Surprise trip to Hua Hin and Cha-Am!

My aunts, Na Thoi and Na Caig, and their mom, Yaey, picked me up and we headed towards Hua Hin

Four hours east of Bangkok, Hua Hin is a wonderful beach city... A little furthar than Pattaya but well worth it cause it's a much cleaner and peaceful beach

We're staying at my mom's friend's condo right off the beach... This is the view from the patio.. Yaaay!!

Khon Kaen

I'm going to visit my "cousin" in the northeast! 

I write it in quotations cause we're not really cousins, our parents have known each other since before I was born so we call each other cousins and each other's parents as auntie and uncle

I'm excited for the northeast cause it's my favorite type of Thai food! There's a lot of punchy flavors, really spicy and really fun!

Hong Kong

Part of making this trip count was going to Hong Kong... By myself... Partially cause I'm anti-social and partially cause I wanted to have an adventure on my own and say that I did it

I'm only going for 3.5 days so I really didn't want to bring much with me

Ayutthaya and last days with Sherena and Chris

One of the other requirements Sherena gave me was that she wanted to see the Buddha head in the tree so Ayutthaya here we come!

I took this tour with Viator Thailand two years ago and I enjoyed it so I booked it again

We were picked up at a local hotel and taken to a larger tour bus with mostly senior citizens... At least we can walk passed them faster... The tour includes bus, English speaking guide, entrance fees to 4 temples and river cuise lunch buffet

Floating Market

After Phuket it's hard to do anything else but Sherena wanted to go see the floating market and this tour and tomorrow's tour was already booked so we had to attend... 

Phuket + islands

Soooo excited to finally relax for a few days!!

Back to Saigon/Cu Chi Tunnels

We needed to be at the bus station at 7:30 so Roh came at 7, we paid him $1 each plus a little extra for taking us around the last few days

Mekong Express Limousine left on time and gave us each a wet nap, bottle of water and a small box of pastries and they stopped at a restaurant outside of Siem Reap for 20 mins for whatever anyone may need 

Banteay Srey

On our way to Banteay Srey... This temple is about 37km away from Angkor Wat but took about an hour to get to from our hostel

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Roh picked us up bright and early, he was so chipper at 4:45am while all of us were grumbling to one another… We were told sunrise was at 6:30 so we weren't sure why we'd to leave so early but we would soon find out

We had to have our tickets punched for the day and then we hit the traffic of people doing the same thing we were doing... SOOO many people waiting for the sunrise as well!! (The best place to stand is on the left corner of the Angkor Wat pond, we stood about the middle) You must be patient, bring a snack and if you can find good coffee, bring it! There will be many people ruining the peaceful and quiet ambiance, particularly Chinese people, but you must refrain from wanting to punch someone or pushing them into the pond.... Eventually the sun will rise so don't let those people ruin your moment/experience

Angkor Thom

After Angkor Wat we asked Roh to take us to Angkor Thom, just up the road a bit

The bridge entering Angkor Thom is lined with statues, some of which are being reconstructed

Cambodia/Angkor Wat!!!

Yay!! I can't believe we're finally here!! I really wanted to make this trip count and since I was going to be in Southeast Asia for a few month, I wanted to add something special to my trip. I had read about how beautiful Angkor Wat is and I've seen many breath taking pictures of it and I really wanted to experience myself... So here goes...

Our tuk tuk and our driver, Roh, came to pick us up just before 8am, we quickly finished our breakfast and were on our way 

Vietnam 2

I don't think this city sleeps... We went to bed and the street was still having a party outside, we woke up to the sound of cars, people and recordings of what type of Bahn Mi this vendor was selling

Good Morning Vietnam!

I must apologize for being behind on my blog... Sometimes I don't have wifi connection and I need it to update my blogs so I'm sorry...

Originally I was going to do this trip on my own.... I wanted to go to Vietnam and Cambodia so when I mentioned my plans to Sherena, she asked if she could join. Then her friend Chris said he was coming too... I'm glad for the company and the experience...

Chasing waterfalls

Today is the last day of the tour and the last day in Chiang Mai.. It may seem rushed but we were able to do a lot while here

Today's first stop is Doi Inthanon - the highest spot in Thailand. Formerly known as Doi Luang until the last king of Chiang Mai ordered that his remains be placed in the mountain after his death and the mountain was renamed 

White Wat and more

Good morning!

