being home

Bear with me while I update this page! Major overhaul coming soon i hope.. It's true, I really fell off with the daily entries! But I still have lots more I want to share, so I'll work on archiving it now that I'm home! In the meantime, you can check out the videos I put out. The are mostly compilations of clips and I hope to publish some more content for Taiwan and Japan! That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Shizuoka

We spent the night in Shizuoka, which was cuter than our wildest dreams. We went to a fantasy themed cafe that was one of the coolest spots ive been. Today we rented a car and now we are in the Kiso mountains ! We plan on sleeping in the car at a rest stop tonight and doing some exploring early in the morning tomorrow. We are in a pass that was a main passage used by travelers to go from tokyo to kyoto on foot hundreds of years ago!

Birthday

Its my birthday today! We did so much fun stuff. First, we went to a storybook- themed cafe in osaka. It was filled with storybook characters, and the food was really cute!! We booked a matcha making class at 3 in Uji, one of Japans major tea growing towns. The class involved using a heavy stone mill to turn tencha tea leaves into matcha powder. It was interesting to learn about the processes of preparing tea. The matcha we prepared was delicious! We came back to our hotel to take a little rest (and drink some sake we had picked up in nearby Nara, where sake originates from!) Honestly we felt really sleepy but powered through to get a nice sushi dinner. It was a bit of a fiasco finding the place-- there were several bars and restaurants with same/similar names in the same building. It took some searching, but we came to a nondescript door and slid it open to a restaurant. Our coats were taken and we were sat down in this very nice establishment. When it came time to look at the menu, there was no sushi on it! We tried to piece it together.. "well the name is the same.." "but theres no sushi case!" "the seats look different than on google maps maybe..?" Several waiters came to ask us many times if we were ready to order or needed anything, until i got the courage to show them the photos of sushi on the google maps listing of the places we were trying to go! They really didnt speak much english. They told is that that restaurant is not this one, essentially, and we were embarrassed and wanted to get out of there. After being handed our coats back, and handed a complimentary brownie in a gift bag, we were ushered back out into the elevator. Once we got down to 1F again , out of the corner of my eye i saw the chef guy and thought, that is strange.. did he run down the stairs while we were in the elevator? Then he was beckoning us to follow him and we were like omgggg. He walked us down the street, into a different building, to the front of the sister restaurant, went in, requested our seats for us, and then left. I think Raven was a little mortified. The meal was really nice, omakase style sushi :) with beers and miso and veggie tempura and they even made some veggie rolls for raven. The food was good, but it was more than a little silly getting there. To wrap up the evening we decided to get a nightcap, the bar scene is really interesting in osaka. We essentially went to a giant building with small, office sized rooms filled with bar after bar. The bars often cant seat more than 5 people. We decided upon a storybook themed bar by chance and it was really well executed. Gab bar has been there for 14 years! Its filled with hungry hungry caterpillars and other beloved creatures. The owner had made a custom menu in the style of a storybook. It was nice to have a drink there before bed.

nara

We took a day trip to nara, famous for the nara deer. It was interesting to see them everywhere. They really do bow to you!! Though some of them look more like theyll ram you... We didnt feed any, but they were fun to look at. We went to a shrine and i got a piece of calligraphy done (i am trying to collect stamps and calligraphy from all the shrines) and then we went to another temple, which was really beautiful as well.. hundreds of stone statues that they light candles in on special occasions. The sake tasting was probably the highlight for me, the man operating the business was really funny. We tried 5 different sakes, all of them from local small breweries. It was only about $1.50 to $2 per glass. Sake has its origins in Nara! We ended up buying a bottle of our favorite.

tatami mats

We stayed at a traditional japanese guesthouse and took a tatami mat marking workshop to make our own mini tatami mats. Went out to eat for the first time in japan, nerves were crazy but the food was so worth it. I love udon!

punk show and hot pot

Went to a pro palestine event called "diy or die" , saw bands perform from all over asia, some were from osaka, where we are going next! After that we met up with some friends for hotpot, which was a really lovely meal. They even made the noodles right in front of you!

