Feeling Crabby in Krabi

In actuality Krabi was great. However, after dealing with the crazy and expensive transportation of Thailand, one can feel a bit crabby. A word to the wise, when looking at a map of Thailand, make sure you really estimate how much transportation will cost you. Staying in the more touristy areas, can save you a lot as you can join Minibuses and other mass transit to defray costs. Tuk Tuks, private taxis and even the ferries can be quite expensive. However, as usual we opted to take the road less traveled as we found an Airbnb that looked very unique in the jungle. We figured since it was listed as being in Krabi, then it would all be relatively close. Well, let's just say we were wrong...Again.

We took a Ferry from Phuket to OA Nang beach and spent the day in the beautiful shallow beach right near the pier. From there we decided to venture to our Homestay and after asking several people how to get to this town (which few knew of without us showing them a map) we took a Tuk Tuk for $20 (US) to Krabi town. In Krabi we were put onto an incredibly crowded bus with standing room only. There was no AC and we had to stand wedged in between people for over an hour attempting to avoid causing a domino effect by falling over either due to the erratic swaying of the bus or heat exhaustion. No one spoke English and it was obviously geared towards locals, but it cost us only $5 each (US), but it was incredibly uncomfortable. From there we were told to get off the bus in a town in the middle of no where. Again, no one spoke English, and none of the cafes had WIFI so we could not connect with our homestay we found on Airbnb. We ended up getting help from a local Thai lady running an internet arcade that was packed full of young Thai boys planning World of War Craft and who knows what. It was a comical sight, despite the fact we were sweating, lost and wondering around a town in the middle of nowhere. What did we get ourselves into this time?

OA Nang Beach

                                                                       Where are we?

                                                  Beautiful sights we found along the way


  

You can't always get what you want

Well, it's been almost our first month on the road. What a crazy few weeks it has been. We visited four countries, had four different currencies/exchange rates, three different languages (thankfully they spoke English in Singapore), took six flights, and countless taxis, ferries and tuk tuks. Why you may ask yourself, why would two girls who have a whole year to travel the world, be running through countries like TP when you have a cold (which we both did recently and used an absurd amount). Well to be honest we don't rightly know... When traveling you are continually looking at the current situation while attempting to be pragmatic about the future. As silly as it sounds, whether it be the fast paced lifestyle of the Western world still running though our veins telling us to move on or a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out). We have just been trying to see it all. While of course still attempting to be mindful of budgets, burn out and legalities such as Visas. We now have to admit above all else, we really just can't do it all. 

However, in the great words of the Rolling Stones, while you can't always get what you want, some times you do get what you need. While this month was absolutely crazy with so many "mistakes" made. We learned some great lessons, that we will take with us moving into the next chapters of our adventures. Through the ups and downs of the travel blitz month, we met so many wonderful people, saw amazing sights and even got a few great cocktail stories to add to the books. Phew, hello 2017 you certainly started with a bang.

 

Walking & Waterfalls

After a long day inside researching, planning, and booking tickets, we decided today was the perfect day to venture to Kathu Waterfall two miles from our apartment in Phuket. Our apartment provides a scooter, but we're hesitant to take it for a spin so we opted to walk to the trail head instead. The hike was short, sweet, humid, and lush. We wore our bathing suits but the pools aren't great for swimming.

We're so glad we walked because stumbled on a gym/spa called Herb Sauna where we got $10 massages with jasmine oil. The setting was beautiful with open air massage rooms where you could get a rub down while listening to calm music and birds chirping.

Navigating SE Asia

Getting around SE Asia is a lot harder than we ever thought. Call it blind optimism or stupidity but we truly thought we could hop around SE Asia like you could Europe. Well, my friends while it is moderately affordable to get around, getting from point A to B is a logistical nightmare. But half the fun I suppose (if you have time to spare). For example, we wanted to see Singapore but due to tight funds, we knew we couldn't afford it. So we intentionally took a 20 hour layover and got to do a free tour of the city! Boom, another stamp in the old passport!

