Best thing about solo travel... not having to stick to your original plans

I love Thailand so much for the simple fact that it's cheap. I have managed to keep myself on budget at around $25-$30 per day. It's funny how your perspective of everything changes once your on the road and dealing with different currencies. A friend and I made our way from Bangkok to Ayutthaya for 60 baht a person, which translates to a little over $1.50... yes, you read that correctly. We got a minibus from a city an hour or so away for less than $2! Upon arriving, the tuk tuk driver wanted to charge us 150 baht to drive 15 minutes. It was hard justifying taking that short trip for that much, but when I started thinking about it, it really isn't that much. That trip was all of $5 for the two of us.

Food is also extremely cheap here. Before I left Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai, we stumbled upon this little cafe. For 50 ($1.50 ish) baht, we each had a decent meal and a drink. The food stall across from my current hostel charges 15 baht ($.50) for a full plate of scrambled eggs and steamed rice with some mystery drink out of a container. And the food is good! It has flavor, is hot and fresh (most of the time) and it's not totally unhealthy for you either. Their sanitary standards are no where near ours back home, but that's ok. I'm still alive, I haven't gotten food poisoning.

So anyways, done with the rambling. I had this whole plan of hopping my way from one city to the next after leaving Bangkok until I made my way to Chiang Mai. The more I thought about it, the less enticing that sounded. I have never enjoyed fast travel on my own. It's draining, stressful and usually uncomfortable and expensive. I had enjoyed some small talk with one of the guys staying in my room. He happened to be from the U.S on a travel hiatus and we had swapped some stories. We got on the subject of how I was going to Ayutthaya and he'd heard good things. Previously finding out he had no plans the next few days, I invited him to come along with me. Surprisingly, he said yes and the next day we found ourselves overwhelmed by the awesomeness that was Ayutthaya. We ended missing a huge portion of the city we went by because we were so in awe over everything that was right in front of our eyes.

Ayutthaya was founded in around 1350 and became the second capital of Siam. Over the centuries, the city grew and became one of the largest cities in the world around 1700. Ayutthaya was explained as one of the finest cities of it's time but unfortunately, it all came to an end when the Burmese invaded Ayutthaya and burnt everything to the ground around the late 1760's. The only buildings to survive had been the temples and some palaces because they were built using stone.

Matt and I wandered around for hours, from temple to temple, wondering about the histories of such places and the extravagances that once were. There weren't many historical plaques explaining about the temples. Most of what I've discovered are from pamphlets and google. At the end of the day, we were both exhausted and all I could think about was how much I really wasn't ready to leave the city. I had already taken out Lopburi from my plans, which means I missed some ancient ruins over run by the infamous thief monkeys. Did I really want to miss out on another ancient city, Sukhothai? So I procrastinated throughout the morning deciding on what I wanted to do. As I was gathering my things to leave, Matt woke up and we decided to go for breakfast.

It's funny how one event can change the course of your trip. I found a pamphlet down in the lobby of the hostel and began thumbing through it. I couldn't believe how much we had missed the day prior! Matt was astounded as well and just told me I should stay. So I did. And I didn't regret my decision. We ended up spending a few hours looking for a new place to stay since our other place was sold out but once settled in to our new hostel, we hit the road once again. We had a plan and a layout of exactly what we wanted to do. Except it didn't go quite as planned. Ayutthaya is like a maze of wonder. You are lead to one impressive ruin and as you're leaving, you see another across the street and then you run into a street market with things you've never seen or tasted before. Then several hours have passed and you wonder how you got where you ended up.

We did end our day getting to see everything we had planned on seeing plus more. Ayutthaya was full of known and unknown gems and I am so happy to have been able to take the time to enjoy the ruins and making a new friend. Travel is all about the experiences you have and the people you meet. Going to Lopburi and Sukhothai would have probably been fun, but I would have been stressed the whole time about getting from point A to point B the most efficiently so I could utilize my time wisely. But instead, I took advantage of the city I was in.

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Hotlanta Fun

Jeff LOVES cities, so when choosing a city to leave from this time, Atlanta came to mind. Last time we explored New York City but I wanted something new and different for us to explore together. It was a great choice and we had a blast!

Atlanta was anything but HOT when we went and stupid me, I forgot to bring jackets. I mean, who remembers jackets when it’s been 80 degrees through Christmas and New Year’s? Our first stop on the freeze train was the famous World of Coca Cola. I can’t remember being so cold since the beginning of last year when the weather plunged down to 19 degrees outside! I am probably exaggerating but we were pretty cold. Once we got our tickets and thawed out a bit, we started enjoying our experience. The best part about when Jeff and I travel, is that we end up having the same end game and this time, all we wanted was to get to the end to taste test all the different sodas and I wanted a picture with the polar bear. It surprised me how nasty some of the sodas were. I had one that tasted exactly like mouth wash and another one that tasted like cherry cold medicine that my parents would force down my throat when I was a child. Our favorite flavors were the Bibo mango for me and the Bibo kiwi for Jeff from Africa.