Teapot Mountain

We set an alarm for 6am in hopes we could see the lanterns without anyone else around, but they weren't on. Raven explored the town for awhile and i went back to sleep. Later we got our coffee and matcha, loaded up on snacks, and set upon the steep steep hill that is teapot mountain. It was incredibly, incredibly beautiful. Panoramic views of taiwans coast and mountain ridges.. hard to describe. Had to idea to expect soo much natural beauty in taiwan. It took a couple hours to reach the top where we climbed a rope up to the very peak, which looks like a teapot :) i felt bery proud of myself for completing this hike, it was many many many stairs up.

Sandiaoling Eco-Tunnel

Today we checked out and headed to Jiufen, the town with a "spirited away" vibe. But before arriving, we took a detour to do some bicycle riding through a famous decomissioned railway tunnel. The train only took 40 minutes, and dropped us off at the only curved/ half moon shaped railway station in Taiwan. I lost my ticket , but the station was unmanned and there was no one checking. The town we were dropped off at was really small but they had the taipei city bikes, which made renting them easy. We stopped into a cafe on the way and got a bite and a latte, the man that runs it is a local legend and has painted murals all over the town. The tunnel was just out of town, and it was really cool and mysterious.. there was a small segment with wild bats where we had to walk our bikes and lower our voices. The exit features a big placard carved into the wall that says "sincerity will move heaven and earth" in chinese, in reference to the work it took to construct the tunnel in the muddy, hilly area. After that, it was time to check in to our hotel jiufen, a couple towns over. Once we arrived it was like stepping into such a surreal place, greeted with endless stairs and endless red paper lanterns , reflecting from the wet tile and cement surfaces. After a lot of stairs, we made it to our room which we had to walk through an elderly taiwanese couple's living room every time to access. Pretty home-y yet also surreal place. We drank a beer outside in the lantern light.

Xinhe

The weather was perfect today, finally a sunny day with no rain! We took a train to another train, to a gondola! Past a zoo, to a zone called Maokong Station. We had no idea, but its actually a really cute area, high up in the mountains filled with tea farms and tea houses, lots of cat motifs, cafes, and ice cream. We went on a hike from here to Xinhe waterfall, which was really steep with like a million stairs, but sooo sooo pretty as well. The hike was filled with lush moss-covered scenery, in some ways similar to the really rainforest-y redwood areas where we live, but with totally different foliage! We saw a giant taiwanese eagle. There were a lot of terraced fields filled with garden beds or rows and rows of tea plants. One million stairs later we arrived at Xinhe waterfall, this crazy temple built into a waterfall cave. It's hard to put into words..Mysterious! Serene! The place was so amazing, and had a really unique energy.  We walked back along the road and it was really steep and tiring, once we got back to the station area we decided to check out a "tea museum" place up the road, but it was mostly closed except for one small room filled with tea equipment. At the teahouse we ended up at down the way, there was a big lazy dog. Tried the local black tea and got extremely caffeinated. Blabbed to raven awhile about my aspirations to open a dessert business. Took the gondola back down right before the sun was setting. Got dumplings for dinner.

bicycling taipei

We took it pretty easy today as our feet have been pretty tired from all the walking. We slept in and then figured out how to rent the city bikes. Pretty straightforward. We biked around Dihua street, which hs some of the oldest buildings in Taipei. Then we went to the taipei botanical garden, which is free! And huge. There was a lot of interesting plants there. They had an exhibit that showed relevant plants to each chinese zodiac. Raven and i looked at ours, monkey and tiger. There was lots of different people at the gardens. Young people in groups of friends and older people doing stretches/ areobics. There was a carnivorous plant that everybody stopped by to take a picture. After that, we biked to the waterfront for the sunset. The route took us through a tiny doorway in a huge wall covered in a tiled mural. The early dusk was soo beautiful, with people everywhere enjoying, singing, playing tennis, basketball, stretching, biking, drinking (beer and tea), reclining.. was very idyllic. For dinner i stopped by the night market again and got a chopped stir fried sausage dish. Actually i realized it was sausage, seitan (or gluten) onions, and a sausage made out of sticky rice which was my favorite. Raven went to a vegetarian street restaurant. We went to a dessert place after and got warm mochi covered in ground peanuts and sesame seeds. Raven got a soft tofu with adzuki beans and syrup.

taipei national palace museum

Last night we went to karaoke with some friends!! I met up with someone who became friends with my coworker, jocelyn, when she came to taiwan last year. We had a yummy dinner and went to karaoke after. A lot of people met up with us and it was really fun!! Ive never done a private booth karaoke before. Our room was hatsune miku themed. Today we slept in a little late. Since it was still grey out we thought a museum would be a good use of our day today, and it was cool! Full of really really old stuff. Some of the oldest stuff from china ended up in taiwan when the ROC (republic of china) fled to taiwan after losing control of mainland china to the PRC (peoples republic of china). They had a huge collection of ornate jade pieces. Afterward, we went to a flea market nearby, then came to a street food market near our house before returning for the evening.

