Where do we begin? It’s been awhile since my last blog post. Although— so much has happened. Sometimes the stress of life overwhelms, and we just can’t seem to catch up. ‘Writer’s block” has happened to me a few times. I find I write best when my head is clear for hours – and I haven’t had that in awhile. Since my last post we have had some amazing travels- which I will be sure to fill you in on!
Before we begin, I would like to post a disclaimer: I never, ever, ever want anyone to feel envious regarding our travels. I share because I want to encourage others to travel, and perhaps help them with their planning. I know reading others’ travel blogs has really helped and inspired me! Some may think we “travel excessively”, or I often hear ” how do you get time off from work?” The truth is, Conner and I both work really hard. We both went to school for a long time, and are fortunate to work in good fields. We both love our jobs and we work hard, so that we can have fun and see/ do things. Compared to other countries (i.e. Europe, Australia), Americans actually travel very little. We don’t get enough vacation and holiday time ( in my opinion).
My husband and I work to really live- not live to work 🙂 I think anyone and everyone should, and can make their travel bucket list a reality if they plan and save!
Nomadic Matt is one of my favorite travel bloggers. He writes great information on how to make travel work on any budget- click here-You Don’t need a lot of money to travel
Check out these interesting articles comparing American holidays/ PTO compared with other countries-
And one may think that since Americans typically work longer hours and more days, we are more productive, but this is not the case.
Quite interesting don’t you think? And so now back to the fun stuff— travel adventures!!!!
So let’s back up, to where we left off- December 26th, 2016. The bittersweet “Gibbon Experience”. What an awesome opportunity to zip-line through the jungles of Laos and sleep in a treehouse! As scared as I was, it was really the coolest thing ever. And if you aren’t a scaredy cat like me, you would enjoy every second!!
So we leave the Gibbon experience in a crazy, non comfortable ride on the back of a truck. We arrived back at our not- so -nice accommodation to sleep- the Riverside Huay Xai. The choices are limited in that area, and I would have much rather spent a 3rd night in the jungle treehouse (tree rats and all- see previous post), but it is what it is. Our dinner at the hotel restaurant was not appetizing ,but we ate what we could bear, only drinking a beer to wash it down. I was exhausted – thank goodness.Awoke early to transfer from Laos to Thailand border via land. What a crazy experience!
We arrived at the border and arranged for a driver to pick us up. At the border we had some trouble. They said we owed more money because it was an “ off time”—hence, this was not an off time- this is just a communist country’s way of getting more money from Americans. So Conner got us more cash . We wait , and wait for our “driver”. While waiting Conner got stir crazy- he went in the bathroom to shave off his beard-and while doing so I watched a few families cross the border back to Laos from Thailand with new born babies. I mean brand – spanking- newborn babies. It appears ( and makes sense)- the Laos would cross over to have their baby in Thailand, which has better healthcare- and then they literally just walk their new baby across the border into Laos. Wow!
So our personal driver finally shows up- with a mini van . We get in and meet our co- riders- two young Israeli girls. They were so sweet. Over the next 2 hours we talked alot. I learned they were in the Israeli military. Apparently it is required for all citizens to be in the military. The two young girls-19- were in for 1 year Isreali military. I was fascinated to hear their stories.They explained that their parents encouraged them to travel after they were done with their military time. The girls would now backpack together through Asia for 6 months, how cool! They had already done volunteer work for weeks with a Mongolian tribe. They said it was an incredible, life changing experience. They were glad they did it- but would not do it again. They both got terribly ill with salmonella.
So we drive along across the Laos to Thailand border. We have been to Thailand before, but never to the North, and were headed to Chaing Mai- a city we had heard wonderful things. Cultural, political and just overall interesting talks between us and our new friends commenced as we rode along- our driver drove quite crazy at times. Our Israeli friends actually told him to cool down and drive slower. Thank God. I was too nervous to say anything, but was scared out of my mind. After a bumpy 4 hour journey we arrived in the beautiful Chaing Mai. It was 9pm but the city was bustling. There seemed to be a festival going on, the streets crowded with locals of all ages. Just the sight of the familiar tuk-tuks driving all around warmed my heart. Oh Thailand, I had missed you so!
We walked around a bit but eventually decided we wanted a good night’s sleep so we could make the most of the next day. We really only had the one entire day to explore the city. And boy did we make the most of it! We saw walked and explored and saw so much! Starting bright and early we wasted no time! We set out in our tuk -tuk to get closer to some amazing temples.
We had a busy and fun filled morning exploring Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and Wat Phra Singh, and just walking the streets of the glorious town!
I love architecture of all kinds. While I am Christian, I really appreciate learning about other religions and beliefs, and I find Buddhist temples to be beautiful! In Morocco, we saw some absolutely gorgeous mosques and Jewish temples, in Spain magnificent churches, in Cambodia Hindu Temples, and Japan and China ancient structures with so much history! Some say ” you’ve seen one temple, you’ve seen them all”, but I disagree whole heartedly. They are all amazing and unique to me and Chiang Mai did not disappoint!