Conversely, traveling SE Asia also means at times you are stuck pondering whether to stay in the outskirts of a town for cheaper or to spend more to stay centrally located. How much is transportation? Is it safe to walk around? Which beach on Phuket is the best to stay by? Every time we decide to move from one location to the next, we open Pandora's box of travel reviews, hotel booking sites and more. It can be daunting, however, if you take some time to do research before you book, it can really save you time and money.

One app we love is Rome2Rio, just about anywhere in the world you want to go, plug in your location and where you want to go and it will tell you how long, how much and the various paths you can take. Yes, it is amazing! It has saved us from numerous folly's and made us realize time and time again, that just popping from one place to the next, is a little more cumbersome than we expected.

Our twenty hour layover was worth it, Singapore was incredible:

S̄wạs̄dī (hello) from Thailand

We made it! After twenty hours in transit we finally have made it to Phuket. For the next twenty-four days we have rented an adorable Airbnb in the town of Kathu. It is a little town tucked out of the hustle and bustle of party towns like Patong. The condo has the most amazing views from our bedroom and we even get a free scooter to get around town on. After being on the move for the last month or so it feels amazing to have unpacked our backpacks for awhile and enjoy a little peace and quite. There is a night market next to our place that opens up every night with a panoply of fresh fruit and vegetables (see photo of our breakfast below...yum) not to mention numerous food carts boasting cheap Thai dishes and shall we say "unique" foods. Next on our agenda is to learn how to ask if dishes are vegetarian and then get to eatin! Yes, this is a little slice of heaven. Home base, how we have missed you!  

Calamity in visa land Pt. 2

We were the first ones to waiting in line to check in for our flight (punctual as always). We arrived 2.5 hour before our international flight, thinking we would have plenty of time to check in, eat a little breakfast and spend the last of our Dong. The ticketing agent then told us we needed proof we were leaving the Thailand on a PLANE. The bus tickets we painstakingly planned and already purchased in conjunction with a domestic flight to Bangkok would not suffice. YIKES!

Running out of time and feeling like to unwilling contestants on The Amazing Race, we agreed to only get our boarding passes to Singapore then get proof of a flight out of Thailand by the time we reached Singapore.With only moments to spare we purchased the quickest snacks we could find with our remaining dong (spending more on peanuts than you do on four Banh Mi sandwiches argh) and ran to the plane.

We flew Tigerair which has an option when you book for "Tiger Connect" it is a fee you can pay so they take your bags from one flight to the next. If you ever fly Tiger air purchase it (you'll see why). Since they refused to give us our boarding passes for the second flight we were told to go out, clear immigration and then get our next boarding passes with proof of a flight out of Thailand. Once in Singapore an airport employee warned us that many times once you leave the secured area, if you have a overnight layover they will not give you a boarding pass until the next day four hours before the flight. So now our bags are down circling the conveyor belt, if we leave the amazingly cush terminal then we risk not being able to get back in until 4 AM and the airport security could ask us to vacate until we had boarding passes. On the other hand, if we stay our bags could go to lost and found, and we miss the tour. Wow!  What a pickle we got ourselves into!

We ultimately, decided the cheapest option for a flight out of Thailand was to hop over to Kuala Lumpur for a few days. It is a visa run of sorts but hey for $128 we get yet another stamp in our passport and have an impromptu visit to Malaysia. Knowing our grave fate of sleeping (hopefully) on a few chairs in the arrival department of the Singapore airport, we did one last Hail Mary and went back to the Tigerair counter. Two new employees working this time, and we asked them just to be sure, if there was anyway we could get our boarding passes now so that we could go on the tour and get back into the terminal. These people were ANGELS. "Of course, one of you already has the Tigerconnect (not sure how this happened), so if the other just pays $40, we will make sure your bags go to Thailand and we can print both of your boarding passes here." What the what?! Never once did they ask to see our tickets out of Thailand, which we just spent several hundred dollars on only moments prior.