Taipei

The smell of cloves and cinammon hangs in the air here. You often walk past places simmering broths that smell of that. I smell rain and donuts walking around. Its really pleasant. When we got off the train in taipei, the weather was perfectttt. It was so refreshing to walk around and not be boiling. Kind of a SF vibe. Since that evening it has not stopped raining though. I guess it rains a lot in taiwan. Its less crowded here than bangkok by a lot, and theres way way less white people. I think a lot of taiwans tourists are other asians. Its pretty chilly out. Neither of us have a rain coat and raven only has open toe sandals. The rain is supposed to stop soon i think.. We went shopping in part to try to get some stuff , but i dont know how successful we were haha. I got a cool skirt though and we played a miffy gacha. The clothes are a lott more expensive than thailand , the skirt i bought was $20usd and the uniqlo rain jacket i was considering was fifty. Taiwan uses their own kind of dollar as well (TWD). $5USD is about $160TWD. Thats about 180THB or 123,000 Vietnamese dong. But that really doesnt tell you anything until you see way things are priced. I bought an umbrella today for that amount. We're staying in a really cute and trendy neighborhood and our airbnb is nice. I picked it this time. We like how there are awnings in front of most businesses so you can walk along a dedicated sidewalk and be covered from the rain. Yesterday i took us to this local fried pork chop place. I knew it would be hard to find and it was, but it was so worth it. We walked around the entire perimeter of the building after walking down the wrong street twice (gps wasnt working) before we found the elevator to go to the basement floor with king pork restaurant. Raven got the fried tofu and said it was the best he'd had in his life. I had the braised pork rice and fried pork chop and it was really really good. It made me happy how much raven liked it. We stopped at a vegetarian restaurant later but i didnt get anything, just ate some of ravens dumplings.

to phuket

We checked out of the hotel and i bought a light jacket at a thrift store (80baht=$2). Picked up some shoes and leggings yesterday($8). Ditched some of my warm weather clothes. There's definitely still things i'll end up needing, but i feel like i at least got a head start. Raven told me the Hong Kong airport, which we have an 11 hour layover in, is very cold. Taiwan is supposed to be getting highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s, but i think Japan will be much colder. Im glad we got to spend so much time in this coastal area of Thailand. Raven and I's time in thailand was basically a month split in half between here and Bangkok. We only have 2 weeks in Taiwan and are trying to decide if we should spend the whole time in taipei city or if we should take a week to explore some nature more. Im leaning towards just staying in taipei, but we'll see how we feel and what time allows. I'm under the impression that Japan likes you to book everything a month in advance so thats been a bit stressful for me. We have the first ten days booked in Osaka between an airbnb in the city center and a tatami mat hostel closer to the airport. I want us to rent a car in Japan and do some roadtripping and camping but we havent really nailed that down yet. There's rental agencies which will rent you camper kei cars for between 38-60USD$ per day but i haven't found a good one that will let us pick up the car in Osaka and drop it off in Tokyo yet. Ive been spending time this last week reaching out to people who may have connections in japan to get input and advice. Ill miss thailands laid back nature about things. Booking stuff far in advance never got me anywhere here. Its more of a show up and buy a ticket kind of place. We tried ordering tickets to see the ghibli museum in tokyo and failed. They sell them one month in advance, starting at 8am on the 10th of the month prior. We set our alarm and everything, but the tickets sold out in seconds. We can try again on March 10th, but im not too hopeful. The positive of this system is that tickets are only like $6USD so i guess in a way its fair?? Anyways. I think raven and i both have the blues a little about leaving, but ive been in southeast asia since November, so im pretty sad! We're going to be staying in an airbnb thats a five minute walk from the airport. A lot of downtime coming soon. 3 hr bus to phuket (poo-ket, not fuck-it, lol), and another bus to the airport.. overnight stay then get ready for our flight at 6PM.. 4 hour flight.. 11 hour layover.. 2 hour flight.. and then we land ! On the 29th, around 11am.. at an airport an hour away from taipei!!!! Haha. I entered us both in a raffle to win some taiwanese dollars when we land. I hope we win!