We had the most spectacular lunch at Cooking Love- a wonderful, authentic , family-owned restaurant. The food was phenomenal and the service immaculate. If you come to Chiang Mai you must come here!!!
The Owner came over and chatted with us for awhile. She explained how her little family size restaurant has become so popular with tourists, that she continues having to expand. She is trying to find a balance between success but staying authentic. She introduced us to her small infant child , and her sons who were part of the cooking team. She gave us each handmade shirts as a keepsake as well. She was just wonderful. In our experience the Thai are typically so nice and friendly. They welcome guests, and treat outsiders with such warmth.
We said goodbye to our new friends and headed back out to see more of the city. Chiang Mai had some similarities to Bangkok, but was also different in so many ways. It seems quainter, and although a “ city” it seems more homey with a small town feel. At one temple I met a local man who told me many Thai prefer Chiang Mai over Bangkok. He explained the “authenticity” of the Thai culture was more intact in Chiang Mai. Conner and I enjoyed both cities so very much! I definitely recommend Chiang Mai to anyone visiting Thailand, or even the nearby country of Laos, as crossing the border was pretty easy!
For more reading on our previous Thailand and other Asia adventures click here –Conner Honeymoon Adventures
We had quite the long haul back home after our Asia adventures. We still had quite a few more adventures to come before we would return back to DC. Our next destination was Chicago. We had a layover there, and decided since we had never been there we should make the most it. We extended our layover from a few hours to 3 days. Now keep in mind this is December. We were leaving SE Asia where it was hot, hot, hot and going to one of the colder cities in the US. May I also remind you, we were traveling with backpacks, so we had limited space, and only clothes for warm weather.
Thank goodness, my brother Christopher had told us about a store in the Tokyo Haneda airport (our first layover), where we could buy reasonably priced winter clothes. We definitely hit the goldmine in this place!
We both bought warm coats, insulated long sleeve tees and pants at a very fair price! We were good to go! We just had to carry -on all of our new attire, since our packs were full.
As we were preparing to board our flight, I stopped in a shoe store just to look around. I checked out a few pairs of boots, but they didn’t have my size. The woman working at the store must have thanked me so sweetly about 5 times, just for coming in. I didn’t even buy anything! Boy, would I miss the sweet Japanese!
I don’t remember much at all about this long flight back to the US. I suppose I must have slept a lot, probably enjoyed a movie or two, as I often do on those long flights.
We arrived in Chicago late afternoon. A year earlier, while on a food tour in Madrid, Spain, we met an awesome guy Mark. We hung out a couple of times in Spain, and kept in touch via Facebook. Mark lives in Chicago and invited us to attend a Blackhawks game. He had a VIP box section for work! We were super excited, but literally had to rush to make it in time. I realized I had my dirty hiking shoes would not cut it for the fancy box seats. Thank goodness there was a DSW right next to our hotel- The Wit. The Wit is a DoubleTree Property, and since we earn Hilton points we got to stay complimentary.Beautiful hotel- and the complimentary chocolate chip cookies weren’t bad either!
We ran into DSW, and in under 10 minutes we both had a pair of winter shoes. I got some really cute black leather ankle boots! We were ready to go to the game! Mark met us at our hotel and we cabbed to the arena together. The VIP box was awesome! We had all the food, wine, beer we could think of!
We some very nice friends of Mark’s, and after the game we went out for another drink at a local night spot. We were pretty tired though and knew we needed sleep sow e could make the most of our Chicago days!
We were lucky- it was a fairly warmer winter week for Chicago- with a low of mid 20’s and no snow on the ground. We walked all around downtown, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Chicago Riverwalk. It was wonderful!
I was impressed at how clean the downtown streets were! People were fairly friendly, and it was easy to walk around, as well a hail cabs. After all that walking we had really worked up an appetite! We decided we just had to get some deep dish Chicago pizza! Conner googled one of the best places and we ended up at Gino’s East- and boy was it good!!!
The restaurant had a really cool vibe with graffiti walls all around. At each table you are given markers to add your own design to the walls.
We walked around some more, but were tired pretty early. The jet lag was setting in. We got a good night sleep, so that the next AM we could get up early to go the top of Willis Tower! A MUST do if in Chicago! If you get there right when they open, you avoid long lines!
We enjoyed Chicago very much, but it was soon time to move along!
I think 2-3 days is a decent amount of time to get a feel for Chicago and see many great sites! I would love go back sometime (maybe when it is warmer :)).
We still had one more stop before home! Conner diverted our flight to yet another layover in Orlando, FL, so that we could ring in the New Year with great friends! We figured we had off of work, so why not?
When arriving in Orlando we exhaustingly checked into the downtown Embassy Suites. It has become our go-to hotel when in Orlando. It is a great location, includes breakfast and happy hour and has decent rooms. We immediately went to sleep, but the next day before visiting with friends we first had to find New Year’s Eve attire. The only nearby mall had literally 2 stores- Macy’s and Express. We were able to find what we needed, and then enjoyed our NYE weekend ringing in the New Year!
By the time we arrived back to DC, we were so incredibly exhausted- but the adventures and memories made were extraordinary! Another fab trip in the books- but where oh, where would be our next stop?
Keeping up with Kinz 