Elephants, Tigers and Bears... Oh my!

Good morning breakfast/coffee!

Chiang Mai

We're only spending 4 days in Chiang Mai so packing will be easy.. At least I always think so 

Days off in BKK

I only got Sundays off do I did the most that I could with it

Wherever my mom was going, I tagged along or if I wanted to go somewhere, some one would take me

I'll tell you about the places I go to or the things I eat... This is several days in one blog so no I didn't do this in one day

Stage

Stage is an industry term.. Short for the French word Stagiaire meaning trainee, intern, apprentice working for free.... Almost all stages are unpaid and a great way to gain experience or is required by a restaurant to "audition" for a position whether in the front or back of the house.... I got an offer at my last job because I staged 2 days a week, for 5 months... They saw my dedication, my abilities and my willingness to learn and they offered me a job 

Nahm

Chef David Thompson, an Australian born chef, had plans to take a vacation but when those plans fell through, he decided to go to where all the other Aussies like to vacation... Thailand!

When he came, he fell in love with the people, the tradition, the lifestyle and most importantly, the food. He stayed and studied Thai food for several years then returned to Australia and opened a Thai restaurant called Darley Street Thai... After several successful years, a hotelier in London asked him to open a restaurant in their COMO Hotel, and within 6 months Nahm became the first Thai restaurant to have a Michelin star. In 2013 Nahm was named Asia's 3rd best restaurant and one of the top 50 restaurants in the world... In other words, he's kind of my hero

Pattaya 2

Floating Market/Pattaya

My sister, Valerie, and her bf Joe are also in Thailand for a few more days so I'll be hanging out with them til they leave. They wanted to see the Floating Market and go to a beach city, they went with my mom's choice of Pattaya cause of their time limitations... I will be going to the Floating Market with Sherena and Chris later in my trip so I didn't really want to go but I also didn't mind

Bangkok

Yay traffic!... LA ain't got nothing on Bangkok traffic - it's horrendous all the time! And if at all possible, I avoid sitting front passenger of any car, it gives me so much anxiety to see the driving... People change lanes when they want, they drive in non existing lanes, they drive in 2 lanes, basically they do what they want and pedestrians do not have right of way!

Sawasdee Krung Thep

Aside from the crazy flight attendant bitch... I still stand that EVA airways is legit!

Packing - Abroad

I'm traveling on EVA airways, a Taiwanese airline that I feel is always consistent on their service, food, accomodations and prices

Day 2 and 3 in Portland

I came to the PNW during this time so I can see it at it's worst.... It's a clear and beautiful day in Portland! Even though it's now 50F outside, I'm still cold!! 

Portland

Finally!.... And it's still cold!!! 

After being delayed several times, I got in to Portland later than I wanted so I had to get to my hostel to check in and find food cause I was starving and I had an agenda 

Van City

I decided to take the Amtrak in to Vancouver because it was cheaper and I wanted to take the scenic route. I booked my ticket online ahead of time, printed my ticket and showed up to the train station (if you book 2 weeks in advance, they have a great deal)

Seattle

I flew in to Seattle  (HOLY MOLY it's COLD!!!)  and made my way on the Link Light Rail to get to the city (depending on which terminal you fly in to, you use a shuttle or walk to get to the Link platform). It cost me $2.75 one way and should have taken about 45 mins but there was an issue with the track and we had to get off. No problem, google maps told me the next bus right outside of the Link stop would get me to my destination and I showed my Link pass and was able to connect with no problem. 

My hostel, The Green Tortoise, was located right across the street from Pike Place Market!

Day 2 and 3 in San Francisco

I love waking up to the sound of 49ers fans cheering their faces off across the street!.. Congrats all the same!

So far the weather has been great so I decided to jump on the F street car to the Ferry Building and see what's going on there

Wearing flowers in my hair... Get it?

First stop-San Francisco!

Packing - PNW

I've recently been introduced to extremely light packing and now I'm obsessed with seeing how little I can pack for all my trips

Once you pull out all the things you think you need and compare it to the unit you have to fit it all in, you realize you don't need as much stuff as you thought 

So throughout my blog I will explain and post pictures about what and how I'm packing for certain trips 

I think packing for the cold and wet PNW will be fun...

Who am I. Where am I going?

Hi! My name is Vanessa.