Getting there is half the battle especially in Myanmar

It sounds so blissful, bouncing around the world in a perpetual state of vacationland. While in many ways it is just that. What you may not see from the photos we share or our merry check-ins with family and friends when we exclaim "it's so beautiful here." Is the fact that getting around, especially on a backpackers budget is not always glamorous. Anytime we move destinations we generally invest 12+ hours on travel, taking numerous modes of transport from old taxis with no AC to buses and even the occasional boat.

For example, I took a 13 hour bus ride from Yangon to Nagapali beach. There was a flight offered but costing $100 compared to the $11 bus ride, my tight travel budget demanded the slow route.
In SE Asia the horn seems to be the driver's best friend. They use it at every corner, passing every dog, pedestrian and car on their way. This sharp piercing noise pared with blaring Burmese music for 13 hours straight was akin to Chinese water torture. Now comes the fun part, during the twist and turns of the dilapidated roads my fellow wary car sick travelers started using what they affectionately call "happy bags."  Several times during our journey the bus driver would pull over and they would throw buckets of water on the engine to cool it off, making me question the integrity of said engine and these rest stops boasted nothing more than outhouse squatty potties.  Oh the joys of traveling! But hey, I arrived almost $90 richer than if I had taken the plane and I got a lot of character building out of it. We get a lot of that these days and the destinations are always worth it.

     

Enchanting Elephants

One of the highlights of Chiang Mai was the day we spent with the elephants. After a lot of research, we went with a reasonably priced half day tour with an ecotourism company called Elephant Jungle Eden. This company provides a sanctuary for retired riding or mistreated elephants and has a no-ride policy. After changing into our elephant shirts we hiked down a mountain to meet the elephants. We fed them sugar cane, watermelon, and cucumbers which they would snatch with their trunks. I don't think either of us have smiled that big and that much in a long time, I certainly couldn't wipe the grin off of my face. Once they were well fed we went for a hike in the jungle to a hut overlooking  waterfall where we ate fried rice from a banana leaf and took a nap, followed by a swim in the waterfall and a hike back up the mountain. Bath time was interesting...we caked ourselves and elephants in mud and then rinsed them clean in a stream.
Overall, it was a magical day interacting with these beautiful and strong gentle giants. The only thing bigger than their stature is their spirit.

Chiang Mai you so fine

Northern Thailand is amazing! We rented a condo for a month in Chiang Mai at the Tree Boutique Hotel. After staying in countless rooms where the shower head was literally on top of the toilet and the mattresses were hard as rocks with seriously outdated bedding (thank goodness for silk sacks). We reveled at our new accommodations that had brand new sheets, real towels, hot showers, and a small kitchen! We were truly living it up. Our hotel even furnished us with bikes to explore the city with. Which we took full advantage of biking six plus miles everyday to take in all the sights.

Chiang Mai, has a very distinct flare to it. "Old City" boasts everything from $9 massages to organic/ vegetarian restaurants. Several nights a week there are huge markets that sell culinary delights from Indian food, handmade coconut ice cream, to just about anything on a stick. We occupied our time by getting out to sights like the Chiang Mai Grand Canyon, took yoga classes, a Thai cooking class, and even several Muay Thai boxing classes. Learning new things in a beautiful city. Life is good.

The Yoga bug

Some of the best things that happen on a trip are those that you do not plan on. We came to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. Beautiful, majestic and incredibly hot, we found that after a few days we were templed out. However, we really enjoyed Cambodia, affordable accommodations, delicious, food, and friendly people. After being on the constant move for the past few weeks, we decided Siem Reap, was as good as any place to call home.

We found a local Yoga studio to help us Zen out at and take a brief reprieve from life on the road. Everything fell into place, we found a nice hotel right next door to the studio that gave us free breakfast and two beds for under $7 a person! Which allowed us to take 3-5 classes of yoga a day and have a place to cool off from the Cambodian heat.

We started our days before sunrise doing yoga as the birds started to wake up in the mango trees. Pure magic. Each instructor taught a different style so we dabbled in everything from flying yoga to traditional Vinyasa. We felt an instant sense of community that we have been craving sense hitting the road. The classes were challenging and gave us not only the physical but mental challenge we craved. Needless to say, we are hooked! We have already found yoga studios in many of our upcoming destinations. Thank you Blue Indigo Yoga, for giving us what we didn't even know we were missing.

    

  

Pub Street Siem Reap Cambodia

As the Cambodian sun sets and a cool night breeze starts awakening those who know better than to brave the heat of the day. At this blissful hour, Pub street starts to come alive. Characterized by the typical SE Asian panoply of various styles of music being played from each bar at almost unbearable decimals, each promoter attempts to get you to visit their bar over their neighbors. Although, comparatively to places like Patong in Thailand, Siem Reap's Pub Street is relatively demur. While, you can find a few nightclubs going till the wee hours of the morning. You can also find unique culinary treats such as fried crickets and scorpions. A little down the street there is also a night market where a savvy bargainer can find some great gifts for those back home. Not to be missed is having fish suck the dead skin off your feet. It is quite a unique sensation and many places you can get it done for $2.00 while you enjoy a free beer. For under $10.00 each we had an amazing dinner, enjoyed a few drinks on a rooftop terrace and danced the night away. Needless to say, although once was enough for us, it was a lot of fun.


     

    

Speedboat to Phi Phi

 Overall, Phuket was a relaxing and enjoyable place to set roots in for a few weeks. There are so many islands and beautiful beaches to explore. While we were there we saw Koh Lanta, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and the Phi Phi Islands. When Lily was visiting we took a speedboat tour to Phi Phi Island, and it turned out to be a huge mistake. If you go to Phi Phi, take the ferry and plan to stay a while. The photo above was taken right before many of our boat mates became very, very sea sick. We spent the entire hour sitting next to people with their heads in "happy bags."

The trip was worth it in the sense that we got to see a handful of islands in a day, but they only stopped at the harbor for lunch on Phi Phi, which is where we wanted to explore the most. Once we got seats in the bow of the boat the trip was much more enjoyable. We should have taken our friends advice and done the pirate ship cruise, but every experience is an opportunity to learn. At the end of the day its about the company you have and the memories you made.

Well hello again

Well, to say we have been negligent about our blog would be an understatement. However, we have truly been living in the moment. Which is what it is all about right? Our dear friend came to visit us from the States for three short weeks and we did our best to show her the best time possible. Often starting early in the morning and going till late at night (some nights very late, enjoying the unique cultural experience of nightlife destinations such as Pub Street in Siem Reap and Bangalore road in Phuket). For example, on our friend's last 24 hours. We woke up at 4 AM and watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, then proceeded to do a tour of the beautiful and majestic temples. We took a brief reprieve from the crazy Cambodian heat in the comfort of our AC room and were off again on a tuk tuk to the other side of Siem Reap to climb up a massive hill to some temple ruins to watch the Sunset. After, we hit Pub Street to try a few tasty delicacies such as scorpions and crickets on a stick. We had fish suck the dead skin off our weary feet and danced the night away to two very talented Cambodian singers that did awesome covers of 80's rock bad music. As you can see, with these jam packed days, little time was left to allocate to blogging and the like. We are now currently regrouping and getting used to being just the two of us yet again on the open road.