We can't help but cringe a little thinking that if we could have just talked to these people originally all the stress and the random trip to Malaysia could have been avoided. On the bright side, which there always is if you look hard enough. We got to go on the free tour (which we highly recommend if you have 5+ hours to kill in the Singapore airport), we had a relatively comfy place to sleep (fo free) and we are goin to Malaysia.

Lessons learned:

1) We assumed a bus ticket would suffice, even the Thai embassy told us so. It seems like we just had bad luck getting a ticketing agent in Saigon that wanted to play by the strictest of rules (in truth, it is the job of the airline to ensure no tourist is staying over 30 days in Thailand, so bring proof, printed if possible).

2) Ask someone, and then ask again and again. We were seconds away from leaving that Holy Ground of the Singapore airport and condemning ourselves to a sleepless night in the arrivals lounge or worse. We are so fortunate, we listened to the tour guide who warned us not to leave unless we were sure to get boarding passes first.

3) Sometimes, paying those extra fees does save you in the long run. For us, the $40 for Tigerconnect was well worth not having to clear immigration and wait till the morning for new boarding passes.

4) Stress kills, it is so hard to remove your emotions from a stressful situation. However, at the end of the day whatever it costs, or the discomfort it may bring you. At least we are traveling the world together and getting to spend this year with all of its trials and tribulations doing something that many can only dream about. We are so fortunate, even in these frustrating times we wouldn't rather be anywhere else. It's important to take a step back and have a little perspective.   

Calamity in visa land

Well, let me start this story by saying I am a bit embarrassed by our actions and I do take full responsibility for my part in it. However, there is a lot of misinformation and "regulations" seem to be up to the person you deal with at times. However, let our folly be your word to the wise.

We landed in Saigon with a great plan. Enjoy a long weekend of taking in the sights and then on Monday pick up a 60 day visa from the Thai Embassy and on Tuesday zip off for a month+ to Phuket and the South of Thailand. On Monday morning after reading many travel reviews saying getting a visa was super easy, we woke up early and planned on being the first ones at the embassy office so that we could get our visa processed and be on our way to enjoy one last day in Vietnam, getting massages, eating Pho and taking in the sights. 

Upon arrival, the lady noted that we had to prove we had tickets out of the country, we asked if bus tickets would be okay and she said yes but they had to have a printed copy as evidence. We had read so many posts about border runs in Phuket we had assumed we could just take care of staying slightly over the 30 days once we were in the country. Especially for a 60 day visa, it is really hard to book a ticket that far in advance when you are trying to live life on the wild side (you know sans itinerary).  After hours of running different scenarios and price checking each option to find the cheapest most effective way to leave the country. We decided to fly from Surat Thani Thailand to Bangkok then take a bus to Cambodia. 

Armed with the necessary documents we got another Uber back to the embassy. Filled out the documents with ferocity knowing we were nearing the end of the day, only to be informed that we couldn't get the Visa in time before our flight. 5 Ubers later and our last day wasted in Vietnam we discovered a few frustrating truths that could have saved us a lot of time and money if we knew them earlier:

1) Visas take at least two days! We should have gone in on Friday so we could have picked them up on Monday. Plan ahead for unforeseen bumps in the road and take care of business first! Usually, our M.O If you know us, then you know how shocking it is we dropped the ball like this.

2) Ask more questions. People tend to be short with you when there are language barriers but take the time to make sure you fully understand the situation. When we went in that morning to get the Visa, we should have made sure, if we did indeed get the printed proof of tickets out of the country, could we get the visa done in time?

3) Don't trust everything you read. We read so many reviews and blogs, that said it was very easy to get a Visa and that they did not have to show proof of an exit ticket. That pared with the advertisements of border runs we figured it would be easy. When in doubt be over prepared, especially when it comes to something as important as a visa.

4) Laugh at yourself, learn from the mistake and move on. Traveling with a companion it can be easy to get mad at each other of take the frustration of the situation out on each other. However, after spending so much time and money on a completely moot point we left the embassy and just had a good long laugh. 

