collection of travel stories
The Price of Everything - nerdy econ book I picked up in the airport
Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them* - the title sums up the theme
Screwtape Letters - fictional collection of letters from the devil to one of his minions
Master and Margarita* - Russian book, also about the devil
Something Blue - sequel to Something Borrowed
The $100 Startup - again, title says it all
Freedom - novel about a dysfunctional family

Currently reading: Cambodia's Curse -- Nonfiction.  A little heavy, but interesting.  And book clubbers, I know that I'm supposed to be reading For Whom the Bell Tolls.  It is next on my list.  Don't worry.

*I'll confess, I didn't finish these books and only got halfway. 

Big day

I graduated from SPF 30 to SPF 20. I've come a long way from 50!

Needless to say,

I did not purchase a drink from this stand.

  

Over here, "Sara" is actually the brand name of a drug that is like tylenol.  I'm not sure if that came in the drink or not...

Koh Phangan

I'm currently residing in Hat Yao, which is a beach on the island of Koh Phangan.  I'm staying at what might be the best place ever.  For 500 baht per night (approx $16) I get a bungalow to myself.  The resort is super-laid back and chill.  There's a great pool, so I don't even need the beach.  But, if I do, it is just a two minute walk away. The resort has a restaurant and bar, so I don't really need to leave if I don't feel like it.  Which I don't.  Unfortunately, my visa runs out on the 29th, and I still haven't decided what to do.  Now I'm thinking about Cambodia.  Word on the trail is that Malaysia is somewhat expensive, but Cambodia is ridiculously cheap.  

I've got a few days to think about it.  I have three days here, and then I might head to Koh Tao for a couple days.  The beach here is amazing.  The sand has the texture of powdered sugar.  It is incredible. 

My home for the next few days.  This is my first non-airconditioned adventure of the trip.  I think it it will be OK though.  The islands seem to cool down at night.

Awesome sunset tonight with a longtail boat in the foreground

Errand day

Today, I accomplished a number of important errands:

1. walk on beach for exercise
2. arrange transport to Koh Phagnan tomorrow
3. arrange accommodation for Koh Phagnan tomorrow
4. get laundry done tomorrow
5. Determine how to extend Thailand visa if I want to
6. lay on beach

Today.

Relaxing in Koh Samui

Safely arrived in Koh Samui this afternoon. I'm staying at a hostel within throwing distance of Lamai Beach.  Things seem pretty slow here, because it is low season, but that is kind of nice. I'm sharing an 8 bed dorm room with just one other girl.  Trying to decide what my next move will be.  My Thailand visa expires on the 29th.  I can fly directly from Koh Samui to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, or Hong Kong.  Otherwise, I would probably have to route through Bangkok.  Right now, I'm thinking that I'll head to Bali via Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.  Anyone have any suggestions?

F$&@!

Bangkok

Made it to bangkok!  My hostel is pretty sweet, especially for $10/night.  However, it is 100 degrees outside and the interweb says that it "feels like" 108. I might die of heatstroke.  I might just have to plot my escape back down south.  Or maybe just all the way to Australia -- where it is winter. Or maybe just to an air-conditioned mall or movie theatre.

Tiger Day

Today, I got to pet baby tigers.  I paid for the CD of pictures of me WITH the tigers, but I can't upload them until I get to a computer with a CD drive, so they'll have to wait.  The place was called Tiger Kingdom.  I almost didn't go, because I had heard rumors that the tigers were drugged. However, I read the reviews on tripadvisor.  There are a few places where you can pet the tigers, and Tiger Kingdom actually had pretty good reviews.

I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least go check it out for myself.  So, I hired a car through my guesthouse (for about $11) to go out there.  The facility was actually really nice--waterfalls, music, nice people, etc.  You only get about 10-15 minutes with the tigers.  You can also choose which size you want to interact with.  You can interact with the biggest cats, all the way down to the 2-6 month olds.  I chose the smallest tigers, which were also the most expensive.  Something about lying down next to a full grown tiger just seemed unnatural.  I figured that if I loved the babies, I could still go in with the big ones if I wanted.  The babies ended up being enough.  You could actually get really close to the big tigers anyway (in their cages).