That night, we ended up going to a hookah bar we passed on our way back into the city called Sivas. (Luckily we ate near a mall and got Jeff a new jacket). I’d never been to a hookah bar before, so why not? It was very interesting. We decided to put a vodka shot in the water bowl place for a different effect. The feeling was similar to being extremely tipsy but only for 10 minutes or so, which was perfect for me because I start hating the feeling of being tipsy/drunk after about 30 minutes anyways. Since it was our first time ever doing this kind of thing, our server kindly switched out our breathing tube (?) for an ice one. Now that, was a pretty awesome feeling. It’s like feeling up your lungs with a toned down icy feeling and enhanced the flavor of the tobacco. I know I sound ignorant on this subject and I am, but we had fun doing it!

The next morning, Jeff and I tried out the CNN tour and got to be news anchors for all of 4 seconds! I’m a nerd for having the news channel on and watching the weather channel, so it was cool to see the inner workings of this particular channel. I can’t help but wonder how awesome it must be to work for a company like that?

Stone mountain was up next on our list and all we had to decide is if we wanted to take the freezing and windy one-mile hike up or the nice enclosed skytram for $10 per person. After feeling how cold it was on our way to the CNN tour, we went with the skytram. As nice as the hike would have been, the tram was the way to go. As soon as we stepped out in the open area of the rock, the wind smacked us in the face. Tears started burning their way down my face involuntarily from how bad it was blowing. We snapped several pictures really quick and ran back inside. Once we were a bit warmed up, we ran back outside for a few more brief minutes to snap a couple more pictures. No longer able to handle the cold, we headed back inside and waited for the tram to take us back down the mountain.

 

Jeff and I both enjoyed Atlanta and the time we had together. 

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Top 5 Reactions for "I'm traveling alone"

It is widely unheard of for a female to travel solo, especially a younger female. I have dealt with a wide range of emotions from people from shock and disbelief to support and and encouragement. I wanted to list the top 5 reactions I have heard from people when they find out I'm traveling all alone.

1. "OMG! Are you an orphan? What parent in their right mind would let their daughter travel alone?" This reaction probably pissed me off the most and caught me way off guard. My parents are amazing and while they aren't always excited about my escapades, they support me for it because they know it's what I really want and what will make me happy. And besides, I'm more than enough adult now to make my own choices.

2. "Aren't you worried about getting kidnapped or killed?" Of course I am. However, I was more frightened of walking into and out of work most days than I ever have been while traveling. As much as anyone may assume, I'm not stupid. I use a very complicated and intuitive amount of skills called common sense when it comes to my safety. I don't travel alone at night, I research the locations I'm staying and I get advice from people I know have gone to a place prior to me. I do not have a death wish and protect myself with everything that I have. 

3. What about your boyfriend/husband/fiance? Is he going with you? What does he think about this? Won't you miss him? Some people in relationships find it absolutely impossible to be separate from one another, which has always baffled me. I don't need Jeff, I want him. I am perfectly fine and functional without him but I choose to be with him because I love and adore him. Jeff and I are still at a pivotal point in our lives where we are still growing and we have grown together for the past 2 years, even when I went away on my last trip for 4 months. I am lucky enough to have a fiance that understands there are some things I need to do on my own. We each have our passions and he supports me fully in following mine, with or without him and I with him. Of course I will miss him, but if I never allowed myself to fulfill my dreams, I would end up being very unhappy and resentful. In a little over a year, I'll be walking down the isle to marry the greatest guy I've ever had the pleasure of loving and there's nothing that will hold me back from us being happy together. 

4. Wow! I'd love to do that but I couldn't ever do what you're doing. Yes you can! It isn't hard. Well maybe a little, but when someone says this to me, I do not quite understand it. I've always been told to follow my dreams and I have. Even when my parents weren't completely thrilled about me traveling alone, they never told me I couldn't do it or wouldn't make it. It doesn't make sense to me why people are so afraid of leaving their comfort zone and trying something new? If it's something you really want, why not fight hard for it? I know when most people say that, they don't exactly have the same exact dream I do but if you can say that to me, I will tell you that you can definitely do it and whatever excuse you give me, I'll tell you a way around it. It's not that you can't do it, it's just not enough of a priority for you.

