Tough Decisions

First, the good tough decision. I bought my airfare to Thailand! No turning back now, we're going! The price was the best I had seen and the times were really good. No 36 hour travel times for us! It will take us 19 hours to get there and 15 to get back. What's amusing is that we leave Bangkok at 520pm and arrive in Seattle at 525pm the same day. If only it was really a 5 minute flight. Pulling the trigger was difficult though. What if prices went down? Are we spending too much? Are we really ready to commit 100%?

Buying airfare is always nerve-wracking. You never know if you're getting a good deal or overpaying. Dropping a thousand dollars on one thing isn't something most people (of my acquaintance) do very often, especially with no ability to get a refund. Aside from my house payment, it's the largest amount of money I spend on anything. Plus, once you buy your ticket, you're committing yourself to spending a lot more money once you get there.

On the flip side though, I may have to make the decision to nix Bulgaria. I don't want to! I'm still holding out hope that I can make it work. But just over 8 weeks out from when we're supposed to leave and I don't have a commitment from my travel partner. She can't get an answer from her work and while she waits, airfare climbs.

Originally we were supposed to fly through Iceland to Munich before spending the majority of our time in Bulgaria, but the price of the Iceland Air flights has sky-rocketed. In May, I was looking at $1099. Now, skipping Iceland, I'm at $1322. With a 30 hour return travel time. I'm not sure if I can justify it now. I know I wouldn't regret going, but I also am not sure I can deal with myself when my credit card statement drives me to a nervous breakdown.

Having to turn down something you're so passionate about is hard. I've been looking forward to this all year. I've planned out what I want to see, asked for the time off from work, and set money aside. But at some point, I have to be an adult. I really hate those points. Fingers crossed I won't get to that point!

One Night In Bangkok

Actually, four. And several nights in other places, too! Last night, my friend and I spent several hours planning our trip to Thailand and Cambodia. It's going to be amazing! But we definitely had some things to sort out. Did we want to go to Chiang Mai? Is the expense of getting to Angkor Wat worth it? How many days can we spend lying on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi?

We knew we didn't want to spend every night in a different city. Both of us have done the backpacking through Europe in college thing and while it was great, we're getting a bit old for that now. Also, not having to rush around to get somewhere else allows for more time to get to know the city. So we limited the cities we'll visit to just the most important:

Bangkok - This is one great big "Duh". We have to fly in here. It's the capitol city. It's the hub of cultural and tourist attractions. It's close to many other tourist activities. Of course we are going to spend time here. We decided we want two full days to see the sites of Bangkok, plus two more days to visit the floating markets of Samut Songkhram and the city of Ayutthaya. But, in order to not miss our flight home, we figured it would be best to split our time here into two days at the beginning and two days at the end. Plus, then we can leave stuff behind and not carry it with us the entire trip!

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Angkor Wat is a massive temple complex near the town of Siem Reap. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and included on the previously mentioned list as the number 2 destination of top landmarks in the world (and the Bayon Temple, also at this complex, is number 5!). It  is a huge attraction to me. I want to go here almost more than anywhere else on this trip. But it's expensive to fly to. We could take a 12 hour bus for around $10, but losing two days to travel is not really worth it. Flying from Bangkok to Siem Reap and then on to Chiang Mai is nearly $500. That's almost half the cost of the flight to Thailand from Seattle! But when else would we get the chance to go? My friend was rather reluctant to spend the money, but after telling her about the $1 bike rentals to ride around the ruins, the ability to see them both at sunrise and sunset, and showing her lots and lots of pictures, she was convinced. We're definitely going here.

Chiang Mai - I was on the fence about this place. It's far out in Northern Thailand, you have to fly here, and I wasn't sure there was enough to do or see to make it worth a few days of our time. But my friend thought it was. She pointed out that the best cooking schools were here, not Bangkok. Plus you can do an elephant trek and hike into the mountains to see tribal communities. Ok, I'm convinced. You had me at 'elephant'.