swimming

Attention: this entry has a video to accompany it! give it a look. What a fun dayy!! We did a lot today. The past week we have just been settled in Krabi doing a lot of research on the next legs of our journey. But today it was time to get out there and have a bit of fun as we are leaving thailand in only a few days :( The first place we went was "Thapom Klong Song Nam" its a freshwater spring in a mangrove forest. The water was crystal clear.. Ive never seen anything like it on earth! we could see apl the way to the bottom and saw all kinds of creatures, including a freshwater pufferfish. the walk was shady and really enjoyable. We swam a bit in the spring, and there was a lot of local kids also enjoying the water. The next stop was a short hike to a viewpoint with a small bar. Quite the view! Raven got a smoothie and pad thai. Was ready for more swimming after that (as its quite hot here) and went to Thankiri- which is a natural zone thats has a bit more of a park vibe. There was a large flower garden at the entrance and swan pedal boats at a pond. There was also a river area with a ton of kids and families enjoying. We took a small dip and did a loop on the pedal boat before returning home for the evening. We were really tired after our day and slightly sunburnt. We went to a sushi restaurant for dinner and called it a night.

leaving the island

We spent our last day on yao noi , eating , drinking, and hitting the beach. We tried to go to an ice cream shop i saw on google maps, but it ended up being a part of a resort and we were escorted out. We laid on the beach for several hours and played in the water. In the evening time we sat at a beach bar before going home. We sat on swings and shared a giant pina colada inside a coconut. It was a beautiful sunset.

island hopping

its nice to enjoy a sunset at the beach. We stopped by a seaside bar after a long day. we came to the pier early this morning to do an island hopping tour with two other girls. We saw, we swam, we snorkeled, ate fruit, saw monkey! got a lot of sun.. we were really tired afterwards and a little but sunburnt.

Koh Yao Noi

Sitting outside listening to a tropical thunderstorm with raven on the porch of our bungalow on the island of Koh Yao Noi. Tomorrow we will visit some smaller islands and do some snorkeling. Ive been relaxing on the beach a lot. We accidentally booked a place with no AC, but it hasnt been the worst. Ive been getting a lot of sun. Ive been fighting hard to get the eczema on my hand under control. Theres a lot of theories out there as to the best ways to treat eczema, but its listed as a chronic condition with no known cure. I started taking probiotics for it, maybe its placebo but i think its helping. when i come home i want to garden. Some people think it can help. Raven and i already booked our flight to taiwan on the 28th and then Japan on the 14th. Ill end up spending more than i thought and staying longer than i thought on this trip, but i think thats okay. Im excited to get back to my hobbies like cooking, sewing, etc. that i havent really been able to get up to here. Since i last wrote I went kayaking in a jungle spring, took longtail boats and explored other islands, got a massage. Im just chilling out now, this island is really small. We rented a scooter and ride around several times a day; alternating spots in accordance to our hunger and the position of the sun. It only takes about 25 minutes to go all the way around. I guess its boring but i dont really mind. The sound of the waves is really calming...

Bye Bye Bangkok!

Raven and I are on our way to Krabi, Thailand via a 15 hour overnight bus. I spent a lot more time in Bangkok on this trip than i ever thought i would, but it was nice to get to experience a slower pace and accumulate some favorite "hidden spots". Bangkok favorite places:

El biografo hostel: This "place" really made the "place". I suspect I wouldnt have enjoyed bangkok nearly as much if i had not stayed here. The staff was extremely kind and helpful, and the hostel had a good vibe for meeting people.

Oasis Silom: This rooftop pool is open daily from 8am-8pm. You have to walk through a hole in the wall apartment complex and ask the man behind the desk for pool access. Only 100 baht ($2.75) and you can stay as long as you like. Bring your own towel and some snacks/water as it isnt porvided. Theres also a small gym you can use.

Samyan Mirtrown: this became my favorite mall to visit in Bangkok. An underground tunnel connects this mall to another mall across the street and to the metro. This mall is open 24hr and has a rooftop you can visit for free. A lot of young people come here with friends to enjoy the skyline view at night. Mirtrown has a ton of familiar food options, but it also has some food stalls on the underground level where you can try more cheap thai style food in an air conditioned environment with seating. A couple stalls down here sell random things, like tools, clothes, accessories etc. A good bet you can get anything you need and a tasty bite to eat here.