I'm not totally sure that they weren't drugged.  I don't really know much about that kind of stuff. They were all pretty sleepy.  But, all cats can be sleepy and lazy when it is 95 degrees out and people are petting them.  They certainly weren't stumbling around or anything, and they looked perfectly healthy.  Overall, it was a great experience, and certainly something you can't do at home!  More pics of me with the tigers to come later.

here is a guy with one of the big tigers

my baby tiger friend

some of the bigger tigers playing with a coconut

still chasing that coconut

the "baby" tiger's paw was still as big as my fist!

Tourist Trap

So Chiang Mai is well known for its outdoor adventures.  Trekking, elephant riding, ziplining, etc. are the things to do here.  I signed up for a cooking class/trek combo for 1450 THB, which is about $45.  Not a bad deal for two full day activities including transportation.  The cooking class was a hit, but the trekking adventure wasn't.

It wasn't totally bad, just not as awesome as it sounded.  Basically, we rode around in the back of a pickup all day and got dropped off in a "hill tribe," elephant "trek," waterfall trek, and whitewater "rafting."  All of those things are normally cool, but they are less cool when you just get dropped off and simply told "OK, now you ride the elephants," or "OK, now you do the trek."

The visit to the hill tribe basically consisted of a 15 minute stop while some village people tried to sell us handmade bracelets or various other pieces of junk.

hill tribe people selling us stuff

hill town

me on an elephant!

The elephant trek was substantially long (about 40 minutes).  The elephants wandered on a trail .  You could buy bananas to feed to the elephants during the trek.  For some reason, my elephant driver (handler?) took all of my bananas (two bunches) and gave them to the elephant all at once!  I didn't even get to feed it!









The waterfall trek was actually pretty cool.  We hiked through the jungle for about 40 minutes, and got to go swimming at the end of it. It was a much needed swim, considering the heat!

waterfall at the end of our trek

"Rafting" was more like floating in a shallow muddy river.  I think we went down exactly one thing that you could call a rapid.

Overall, it was good to get out and get some sun, and see part of the countryside that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.  However, my review of Chiangmaitic tours on tripadvisor will not be good!  I'm just glad that I got a good deal on everything so I don't feel like I wasted a bunch of money!

Cooking Class

I took a cooking class in Chiang Mai, and it was awesome.  I must say, that it was the best food that I've had on the entire trip. Probably because I cooked it.  We got to cook 6 courses, and eat ALL of them.  I don't think I'll need to eat again for at least two days.  My menu included: coconut chicken soup, pad thai, panang curry w/ chicken, sweet & sour veggies w/ chicken, papaya salad, and mango w/ sticky rice. As a general rule, I don't post pictures of things that I cook or eat on Facebook or my blog.  However, there are exceptions to every rule...

chopping veggies for pad thai

making panang curry

cooking panang curry

sweet and sour veggies and panang curry

me and the instructor, with my graduation certificate

Online number

Hi friends, I set up an online number.  Hopefully this will make it easier for me to communicate with all the airlines and insurance companies about my (still) MIA luggage. (I wish I had thought of it sooner.) The number is 206-855-6733.  It supposedly accepts text messages and voicemails. If I'm online, I'll pick up, otherwise you can leave a message.

Railay Beach

I spent a few days in Railay Beach, which is a small beach town near Krabi in Thailand. It was a really chill place.  Unfortunately, there weren't too many budget lodging options, but my hotel DID have a pool, and I got my first sunburn of the trip.  For some reason, wifi was impossible to come by in railay, so I didn't get a chance to update until now.

Railay Beach is well known for its rock climbing, which I got a chance to do yesterday.  It was pretty fun!  It was the first real exercise that I had since the trek, and it was the first time I had been rock climbing in about a year. Combine that with heat and humidity, and it was definitely challenging.  I went on a 1/2 day course (4 routes).  That was more than enough!  Since it is low season, it was just me and the guide. The guide didn't really do all that much besides belay me.  It was weird...he asked if I knew how to belay.  I responded "yes," and then he just started climbing.  Good thing that I wasn't lying, because he could've died if I didn't!  We got rained out for a bit, but there was a spot on the island that that stayed dry.

Monkeys!