5. Must be nice to have a trust fund. This is the second most infuriating phrase I hear. I don't have a trust fund or $30,000 just randomly sitting in my bank account. My parents don't give me money, although if there's something I needed for my trip, like shoes or a new camera bag, they'd get me what I'd need as a birthday or Christmas present. I have always worked hard for what I wanted most, and since graduating high school, that has been to travel as much as I can before I decide to settle down. Then, I'll work as hard as I can to support a family and home I wish to build. People think because they could never afford to travel like I do, that I shouldn't be able to afford it either, especially since I'm a young female right out of college. I enjoy proving people wrong ;). 

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Thailand Bucket List

I created one of these for my last trip and managed to hit every item I had set for my European portion. Now, I'd like to do the same for Thailand, just in case I need any motivation.

1. Rooftop Bar in Bangkok


I don't care about the price of having a cocktail on top of one of these rooftop bars. It'll keep me from having such a panic attack about being so high up off the ground. The view will be more than worth my fear or the cost of that drink.

2.Be kind to an elephant

 

Elephants are one of my favorite animals and when I originally decided on coming to Thailand, I could think of nothing else but riding one of these magnificent creatures. But I grew up, did some research and realized how abused these animals are in order to make them tolerate a person sitting on them. After a lot of research, I found an elephant camp with thousands of outstanding reviews that focuses on rehabilitating elephants and providing a better environment for them to live in. The Elephant Nature Park allows you to spend a full day with the elephants feeding, bathing and walking them. It may not be my dreams of riding one, but I would rather take care of something I love than be apart of what's hurting and enslaving them.

3. The White Temple



The White Temple is located in Chiang Rai and ever since I first saw this picture, I have wanted to go. I don't care if I go to Chiang Rai and see nothing else. It's free to get in to and is more like a modern art piece than an actual temple.

4. Floating huts in Khao Sok National Park



This bucket list item will be a bit harder to complete. I have a strict budget for this trip and these huts most certainly blow that budget out of the water at about $60 a night without any frills. It would be worth it, I know. But my head is screaming that if I do this, I'll have to give up something else.

5. Beach Massage

Obviously!

6. Full Moon Party


Just a party with a few several thousand other people where the drink of choice is a sand bucket full of ice, vodka, redbull and coke. Maybe not my smartest choice, but when in Thailand, right?


This is just a short list of all the major items I want to accomplish. If I made a list of it all, I'd be here for hours typing away. My main goal is to just enjoy myself, meet new people and take this time to reset my brain.


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Thailand, Here We Come!

In between busy and conflicting work schedules, Brittney and I have barely been able to meet up to discuss plans. We finally were able to send in applications for our visas and get our international driver's permits.

 There really is no point to this post other than to share what we're planning on doing while there. We're starting in Bangkok, obviously. Then, we will make our way through some of the older cities and ruins to head to the northern region. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son are some of the places we plan on riding around. The Elephant Nature Park is the one activity I am most looking forward to doing while in Chiang Mai. After getting our fill of mountains and history, we will be heading to the islands for some beach time. 

Brittney and I have done an exorbitant amount of research and talked to quite a few people who have been to Thailand. The only thing left for us to do, after receiving our visas, is to get on the plane... for 15 hours. 

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Our wish, Europe's Command

"Think about if you get stuck there. You will see Amsterdam, yes?"

I didn't possibly think we were lucky enough but I entertained the thought and excitedly turned to Bri.

"What if we do?! It would be my second chance and we could do a tour of the city, see the canals, go to a smoke shop..." I drifted off in my fantasy of what it would be like to return to a city I didn't really let myself explore the first time.

Bri wasn't on the make-believe train and didn't want to jinx anything. I was doing enough for the both of us. We chattered on about our time at Oktoberfest with one of the other girls in our tour group while Ingo chatted with our driver.

We pulled up to the airport, grabbed our bags and went on our way to pick up our tickets. There was no mention of a delay or problems with out flight and my excitement faded into sadness. Our trip was really over.

The security line was a breeze and we passed through without incident. They didn't even check our passports, which I found a little odd.

Two hours left to go. Bri grabbed a last German meal of fastfood schnitzel and potato wedges and I played on my phone near the weird hallway terminal. Some time passed by and we decided to walk down the hallway.

16:40. I did a double take at the monitor. I don't speak nor read German, but I was pretty sure the alternate time was our new flight time. We were due to leave Munich at 14:00. I approached the flight attendant and asked her if our Atlanta flight was still due to leave on time. It was. Clearly, we were not making our flight to Atlanta.