Ko Phi Phi - This is really the main reason for our trip. The beach! And where better to find one (or six) than some of the most beautiful islands in the world? It also has some amazing SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. And while considered "expensive" by Thai standards, you can still find bungalows on the beach for under $75/night for two people. This will probably be the most expensive part of our vacation, but also the most relaxing. We've definitely planned plenty of 'lie on the beach and do nothing' time. I can't wait!

It finally seems real. We're actually going. We haven't bought airfare yet, it's still 8 months away. But at this stage of planning, with guidebooks purchased and an itinerary mapped out, it's highly unlikely we'll change our minds. It's going to be an awesome trip. I'll probably take 3000 photos. I promise to post a few!

See All The Places!

Sometimes traveling overwhelms me. Not because of everything there is to do and see, or the money spent, or the time off required. Not even because of the planning most trips need (that's one of my favorite parts!). No. I get overwhelmed because I feel this desperate need to travel everywhere right now! I don't know why it is that I feel this way. The countries will still be there next year or five or ten years from now. Nevertheless, I found myself nearly hyperventilating at work the other day, thinking about all the places I want to go NOW.

It started with an email from TripAdvisor with a list of the Top 25 Landmarks - World, as voted on by users of the site. You can find the list here. I forwarded it the person I'm going to Thailand and Cambodia with, as we are hoping to go to both Cambodia locations. She responded by pointing out Petra in Jordan, a place I've wanted to see for many years! In turn, I reminded her that we still have a trip to Peru and Machu Picchu planned. From here, it continued to escalate.

Going through it again, I counted seven places I had been to. Seven. And only two in the top ten! This simply would not do! Granted, if all goes as planned with the trips I'm already hoping to take over the next year, I will add three more, but this just isn't good enough! On top of that, I have a friend who lives in Australia and might be moving to the States. I need to visit her before she leaves! Then there's Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I need to climb that while I'm still young enough (ha!) and fit enough (double ha!) to do it! And Croatia! Before deciding on Morocco in 2009, the original plan was to go to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Montenegro, but it got too expensive. Pretty sure it's not getting any cheaper!

This led me to create a list of the places I need to go to immediately, a list of places I need to go to soon, and a list of places I've already been but really want to go back to. The outcome of all this was 16 trips, 23 countries and a heart attack. How on earth will I fit it all in?! But I must fit it all in! It was just too much for me to take. I needed a break.

After a quick nap in the lobby downstairs (yes, I nap in the lobby sometimes) I felt calmer. I still wasn't sure how I'd be able to do every trip I wanted to do, and it's possible I won't get to do them soon, but I have so many trips coming up over the next year that there is no need to focus on anything else. I'm incredibly lucky to get to travel as much as I do and for now, I'm going to concentrate on that.

But a little Googling never hurt anyone...

Iran: The Next Big Travel Destination?

When I was in India, I traveled with a girl who had grown up in Iran, but moved to Toronto with her family when she was 15. She told me stories of her childhood and the differences pre and post revolution. The changes were drastic! Before the revolution, being a Muslim was as optional as being a Christian in the States. Her teacher wore short skirts to school. After, of course, was much different, and more in line with the Iran we hear about in the news. But with the election of a new president, one who is much more moderate in his views, could this mean a new Iran, too?

Today she invited me to visit Iran with her next year. Of course, I immediately jumped on it. Obviously it's a long way off, and as I mentioned in my previous post, I already have a lot of travel planned over the next year. But this is one of those once in a life time opportunities. How do you say no? Especially when several of your friends would be going, too. I will certainly try to find a way.

But it also got me thinking. I know there's a lot of people out there who would say, "Don't go there, it's dangerous! You'll get thrown in jail for being an American spy! Or worse!!", but honestly, this has never stopped me from going anywhere. Sure, the warnings on the state department site are dire, and the media blows everything out of proportion, but more often than not, the stories I hear from people who have actually been there are positive. The much more difficult question to answer is, should I be going to, and spending money in a country that is so at odds with our own? Is that being unpatriotic, or however you want to label it?

Personally, I don't think it is. I've always believed that more good comes of traveling than bad. You get to see first hand how different cultures really work. You get to meet everyday people, just like us and talk to them, learn why they think the way they do. You may not agree, but it goes a long way to understanding. And it puts a very real face to what you hear in the media every day. It allows you to make your own decisions based on your own observations. Most importantly, it helps you think for yourself. But one of the most interesting things I gain from travel is a greater appreciation of home.

