Hello hello! So I have been in Australia for about a month now, and I wanted to update you on everything that’s been going on. Basically, I’m getting my feet wet and setting up a plan for the next few months. Here are some of the highlights of what I’ve been up to while housesitting and slowly exploring Brisbane.
Tag Archives: traveling
Bucket List: Chiang Mai, Thailand
They say that Bangkok is the Backpacker Capital of the World, but I think that title belongs to Chiang Mai. There are so many things to do in Chiang Mai, especially bucket list items. Below are top ten tours and activities that you should put on your list; you may just have to extend your stay 🙂
The Boring Side of Backpacking: Killing Time, Being Productive, and Relaxing for a Second
The day after I left my hostel job, I used some points on a hotel and absolutely crashed. I had plans to go to a Firefly Park with friends, but I was overwhelmed and retreated. The moment my head hit the (four!) pillows (luxury!), I realized that I was completely, utterly exhausted. I could barely move. I didn’t leave the building for the next 24 hours…I extended my stay another night because I needed to get my energy back and make a game plan. My flight to Australia wasn’t until the 12th of October…and it was the 23rd of September. I had originally booked a trip to Bali, but fears of Mt. Agung’s possible eruption kept me in Malaysia. (The alert level for the airport was one step away from completely shutting down, and I had a cat to sit. Honestly, if I didn’t have obligations in Australia, I might have risked getting stuck in the world of the Yoga Barn.) I had a very limited budget, a weak source of freelancing income, over two weeks before my flight to Australia, and no plan…so I had to kill some time.
Me, Too.
I saw the “Me too.” statuses going around Facebook pretty early on, and I didn’t think too hard about copying and pasting the status. The idea of showing your social network just how often women are sexually harassed or assaulted is meant to be a wake-up call for men. Without going into detail about my experiences (yet), I also was curious as to how many women would participate. I knew it would make me feel less alone.
Life As a Digital Nomad: Y’all Know I Worked 70 Hours a Week Before I Went Traveling, Right?
In Penang, I spent most of my time with a fellow digital nomad lady friend. We both work online. Social media makes this life look pretty easy, and I’ll admit, I find immense joy in being able to work from a bus seat or a bike-themed coffee shop or just from my bed, at any hour. Exploring George Town with Becky was great because even though we explored art galleries and had drinks on Love Lane and ate delicious chocolate cake, we were perfectly content with sitting in silence, working on our laptops. For a few hours at a time.
I work quite a bit in between motorbiking and drinking Changs in order to keep traveling. And even though I’m spending a lot of time working while I’m traveling, it’s nothing compared to how much work I did back in Austin to get here. Y’all, I was clocking in up to 70 hours a week.
Ladies’ Night and Rooftop Bars: Your Guide to Kuala Lumpur’s Nightlife
If you’re traveling through Southeast Asia, you may have a layover or a pit stop in Kuala Lumpur. You’ll find that Malaysia’s capital city has it all, from nature parks to shopping malls to great nightclubs with cheap drinks.
If you have a day in the city, use this great Kuala Lumpur guide to plan your itinerary. Once you’ve had dinner and a drink at Jalan Alor, however, it’s time to explore Kuala Lumpur’s exciting nightlife.
Travel Does Not Cure Anxiety.
Backpacking is booking a flight to Bali on a whim, dreaming of The Yoga Barn and walking through the Monkey Forest. Everyone at the yoga retreat in Cambodia encouraged a trip to Bali. Your mom wants you to go. You haven’t read Eat, Pray, Love, but you know a thing about heartbreak and could use a chat with a monk and a juice cleanse. Your Instagram following could use a boost and what’s $3 a night for accommodation? Sigh. Shrug. Pleasant ‘mmm.’
Backpacking is uncontrollable sobbing in your hostel dorm, sending a flurry of contradictory messages to people who are on the other side of the world, who are ready to go to bed or go out for the night. Something, which you’ve been sure was ‘hormones’ the past two days, has a grip on each of your lungs and each of your eyes, relentless. You’re out of balance and out of control and wondering at what point you’re going to have to accept your personal definition of “failure” and book the flight back home.
Backpacking is both of these events happening at the same time.
Can Vegetarians Visit Southeast Asia? An Herbivore’s Guide
Anyone with a dietary restriction may be hesitant before traveling to a new place, especially if you’re already dealing with new languages, new cultures, and new traditions.
I stuck to a plant-based diet while traveling through Europe, but I was unsure of what I would find when I got to Southeast Asia. All I saw on Instagram are people eating scorpions off the street, and I couldn’t find too much information on how easy it was to stick to a vegetarian diet. I’ve been in Southeast Asia for three months now, and here’s what I’ve learned…
This Isn’t Just a Story.
“I got into this business because I love stories. They comfort us, they inspire us, they create a context for how we experience the world, but also you have to be careful because if you spend a lot of time with stories, you start to believe that life is just stories. And it’s not. Life is life. And that’s so … sad … because there’s so little time … and what are we doing with it?”
Princess Carolyn opens the Season 4 finale of Bojack Horseman with these questions. If you wait too long to hit the pause button, you’re quickly ushered away from the drama by the ridiculousness of the adult cartoon, which features a wild amount of animal puns and some of the most devastating plot lines I’ve watched on television. I’ve already talked my coworkers’ ears off about the pure genius of this television show, so I’ll spare you.
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting The Batu Caves
If you’re heading to Kuala Lumpur, you might have the Batu Caves on your bucket list. Hostel guests always ask a few different questions about the Batu Caves, so here’s a quick guide with everything you need to know about heading to the Batu Caves for a half-day trip!