Mall Sushi: The name is in thai, but if you go to the B floor of the mall across from Mirtrown you can get delicious sushi for a reasonable price. Self serve and charged per peice of sushi, usually ranging from 10-35baht ($0.25-$1.00). I would have never tried this place without a recommendation from my thai friend, James. The sushi is not in any kind of fridge when you grab it, which normally would scare me off, but this place is extremely popular with locals, and the salmon is particularly delicious.

Hong Teong Long: I regret not finding this place sooner. A shanghai style restaurant serving dumplings and other chinese dishes. The reviews braced me for terrible wait times and service, but that wasnt our experience at all. My tip: going later in the day is better. This place is open from 11am-4am and i really regret not having a chance to go after a night at the bars, because I think thats really where this place excels. Dumplings arent perfect, and dough is a little thick, but fillings are delicious as well as all other dishes ordered.

Heaven Bar: This is a cute rooftop bar that wont give you a dizzying price tag or make you feel surrounded by other tourists. It was a short walk from where I stayed, which is why we went often, but I enjoyed it. Not super high up, but a nice view anyway and they always have live music or a dj!

Wintage Mall at Bangsue Junction: I went to Chatuchak weekend market many weekends, but quickly discovered this vintage mall across the street is the place to go. The last time, I didnt even bother to go to chatuchak and came straight here. It has 5 stories of vintage consignment stalls. Tamagotchis, gameboys, plushies, so much clothes of all kinds, brands like angel blue, hysteric glamour, vivienne westwood, camera stores and tattoo shops. Cool bootleg and retro stuff for cheap. Theres a food court on the top floor and also some food vendors on the third floor balcony, where you can eat with a view. There is a nice bar on the third as well floor where you can relax for a bit and get beer or coffee.

University Flea Market: This one is tricky because it took me awhile to realize it only happens sporadically. Every couple of months during the weekend there will be a flea market full of students selling used clothes, collectibles, etc at Chulalongkorn University. This is one of Bangkok's best outdoor markets you can see in my opinion. Its very lively, clothing is stylish and the prices are cheap thanks to this being a market primarily used by university students. Food stalls are here and a street over if you need s bite to eat while browsing the vendors' amazing collections. Raven and I got asked to have our photo taken street-snap style here. A good place to hit after the market is Centenary Park for sunset/dusk. The university is often holding events at this park on the weekends, I saw a childrens festival, and art gallery, and an orchestra band.

Charoen Krung: This is a road with a lot of street markets in the evening time. This place is always buzzing with people. Lots of lights and food options.

Lumphini Park: i dont think anyone could call this huge park a hidden gem, but the swan pedal boats are free which many people may not know. You can see wildlife at this park like monitor lizards!

Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park: A small boat will take you across the chao praya river from the district of bangkok to the district of samut prakan. Once you cross, youll be greeted with bicycle rentals. renting a a bike and exploring this park and the peninsula was one of the highlights of bangkok for me. Once you explore the park a little, venture further using the small, elevated, above water, safety-rail-less, concrete paths that run through the jungle and connect everything. Its a bit hard to describe, but feels veryy amazing here! Go on a weekend so that you can see the bang nam phueng weekend market, we thought it was the friendlist and one of the cheapest markets.

Taking a ferry: I recommend you take the ferry boat from MBK mall to Wat Saket (the golden mount temple) This is the best way to experience the ferry boat in Bangkok in my opinion, because the lines the run on the Chao Praya are extremely hectic. Many locals use this service just like a bus for getting around and it is very cheap at around 12 baht ($0.33). You can see peoples lives and lots of graffiti along the river. The ride is both refreshing and exciting.