So I may have another trip to plan in my future! Nothing is for certain just yet, but the opportunity is there. And what an opportunity it is! Taking politics out of the situation, Iran has a wealth of things to do and see. There's natural beauty, palaces and mosques. The ancient city of Persepolis and one of the oldest continuous major civilizations in the world. You can also visit the Treasury of National Jewels and towering mountains. They even have ski resorts! Only time will tell if our governments can sort things out, but hopefully traveling there will get easier sooner rather than later.

An Itch (Of The Traveling Kind)

Sometimes I get an itch. No, not that kind of itch. An itch that says it's time to do something different. Do something crazy. Jump off a cliff in Germany. Dive into a deep, blue hole in Belize. Ride a camel across the desert in Morocco. It's been 7 months since I came home from India (I survived the streets of Delhi!). When I first got back, I was relieved to be done traveling for awhile. I had spent most of 2012 flying somewhere in the world and home actually felt like the real vacation. But now that it's been 7 months, the travel itch has returned.

I've been trying to plan a trip to Iceland, Germany and Bulgaria with a friend around Oktoberfest since India, but for various reason, we never could set anything in stone. For months, I'd pester her, asking for dates, wanting to buy airfare. And she'd always put me off due to issues with her job. There really was nothing she could do about it. But finally tonight, we talked on the phone and we have dates! Though it seems like we'll have to shave a few days off the trip since she doesn't have as much time off as she originally thought. But I don't care. We're going to Europe! I can't wait to relax in the Blue Lagoon, buy a dirndl and drink beer at Oktoberfest, and see the country where one of my closest friends grew up!

As if Europe wasn't enough, another friend asked me a few months ago if I wanted to go to Thailand and Cambodia in February 2014. Um, duh! All you had to do was ask! Inspired today by having some solid plans for Europe, I started researching Thailand. It's so cheap! It's so beautiful! It's so tasty! Seriously, I think the original reason I wanted to go to Thailand was because of my deep and abiding love for Thai food. And what's more, we're going to take a Thai cooking class in Bangkok! We also plan to spend several days on the beach in Koh Phi Phi just relaxing, maybe do a couple dives. And of course, Angkor Wat in Cambodia is a must. The ancient temple complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and more than worth the time spent getting there. I'm pretty sure this trip will have everything a person could ever ask for in a holiday.

Finally, there's Brazil. One of my other passions in life is soccer (football, futbol, calcio, etc), and the biggest event in soccer is the FIFA World Cup. The US national team has all but qualified for a spot in the World Cup being held in Brazil in June of 2014, which means I plan to find a way to make it down there to watch. I've had a couple offers of places to stay as long as I buy my airfare. This is a huge deal! Accommodations are going to be outrageous for this event. Not one, but two places to stay in Brazil is more than I could have asked for. Well, the US winning the World Cup would be more than I could ask for, but I'm not even going there right now.

9 months, 6 countries, 3 continents. It will be exhausting. It will be expensive. My parents will hate having to dog sit so much. But every second, every penny, every parental complaint will be more than worth it. I can't believe how lucky I am that all this is even remotely possible, let alone probable. And I will be sure to share it all.

Making friends in Salema

If you ever have the chance to go to Portugal, I cannot recommend the town of Salema enough. I loved this place so much that I told my dad he had to move there when he retired. It's perfect for him (as a person who doesn't travel much) because they all speak English and there's a golf course just 5 minutes away. But that's not why I loved it.

Salema is a quiet, isolated town on the Algarve Coast in southern Portugal. This sleepy little village is historically a fishing community, but as the rest of the Algarve coast gets overloaded with tourists, some have found their way here. Now you can find sunbathers sharing the beach with fishermen unloading their day's catch. It's only accessible by car, but you can take the bus that goes out to Cape Sagres, get dropped off a kilometer or two up the road from town and walk in. Guess which option I took.

The walk was hot and my pack was heavy, but the views as I came around the corner were spectacular. A white washed town nestled into the hills, pushed up against the Atlantic. Fishing boats trolling out in the sea. This was definitely going to be my vacation inside a vacation.

