independent, intentional travel
There’s no shortage of taxis in Bangkok — you just have to know how they work.
Before going to Thailand, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d used an actual taxi. As a Millennial, I’m no stranger to Uber, which is similar in theory but totally different in application. When I’ve traveled abroad before, I’ve usually relied on public transportation. Although it may not be the fastest or most convenient way to travel, it sure is cheap. [Read more…]
Merry Christmas Eve! Our house is busy wrapping the final presents, watching football, and playing in the snow that fell overnight. My Italian sister, Gaia – who joined our family this year through the AFS program – is in the kitchen making tiramisu for Christmas dinner. Since this is Gaia’s first Christmas away from home, I decided to find out her thoughts on the holiday season in the U.S. and how it’s different from where she lives in Sanluri, Sardinia. [Read more…]
Guess what? Today is my 25th birthday! It feels a little weird to think I’m officially a quarter-of-a-century old, but I wanted to write something a little special to celebrate. I’ve had an awesome year full of travel, so I thought it would be fun to look back on my top 25 travel experiences from the past year. [Read more…]
Packing for Southeast Asia? Please learn from my mistakes.
Back in 2017 when I went to Thailand and Cambodia for the first time, I was committed to packing for two weeks in a backpack. I knew exactly how to pack — I’d done it plenty of times before, and at that time in my life I was working as a traveling consultant, living out of a carry-on suitcase most weeks. So when it was time to start packing for Southeast Asia, I was like “I got this.”
Oh, how hindsight is 20/20.
Not to be overly dramatic, but I did not “got this.” While I used the same principles as usual when it came to packing, my issues were mostly with the clothing choices I made. Fun fact: Southeast Asia’s climate/culture/fashion is totally different from Europe! (Who woulda thought?)
You can benefit from my mistakes! Here are the most important lessons about packing for Southeast Asia that I learned from my trip. [Read more…]
Trying to beat jetlag – US. to Asia – will probably have your brain spinning
There are so many things to love about traveling internationally, but there’s one big thing to hate: JET LAG. Who wants to wake up at odd hours of the night, unable to fall back asleep? Who wants to spend half the day wishing they were asleep when they should be enjoying the sunlight? The shorter the trip, the more imperative it is to conquer jet lag ASAP. [Read more…]
Dinner with Boong in Bangkok
As you may remember, this year my family is hosting a foreign exchange student from Italy. Gaia has joined our family through a program called the American Field Service (AFS for short). These students live with host families in the U.S. for 10 months, from August until the end of June.
When I was Thailand a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with a former exchange student from my high school days. Boong was an AFS’er from Thailand at my school during the 2008-2009 school year – almost 10 years ago! We follow each other on Instagram, so I told her when I’d be in Bangkok and we planned to meet for dinner. [Read more…]
Share your trip photos with family and friends to help work through post-vacation depression.
I remember the first time that post-vacation depression came for me.
It was Saturday, just a couple of days after Thanksgiving in 2017, and I had just returned home from my second-ever solo trip. I’d gone to Thailand and Cambodia for two weeks and had such a magical time. After 30 hours of travel — flying from Bangkok, to Tokyo, to Chicago, to Kansas City — “bedraggled” would have been an understatement as I returned home. The mattress on the floor at my parents’ house gave me a warm welcome and I plunged into blissful slumber.
I spent the following day, Sunday, with my family — cheerful, though perhaps a bit quieter than usual. (I was recovering from a 13-hour time difference, after all.) We put up the Christmas tree, and it was a good day.
And then Monday happened. [Read more…]
Think it’s not possible to pack for two weeks in a backpack? Think again.
It was July 2011. At the tender age of 18, I was preparing for my first international adventure — a two-and-a-half week trip to Germany to visit my then-boyfriend. Never having packed for something like this, and obviously wanting to impress my boyfriend, I packed almost everything I owned. I rolled up to the luggage counter to check my gigantic suitcase, tipping the scales at just barely under the 50-lb limit. Sigh of relief.
As the years passed, I continued to follow this same, pack-more-than-you-could-possibly-ever-need model every time I took a trip to Europe. But when I took my first solo trip in 2016, I decided to change my tactics. Knowing I would be constantly on the move, traveling around the country without staying in one place for long, it didn’t seem very appealing to lug that 50-lb rollerbag around with me.
So how did I, the former serial overpacker, manage to pack for two weeks in a backpack (and still have room for souvenirs)? Here are a few of my best tips. [Read more…]
I highly recommend T-Mobile for solo travel.
I was 20 years old before I got my first smartphone. I was a sophomore in college. Now, if you’re older than me, you may be saying, “Big deal! I didn’t get one until I was x years old.” However, by Millennial standards, I was absolutely ancient. [Read more…]
Relaxing with a dessert and a warm beverage is one of my favorite ways to practice self-care while traveling.
We travel because it’s what we love to do. It’s exciting and it’s challenging. But for independent travelers, it’s not all fun and games. There are trains to catch, new places to explore, and decisions to be made. For whatever period of time we’re traveling, we feel like we have to be on all the time. We sometimes feel like any time not spent doing is time wasted. It can be exhausting.
Because of this, it’s easy to get burned out. But this is your trip, and yours alone. You’re in charge, so it’s up to you to ensure you don’t get burned out. It’s not always easy, but it is possible. Here’s a list of my favorite ways to practice self-care while traveling. [Read more…]