Sit on a Pier at Night: Who needs to spend a lot of monet at a riverside resort restaurant or bar. A nice way to enjoy the Chao Praya river at night is to grab a couple of beers from 7/11 and head to a pier. You can enjoy a beautiful skyline view of the city and an cool local vibe from thai people fishing. It was fun to watch the boats go by at the pier on charoen krung alley 40. Lit up boats of different sizes will go by.

update

Raven got here on the 24th of Jan! We hung out in bangkok for a little over a week, then took a trip to the nearby national park, Khao Yai. We are on the train back to the city now. We barely caught it! We talked a bunch last night about what we wanna do with the rest of our trip. Its looking like we might do taiwan and then japan, not before we spend some more time in thailand though.

power outage

i was in the middle of my post-beach shower and the power went out!! It got so dark and the water even shut off. I finished my shower by flashlight with barely a dribble of cold water T-T the power outage lasted a little over an hour.

arrive in Koh Chang

I took a bus to koh chang today. Raven will meet me in bangkok next Wednesday so I have a week to kill. I was really concerned i got a less than ideal bus but in the end everything worked out just fine. I got to the island right around sunset. The hostel upgraded me to a private room for no extra charge, soo nice! I love when that happens. I got a beer and walked to the beach, saw a beautiful sunset.

deep fried bao

i wasnt too hungover. I had beans and rice before bed and that saved me. I went to some open air stands to fetch a couple vegetables and came back to the hostel to make a big salad. I heart big salad , it made me feel so normal, like i was home :3. I switched from an esim to a physical sim card from 711 because its cheaper. So far it seems to be working fine. I talked to Paul last night about going to chatuchak market again together, but i ended up bailing bc i just wanted to be lazy today.I walked to chulalongkorn university because i thought there would be a weekend market but there was none! My new theory is that they only do it on sundays.. there was a middle school band performing in the park and mostly there was just a lot of students walking around getting food. I got a deep fried bao and it blew my mind. I ended up getting several and ate way too many. I gave one to James. im still suffering the consequences of too much of a good thing. I went for a walk in the evening time, starting to feel really familiar with this neighborhood which is nice.

nighttime in bangkok

I was lazy today and didnt do much. I got a green curry at a nearby mall and came back and took a fat nap. I thought we were going to a beer buffet tonight. But that plan kind of fell apart. Instead, i went with James and the girls i hung out with the other day to a drag show. Then I met up with Nina (a dutch lady who lives at the hostel) and a bunch of others at an irish bar nearby. Paul came out tonight too! It was nice to catch up with him. I made some cilantro-cashew dressing today and had it with some rice and beans when we got back, as my post drinking meal. It was soooo good. Felt sooo much like home!

pool day

Ive been in Bangkok again since sunday. Staying in the same place i stayed before! Today i met some cool girls in the morning at the hostel, Noe, Sarah, and Tatiana. Theyre all solo female travelers like me, 27, 19 and 24 yrs old. We went to Lumphini park together and saw monitor lizards and took a ride in the swan peddle boats. Which is a free activity btw, i had no idea! It was super hot today and i was dripping sweat by the time we were done, so i was really relieved when we got to the swimming pool. It was just on top of a random hotel, but it was really nice. We spent all day after that swimming, laughing, and talking about love. Afterwards we went to get a bite to eat and i split off, came home and made some pinto beans and rice for dinner. I havent had beans in so long, it was super satisfying. I just drank a beer and played some card games with other people at the hostel until bedtime. It was honestly a really good day.. ive been feeling pretty lonely tbh. I thought the welcome would be a little warmer perhaps.. the hostel is so busy now. When i stayed in November i was one of a few people here.. now the rooms are all fully booked. Seems like James has a different schedule now too. I see him a little bit but we havent really hung out. I felt so sad when i went out to the bars by myself yesterday-- it was all couples or groups of 4-5 at tables..(TABLES..!) (How can i approach a group at a table?) No one dancing , no mingling or single people at the bar.. it made me feel more alone than ever so i just left in tears, as pathetic as it sounds! I was so happy to get to hang out today with girls who are at least somewhat in my peer group, we're all queer, all in sorta the same age bracket and all super fly hahahah. Made my day.

return to bangkok

Im back in Bangkok again, staying at the same place i stayed before! Its soo nice to be in a familiar place. I havent done much, i said hi to James. Drank a little. Had a 7/11 snack, i missed having 7/11.. i had some pad kra pao today and a milk tea with sesame paste. The milk tea was sooo good! I was able to order it not very sweet. Im thinking about going to some fine dining while im in bangkok.. ive never gona to a michelin starred restaurant before. Theres also a "zoo" cafe in bangkok that has capybara which i kinda wanna go to but undecided. Ultimately im happy to just chill here. Such a nice neighborhood to walk around in.