The hours ticked by and the thought of us actually getting stuck in Amsterdam hit me. What were we going to do? How would we book a flight home? Where would we stay? How would we get there? What do we tell work? They're going to kill us. In all of my years of flying and traveling, I have never missed a travel connection, and this trip, it happened twice.

Finally, it was time to board the flight. It's a short and painless flight and once we land, the attendants direct us to go to T6 in the connections hall for flight rebookings. We made the several mile hike, it seemed, across the airport.

The music you hear in horror movies began playing in my head as we approached a seemingly endless line of disgruntled people. We groaned and reluctantly began trudging our way towards the end of the makeshift line of luggage carts and caution tape.

Once we got the the end, it didn't take long for an attendant to come up to us with an offering of water.

"There are no more flights to the US today and this line closes at 11. You should go to the arrivals hall, get a hotel voucher, get some rest and call the customer service line in the morning to rebook your flight."

The couple in front of us advised against it, as the line was just as bad. But Bri and I shared a look, thanked the couple and moved on to find the line.

"Oh my god, Bri, IT'S HAPPENING!!"

The couple was right and the line was atrocious. Ingo had told us earlier to contact EF with any issues and Bri took control and called them as soon as we got in line. Everything seemed to be going right for us. Since Bri had got the travel insurance with the tour company, it would cover us booking a hotel. After 45 minutes of calls and waiting in the several hour hotel voucher line, we booked our hotel, and cautiously stepped out of our place in line, hoping we didn't just make a mistake.

As we waited for our hotel van to pick us up, Bri gave the customer service line a call to see if we could go ahead and settle up our flights. By the time we made it to the hotel, the representative finally had options for us.

"So, a night here in Amsterdam, a night in Paris and home on Wednesday? That won't work."

That did not seem appealing. My emotions were going through a whirlwind of emotions and then suddenly, everything stopped.

"Two nights in Amsterdam and fly directly into Myrtle Beach? We want that one!"

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Recovering in Oia

It's been quite a while since I've updated with a post about my travels and I regret it but I haven't had many places inspire me to write until I got to Oia, Greece.

As soon as I got to Oia, I became very ill and couldn't keep any food or water in my system. I had a terrible fever and got used to only being able to eat a slice or so of bread a day and a few bites of real food. I'm not sure what it was but I decided to fight through it and not let it ruin my time on this beautiful island.

I thought my first few days would be uneventful, spent at a beach close by and enjoying the sun. Boy was I wrong. I met a guy during breakfast that used to work at the hostel I was staying in and got invited to go to a local beach with him. About an hour later, he asked if I'd rather go out on a friend's boat with him. Of course!!!



We were driven to the other side of Santorini and picked up the boat. To say I had a blast in an understatement. We rode around and saw the different beaches on the island, black sand beach, red sand beach, white sand beach. All of them were gorgeous but also crowded, making me glad I had skipped out on going to the tourist places. After speeding around in the boat for a bit, we pulled up to this small, beautiful beach on Aspronisi. Aspronisi is a small private island that makes up Santorini and we had the beach to ourselves except for a small family. The cool water felt absolutely amazing after sitting in the heat of the sun.





After a bit of swimming, we were back on the boat and headed to get our lunch for the day. Our wonderful host took us to a village at the top of Therasia, another island nearby. The restaurant we went to was nothing short of amazing and had panoramic views of the bay area of the island. The owners are kind hearted and welcoming and the food is home made. They served each of us a use a huge serving of moussaka, a plate of fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, sausage and another typical greek food I can't remember the name of. By the end of the meal, I was positively stuffed and incredibly satisfied.







Soon after, we headed back to the boat and made our way back to Oia. My traditional Greek day wasn't over yet. Once back at the hostel, we got dressed and ready, watched the beautiful sunset from the private terrace of the hostel and made our way to a restaurant right outside the main road in Oia, Santorini-Mou. I got to listen to and enjoy a traditional greek band and dancing, the typical breaking of plates and yells of "OPA!" In celebration of a couple's marriage, free shots were handed out and everyone, including me had a great time.



My first day on this island was more than I ever expected and tops my list of favorite days during my whole trip.





While on the island, I stayed at Youth Hostel Oia. The prices are decent considering you're in the more expensive part of the island. You also get free breakfast, a private terrace to view the sunset (which after you see the amount of tourists that pile in to Oia, you'll be thankful for) and are just a short walk to the most picturesque part of the island.

The restaurant we went to in Thirasia was called Panorama Restaurant in Manolas. You can get there by taking a boat to the bay area and then a donkey up the road to the village. You can also walk up to it but the road is very steep and zig zags. It's worth it though.

I didn't get paid to talk about these places, just want to share my wonderful experience and hope that other people will enjoy these experiences as well :).