At the end of this exhausting/stressful day. We remembered a vegetarian restaurant we passed in one of our Uber rides and decided to go look for it and at least take the opportunity to eat in a new part of town. Retracing our steps we were quite proud of ourselves. High fiving each other and reveling in our awesome internal GPS systems. Until... we landed right back at the embassy. We did a huge circle, didn't eat all day (our last day to enjoy the amazing foods of Saigon no less), and it started to rain. Late, tried and slightly depressed, we splurged to get yet another round of Ubers to our favorite Bingsu place (amazing Korean dessert). Two heaping portions of shaved ice, fresh fruit and condensed milk later, the world was looking a little brighter.

Thinking back to all the things we could have done differently could literally make you go crazy. Coulda, woulda, shoulda all you want. However, the only thing to do is to learn from the mistake, share your story with others so you may save them the hassle, treat yo self and move on.      

Oh the places you'll go

We are two girls that often stick to the rules and like have clear defined plans in pretty much everything we do in life (ya we are those girls). However, we have been trying to incorporate a more laidback attitude into our planning. You know, truly embrace our new backpacker lifestyle. Therein lies the conundrum: how to be laid back so that you can enjoy the journey yet not get stuck spending outrageous amounts on tickets or all of the good accommodations being booked. We can't tell you how many times we have found Airbnb's that are perfect for us with a pool, gym, great location, free breakfast for an amazing price that was already booked for the dates we wanted. So we were forced to spend more on a place with fewer amenities. 

In our short 18 days on the road here are some things we learned:

1) Not everyone shares the same opinions as you, so take reviews and travel blogs with a grain of salt. We stayed at several places highly recommended that we hated, while others that got mediocre reviews that we loved. When reading reviews it's helpful to think about the person writing the review, do they match your demographics? Are you the same type of traveler?

2) To avoid getting stuck somewhere we didn't like and give us more autonomy over our itinerary we learned to only look for places that have flexible cancelation policies. We also were able to book the best accommodations in advance so we knew they would be available if we indeed made it to those destinations as planned. Airbnb for example clearly defines whether a place has a easy, moderate or strict cancelation policy. Booking.com also has numerous locations in which you can reserve a room without even using a credit card.        

3) It seems in SE Asia particularly in Vietnam, they are great at photoshop and many of the places we stayed at did not look at all like the photos. We got room catfished many a time. Be sure to check out photos taken by fellow travelers for a more accurate depiction. We love TripAdvisor for this reason, and attempt to photo compare places when possible before booking.

  

4) We have used several sites to book rooms: Kayak.com and Airbnb are our favorites as they often direct you to the best homes/hotels. Agoda.com in particular which is linked to Kayak, has amazing prices. The hotels we have stayed in often also give us a lot of freebies: free breakfast, bikes, cooking classes, which can add up to a larger value if you would pay for those things anyway.

5) It's nice to have the community hostels create. However, like life being like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get in terms of your hostel dorm room mates. Let me tell you, they won't all be your favorite flavor either. We got sick from some inconsiderate dorm mates that were sick as dogs who stayed up coughing and hacking all night right next to our faces. Que cold medicine and missing out on beach days and the savings of staying in a hostel were not worth it.   

Above all else, when in doubt just go for it. Some of our "mistakes" have landed us in the best locations possible that we loved.