hai van pass and banh xeo

I slept in then left for the hai van pass. Most people go all the way to the next city north, Hue, but i heard the most scenic part is really immediately north of Da Nang so i decided just to do that part and turn back. The ride was surprisingly easy, i was careful and went slow when i needed to, but the road was really well maintained. I was a little worried about running into police but i didnt see any. Even though i have my international drivers license, they dont recognize it in vietnam. All the police really care about is getting a bribe anyway. I waa told by two Vietnamese sources that a reasonable bribe amount is 200,000 dong which is around $8.. the view from the pass was nice, you could see the ocean and there was a big shrine. As a started to get deeper into the pass rain started to fall so i turned around. I got back really hungry but i had no idea where i should get lunch.. A grab driver about a week ago gave me his number and so i reached out to him and he recommended a spot nearby. The specialty of the restaurant was banh xeo, a savory pancake.. wow it was so good! Im really glad i tried it while i was in vietnam, because i havent really cared for the savory pancakes ive tried in asian restaurants in the usa. It was sooo gooddd.. then i just chilled. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon!

bikini, tea house, da nang

I got my custom bikini this morning after checking out of my hostel. Im so happy with it, its so nice to have a bikini that fits well! I could definitely get addicted to getting custom tailor made clothes. I got a bahn mi at a famous shop and went to a teahouse after. Then i embarked to Da Nang, where ill spend the next couple of days before my flight back. When i got here, i rented a scooter right away to try to fit in doing the hai van pass.. but it was getting too dark out so i decided it would be best to save it for tomorrow. I ran into someone named Jun from the last hostel and we went to see the Han dragon bridge together. On fridays and Saturdays, they do a fire show where the dragon breathes flames. It was silly n cool. Another friend met up with us and we had a beer and some ice cream at a night market nearby. I tried durian ice cream.. not so sure about it. Once we got back to the hostel we had a few more drinks and stayed up talking for a bit.

marble mountain

The weather was beautiful today. I went to a place called marble mountains.. a large complex of pagodas, caves, and viewpoints near the sea. There were many buddhist shrines dispersed throughout the area, including in the many caves. The setting was very serene and interesting. Later on when i got back, i stopped by a tailor to get a custom bikini made to my measurements. Tomorrow morning will be the first fitting, im excited about it.

My Son Ruins

Last night while drinking with new friends, we made a plan to rent motorbikes and go to a large ancient ruin early this morning. I set my alarm for 6:45am. When i came downstairs, no one was there. I felt so sure that everyone flaked, which was ironic bc i almost decided to.. well they did show up! We were all very drowsy. We got on motorbikes and left from the hostel. One of the guys in our group, Josh, had never ridden a scooter before. The other guy Ryan seemed more experienced on one. The journey to the temples took us about an hour and a half, making it the longest journey ive ever taken on a moped. Seeing the countryside was really nice. The ruins were pretty cool, some were as old as the 8th century, made my the champa people. There was even a live dance performance we got to see also. After a few hours and a lot of ruins, we left to grab lunch. The boys decided to go to a tourist attraction called marble mountain and i decided to part ways as i was pretty tired. Just came back to my home base and chilled. Played some card games and chatted with people into the night.

new years eve!

Not really knowing my plans for new years eve, i ventured out to have a walk by the ocean around midday when i finally got out of bed. I ate my leftover pizza from the day before. I felt very relaxed.. i walked around a lot and enjoyed the city of Quy Nhon. What a calm city.. i strolled by an open market before coming back to my hostel to rest. Later on, i did my makeup and got ready to go out and enjoy the evening. I got a tip that there was a new years celebration happening in the city square, so i headed that way. I heard seafood in this city is really good so i stopped by a restaurant on my way and had a crawfish & corn dish. The table next to me started talking to me and invited me to join them for a beer. They told me they planned to go to the square for new years and invited me to come with them. There was three of them 2 guys 1 lady late twenties or 30.. mostly ended up hanging out with one of the guys wife, My. I did not realize at all the size of the celebration in the square, it was hundred of people and a giant stage with djs and idol groups performing. The rain started gently a bit before midnight, then i swear after midnight it started pouringgg and everyone was trying to get outta there. I got pretty soaked, My ended up calling mena rode home and i showered off and hit the hay. Here comes 2024!