Installment #2 in my Budget Breakdown series details how much my Thailand trip cost. These posts are meant to help provide some transparency on travel costs, especially to newbie travelers. I spent 6+ weeks in Thailand during high season (November to February). More than a month of it was in northern Thailand as a solo budget… Read More Budget Breakdown: How Much My Thailand Trip Cost
As the first hammering pounds came down on my back, I winced a bit and wondered whether I’d made a good decision. What if she injures me? As she worked her way down to my buttocks, I wondered what bruises I was going to end up with. Stop. If your mind is going somewhere illicit,… Read More You Haven’t Experienced Thailand Until You’ve Tried This Type of Massage
What is it about Italy that makes us Americans so enamored? Is it the influences on our food and culture? The pizza, pasta, gelato? Frank Sinatra or The Sopranos? All I know is I always wanted to go to Italy growing up, and I’m lucky enough to have been multiple times now. So I’m sharing… Read More A Love Letter (and Two-Week Itinerary) for Italy
I’ve always wanted to go to Chiang Rai, but it wasn’t until I got there that I realized just how sad it was that I hadn’t been there before. I absolutely fell in love with Chiang Rai. So many people go to Chiang Rai as a day trip from Chiang Mai or as a stopover… Read More The Best Things to Do in Chiang Rai: Why It’s Worth More than a Day Trip
“You have to go to Pai!” “Omg have you gone to Pai yet? I was just there and wish I could go back asap.” “Did you go to Pai? Pai is so cool.” I’ve heard dozens of variations of these enthusiastic exclamations over the past year both in Thailand and back home in the States.… Read More Why I Didn’t Love Pai Despite All the Hype
The first time I went to Thailand in 2014, I made a compromise with my friend and went down to the islands after we hit up Bangkok. But northern Thailand, and specifically Chiang Mai, remained at the top of my bucket list. So after I wrapped up my tour of China last fall, I immediately… Read More Ultimate Guide to Chiang Mai: What to Do, See, and Eat
The largest city in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai is home to literally hundreds of temples (wats). One of my favorite things to do in Chiang Mai is to walk around and explore new wats that I haven’t been to before, but the sheer number of them can be overwhelming to someone visiting Chiang Mai for… Read More The Best Temples in Chiang Mai that You Must Visit
Growing up, I don’t think I had a conscious awareness of race until we moved to Florida, where the ugly legacy of slavery and Jim Crow made race something that was much more obvious. But while race wasn’t on my mind, I had always been fascinated with ethnicity. Not race or nationality, but ethnicity. China’s… Read More Does Cultural Tourism Help or Hurt Ethnic Minorities?
Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery opens its gates to all who wish to come. As long as you can be in Thailand legally and get yourself to the monastery, you are welcome. And as long as you follow the rules, you’re welcome to stay for as long as you wish. But before I dive… Read More What You Need to Know About Visiting Tam Wua Forest Monastery for Meditation
As the holiday season approached, I met more and more people on the road trying to figure out what to do for New Year’s Eve and asking other travelers for suggestions. I was no help to them though, as I had already decided to spend my New Year’s Eve in silence at Tam Wua Forest… Read More Why I Spent New Year’s Eve in Silence at a Monastery