Ho Chi Minh and the Hostel

We've been wi-fi challenged for the past few days, so we apologize for the lack of posts. Since we last posted we've migrated to the busy city of Ho Chi Minh where we've experienced our first dormitory in a hostel. Upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh five hours later than anticipated,
the driver found Townhouse 50 (the hostel we stayed in) easily, which was relief. A lot of the time we find ourselves being driven around in circles and the taxi drivers asking bystanders with babies and old men for directions. The hostel is down an alley way and turned out to be very quaint and clean with a really friendly and helpful front desk guy named Johnny. He recommended a delicious and affordable pho restaurant right up the street called Pho Van. The dorm wasn't terrible with eight bunks, lockers for your bags, and air conditioning. We've always wanted bunk beds anyways. Our bunk mates were two girls who like us, had quit their jobs in enterprise sales to travel for four months. We all hit it off and were having fun when the rest of our roommates arrived. Two Japanese women in their 60's or 70's who we nicknamed the dragon ladies, and a disgruntled American who had a cold. As per usual we retired around 9pm, snuggled in our silk sacks. A few hours later we woke up to what sounded like a dragon snoring and someone blowing their nose so loud it sounded like a trumpet horn. Needless to say no one slept much that night. In the morning we enjoyed the hostels delightful complimentary breakfast of fresh fruit, fried eggs, and baguette, and immediately
after booked a private room close by for .50 more.  We stayed in the dorm one more night which was much more restful. We had three new roomies who were much quieter. By the next morning we were a little attached to our little community and sad to say goodbye, but also ready for our own space, being the 6am risers we are. It was great meeting people from all over the world with different stories. In the fifteen days we've been in Vietnam we have traveled from Hanoi in the North to the Mekong Delta in the South. Its been an amazing whirlwind. Vietnam has been delicious and beautiful, saying goodbye will be a somber experience. Although, after the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh it will be beneficial for us to get back to normalcy in our apartment we rented in Phuket for a few weeks and be able to hear ourselves think.

The quest for the ultimate Bahn Mi

Yes, if you are an aficionado of great Banh Mi, then you must make the pilgrimage to Banh Mi Phuong. Around 11 AM we jumped in behind a few folks and were shocked to see how many people started to get in line behind us. Being vegetarians we ordered the Op La, which is fried egg and it comes topped with all the usual suspects, picked veggies, lettuce, herbs and sauces. Many travel sites recommend being cautious of eating raw veggies due to the water they wash them in. I am happy to report, we did not get sick, and even went back for seconds. If you want a good sandwich and want to avoid lines, try and get there early. From what we saw the line starts around noon and keeps going throughout the day. However, the women running the line are throwing your toppings in with chopsticks at lightening speeds and the line goes pretty quick, so even if your a late riser, make the time to stop by.

Vegitarian delights

A lot of our foodie friends were shocked and appalled when we told them we were going to do our best to maintain our vegetarian diet throughout our gap year. However, Vietnam in particular is 70% Buddhist so even though we have seen every type of meat under the sun cooking here. We have actually been able to truly enjoy the foods of Vietnam. Some of our favorite items: mango sticky rice, White Rose (rice flour raviolis), Mi Quang noodles (rice noodles), Spring rolls, eggplant, morning glory greens and all the dragonfruit and passionfruit we want. We even took a cooking class and they were kind enough to modify some items with tofu so we could join the rest of the class.

We frequently search for "Mon Chay" on the menu which means vegetarian. There is even whole restaurants that are Mon Chay. Our favorite is Thien Nghia Quan, a little old lady runs this small café that feels more like dining in her home. After we placed an order with her the children running around the restaurant took turns coming up to us with little pads of paper pretending to take our order again. They were in fits of giggles each time we told them we already ordered. During our meals here we noticed how many locals constantly stop off at this little spot and get food to go or get off their motorbikes and enjoy a relaxed meal. We love going where the locals eat, no one is speaking English, the food is amazing and you feel as though you are getting a bite of real Vietnam. If you have the good future of coming to this spot make sure you try her stir fried Mi Quang noodles, served piping hot and loaded with vegetables this savory dish will only set you back around $1.50 US and will fill you up with noodly goodness.

Botanic Garden Homestay Villas- Hoi An

We loved it here! This quaint hotel is nestled off the beaten path surrounded by gardens, residential homes, and small cafes. A tranquil oasis away from the busy main streets, the hotel has two small swimming pools, a pool table, free breakfast, bikes, and a free cooking class. We ended up staying an additional night here because we loved it so much. If you stay over four nights you also get a free four course dinner one night and a free twenty minute foot massage. If you stay seven nights you also get free transport to and from the airport in Da nag, which ended up costing us around 430,000 VND on the way in (rip off) and only 250,000 to get back. The people who work at the hotel were very sweet and took great care of us. The location was centrally located, we were able to bike to the ancient town within 15 minutes or bike to the beaches. They did recommend getting taxis at night however, due to safety which cost us around 30,000 VND. Unfortunately, it was not very sunny during our stay in Hoian so the beaches seemed a bit ominous and were covered in trash (possibly due to high seas?). Hoian, at night in the ancient city is really something to behold and we did not run out of things to do in six days. We highly recommend spending at least 4-5 nights in Hoian.