Ok, there are no boats in this picture, but they were there!

I checked in to Pension Mare and found I was the only guest. My room was lovely, with a balcony looking out over the town and sea.

I couldn't wait to see the town. But first things first! Ocean!

After floating in the water for awhile and lazing about on the beach, I ate a late lunch at a nearby cafe before heading back to my room. When I got there, another couple had arrived. They were around my parents age, and turns out, they were from Portland, OR! It's always so interesting to me, meeting people from home so far away. We decided to have dinner together later than night, and they ended up being some of the loveliest people I have ever met while traveling.

We went to a cafe on the waterfront a short distance from the pension and ate amazing seafood while watching the Barcelona v Real Madrid match. They told me that traveling was something they had done together since college. Even once they had kids, they always tried to get away for a few weeks, and now that the kids had moved out, they were able to spend months backpacking. I hope that 30 years from now, I can say the same.

The next day I went out to Cape Sagres aka The End Of The World. Back in the days before Columbus discovered America, when everyone thought the world was flat, this was considered the ends of the earth. And it's easy to see why.

You may notice I have a lot of pictures of my feet. When you travel alone, sometimes this is the only way you can prove you were there!

Cape Sagres is neat, and the remnants of the old navigational school is interesting, but my favorite part was sitting out on the edge of the cliffs, watching the locals fish. Scary!

When I got back to Salema, I jumped in the water again and relaxed on the beach, where I met up with the couple from Portland again. That night we went out for dinner to a different cafe. While we were waiting to order, the catch of the day was delivered. Nothing like knowing your dinner is fresh!

For an appetizer, we ordered calamari. Nothing unusual about that. Until it was delivered...

Needless to say, we did not expect the whole squid. However, it would have been rude to not eat it and we made sure to clear our plates, sand and all. And honestly, sand aside, it wasn't so bad. After all, it's basically the same thing you eat in the US, just not fried. Or sliced. Or gutted. But good, none the less. 

We ate our delicious seafood dinner as we watched the sun set over the water, exchanging travel stories from years past before heading back to the pension for a quiet night of reading. I was headed to Lisbon the next morning and the couple from Portland were off to Spain so we called it an early night.

As I was leaving at dawn, a storm was moving in. Perfect time to be moving on.

Heat Exhaustion and a Camel Named Jimi Hendrix

One of my favorite travel adventures was a three day trek to the Erg Chebbi sand dunes of the Sahara desert in Morocco. It was rather touristy, but to be completely honest, I'm not sure I'd want to visit the Sahara any other way. Being alive is awesome.

We were picked up in the Djemma El Fnaa in Marrakesh. It's quite empty at that time in the morning.

There were ten of us total; five Americans and five Australians (what did I say about Australians?!). We had two vehicles, ours conveniently without AC. 

...

On our way to the desert.

...

Perfect.

Our first stop was Ait Benhaddou, where Lawrence of Arabia and many other movies have been filmed. It's a kasbah fortress made mostly out of mud and hay. Good thing it doesn't rain often.

 

We then headed up the winding road into the Atlas Mountains...

 

...to the Todra Gorge.

Did you know there's snow in these mountains? There's even a ski resort! You can stop off for a few turns before you head out to the desert. Crazy.

We saw oasis's.

 

And "Monkey Fingers".

 

And herds of wild camel roaming the desert.

Remember how the AC was broken? Apparently riding in the front seat of the car with the Saharan sun beating down on you from multiple angles can lead to heat exhaustion. By the time we made it out to the sand dunes, I was feeling quite ill.

But then I saw my camel...

...and he was so handsome. His name was Jimi Hendrix. He probably sings Castles Made of Sand. It made me feel better.

A castle made of sand. Kind of. Also in Morocco.

Then we trekked across the dunes.

There was even a race!

And we all watched the sunset.

 

Some of us happier about it than others (me!).

That night we stayed in a traditional Berber tent camp.

 

We played drums around the campfire.

In the morning we watched the sun rise over Algeria.

Then we drove back to Marrakesh.

The end.