 

The girls get new clothes

Packing for this trip, we were faced with challenge of picking essential items that would fit in a backpack and be versatile enough to last through the multitude of climates we will face during our gap year. The end result unfortunately left us feeling a little like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, except a granny less sexy version. In vain we tried to stand out less in our Columbia Sports Wear and dorky all terrain shoes... Low and behold, as luck would have it, Hoian, Vietnam the next stop on our adventure is renowned for it's food and clothing. Truth be told, we are quite fond of both of these things.

Hoian is a lovely city, bustling with life. Today we biked to Cua Dai street which is lined with little shops flaunting beautiful clothing in a myriad of colors and cuts. At first, we practiced great restraint and only purchased a few items. We got a cute short emerald green dress, and an amazing tie around romper for only $16. Feeling all powerful from our improved bargaining skills that we have been perfecting lately, we were still on a quest for a long dress at a good price. After stopping off at numerous shops and braving the streets of Hoian on our dodgy bikes with the squeakiest wheels in town, we decided to stop off at one last shop. Our search was in vain and the local shop keeper convinced us it would be best just to have the perfect dress made. For only $25 we were able to get a custom made dress made over night. Now, I know we have meager funds for this year long endeavor and this does not fit into our frugal AF mantra, but this was just too good to pass up. So I suppose for the next few days its $1 Banh Mi sandwiches for dinner to make up for our indulgences.

Regrets? Not if you have seen these beautiful clothes and tried these sandwiches. They really are to die for. Our favorite spot for these delectable treats we stumbled upon yesterday. A display of steaming buns caught our eye and we jumped in line only to see the everyone coming out with the most amazing looking sandwiches. In the proverbial wisdom of doing as the locals do, we ordered one to go. After splitting one for lunch we decided we had to go back for dinner. Flaky warm bread, pickled veggies and an exotic mixture of chili and sauces, make this and in mere coincidence Anthony Bourdain's favorite spot for Banh Mi in Hoian. Just goes to show, sometimes leaving the guidebook at home can be half the fun. Ditching some of our Lara Croft granny clothes and filling our bags with the beautiful clothing of Hoian we are ready to hit the road again as we venture off to Ho Chi Mihn City.    

Relaxed in Hoi An

Our first blog post, talk about pressure... Our goal was to start this blog on the first on January when we started our "gap year" off celebrating new years in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sounds perfect right? A New Years celebration to commence the trip of a life time. Well, that's what we thought at least, until the reality of being 28 set in and we realized we are no spring chicken anymore that can handle 30 hours of traveling and going though a 16 hour time difference without some downtime. I regrettably must inform you that even with our best intentions of starting off 2017 with a bang, we hit the snooze button one too many times and slept though the festivities.

However, I am getting ahead of myself. As we do have a lot of catching up to do, does sleeping through NYE2017 excuse us from not writing? No, no it does not. Our lack of blogging has not been due to neglect but rather an issue with Google locking us out of our accounts. We had to use a "Proxy" in order to out smart the system and get back into the swing of things. I will be the first to admit we are not the most tech savvy girls but we can be resourceful when necessary and have a great support system of smart friends and family back home (you know who you are and we thank you). So cheers from the beautiful ancient city of Hoian and the numerous mistakes and lessons that have led us here. We can't wait to share more with you as we continue our trip of a lifetime that we literally sacrificed blood, sweat and tears for. Oh ya, and that great support system we mentioned from back home, thank you for helping us get here! Vietnam is absolutely beautiful, crazy, loud, delicious and unforgettable.