city Archives · Bon Voyage on a Big Adventure!

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018

Days 134 – 137: We landed in Perth! Welcome to Australia!

There is really only one word to describe how we felt when we touched down in Perth, Australia: Giddy.

This is in no way said to diminish our time in Southeast Asia. We experienced a truly epic 78 days there, and our Asian adventures surpassed our wildest expectations. But after five months on the road, we were hungry for familiarity and routine, and even though we had never visited Australia before, it felt so much like the United States, it was able to deliver.

Without further adieu, our glorious four days in Perth!

Day 134: Travel from Bali to Perth

We had an early morning flight out of the Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali but were able to enjoy a really nice airport lounge breakfast before boarding our plane. The flight to Perth was an easy two-ish hours, and when we landed in Perth, it was only around 9:00 AM or so.

Landing in Perth felt like landing in America. Signs for Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s as well as adorable little coffee shops greeted us, and all of the announcements were in English, spoken with an Australian accent of course. The immigration process was easy, and we headed out past baggage claim outside to catch a city bus.

And then we were really excited because it was cool outside. In November, it’s their spring, but it felt like fall to us. After having summer extend into September, then October, then November, we were outside and not sweating! It felt like a miracle.

I cannot say enough about Perth’s public transportation system. We hopped on one bus at the airport, bought our tickets on board, and received really helpful instructions from our bus driver about where to transfer and where to get off. About thirty minutes later, we got off the bus and walked an easy five minutes to our AirBNB.

Settling In

Rich and I dropped our bags and headed to lunch. We found a burrito spot, and Mexican also felt like a treat after so much rice and noodles. It also just so happened that we landed in Perth on the day of the Melbourne Cup, an Australian Horse Race that I assume rivals the Kentucky Derby, and even though we landed on a Tuesday, there were swaths of people enjoying big hats, dresses, and, umm, plenty of libations. I had to google what was going on– after so much Australian partying in Bali, we thought Tuesday afternoon revelry might just be part of being in Australia!

Burrito in Perth — Rich’s burrito makes him smile.

We headed back to our AirBNB after lunch, and Rich declared it his favorite setup of any place we had stayed on the entire trip. It looked to me like it had once been a commercial space so it was really spacious with a well-equipped kitchen, big table, washer AND dryer, and huge couch. We made immediate use of the couch by settling in for long afternoon naps!

When we woke up from our naps, we walked about 15 minutes to a nearby grocery store that was nearly indistinguishable from any Giant in Washington, DC. As I have shared here before, Rich LOVES to grocery shop so he was in heaven. We also had done practically zero cooking in Asia, so we were both so excited to have the opportunity to cook and eat at “home.”

We walked home, cooked pasta, and watched Modern Family on TV before falling asleep. Perfect.

Day 135: Exploring Perth

As I shared in my last post on Canggu, sidewalks in Southeast Asia could be truly hit or miss. In contrast, Perth was incredibly walkable. There were wide sidewalks on both sides of the street anywhere you would want to go.

Running Outside!

We decided to take advantage of the ample sidewalks to go for a run. It was our first run outside since we had been in Sicily, and as any run after a long break from running, it was both glorious and painful– ha! The weather could not have been nicer, but Rich and I were both a bit sore when it was over.

Exploring the CitY: The King’s Botanical Garden, Elizabeth Quay, and the bellTower

After showers, breakfast, a little bit of work, and a lunch in of grilled cheese and tomato soup, we hit the streets of Perth by foot. Perth is a large city with a population of nearly two million people, but while having many resources, it has a smaller community feel.

Rich and I walked about 45 minutes to reach the King’s Botanical Garden. The walk was through beautiful neighborhoods with cozy cottages, and then the views from the garden were spectacular. The gardens overlooked the Perth harbor and the city below.

Just sitting on a well in the botanic garden

Park in Perth — So much green! This park overlooks the city of Perth.

Botanic Garden in Perth — The Western Australian Botanic Garden

From the gardens, we walked into downtown. It was fun to see the hustle and bustle of young professionals leaving work. It almost made us miss being those young-ish professionals ourselves!

Then on to Elizabeth Quay! I had to admit to myself that I didn’t actually know what a quay technically was— which I have had to admit to myself about several English words that are not commonly used in the United States. In case you also are wondering about a quay, it is basically a wharf, a long platform where ships are unloaded. #themoreyouknow

Elizabeth’s Quay was a pretty waterfront area in downtown Perth. We took a few pictures, but it was getting rather breezy and cool so we decided to check out the bell tower and head home.

While I was taking this picture of Rich, a man drove by in his car, rolled down his window, and said, “You can take my picture, darlin’.” And I was weirdly flattered.

On our way home, we passed a hip-looking bar where local Perthians were enjoying a happy hour beer. We figured that in order to have a truly local Perth experience, we should have a happy hour beer too! Besides a weird mix up where a porter was listed as being on special but then we were charged full price, despite being able to point to where it was listed as a special, we had a really nice time relaxing. Being at happy hour in a western-feeling bar felt so familiar, and, as a result, so special.

We walked home and enjoyed leftover pasta for dinner.

Day 136: Run, Work, Art Museum

For the second day in a row, Rich and I went for a run. We ended up running back to the belltower we had visited the day before.

When we got back home, Rich and I enjoyed a slow morning of coffee and blogging/planning. We ate lunch and then walked to the nearby Art Gallery of Western Australia.

art in PErth — Checking out art in Perth. Unclear why this is the painting where I decided to snap Rich’s picture…

Rich and I loved the city set up in Perth. There was a whole cultural area that included the art gallery, a huge library, and a community theater. We wandered through several of the galleries in the Art Gallery and then enjoyed a flat white sitting outside. While a flat white may just be a weird marketing gimmick at Starbucks in the US, it is an art in Australia. It’s basically a latte with a different foam to espresso ration, and the Australians get it just right.

After our leisurely day, I made a proper “home-cooked” meal of pork chops, fried zucchini, and mashed potatoes– food you can’t get in Asia! Staying in to eat felt so luxurious and comforting too.

Mashed potatoes, fried zucchini, and pork chops. Yum.

Day 137: Lunch and Wine Tasting at the Faber Vineyard

Rich found a great Groupon for lunch and a wine tasting at Faber Vineyard, a small, family-owned vineyard about 45 minutes outside of Perth.

We got up and ran again (woot!) before heading out. As I mentioned, Perth’s public transport, as they call it, was fabulous. We took one bus to the metro station, then took the cleanest train I have ever seen about twenty minutes out, and then caught another bus that took us within 100 yards of the vineyard. It was seamless.

public transport in Perth — Loving life on Public Transport in Perth.

The only small drawback to Perth was that it is home to some really pesky flies that like to land directly on your face. We battled them on the walk to the vineyard and then opted into sitting inside– and out of the flies’ reach– for lunch.

The family at Faber Vineyard was lovely, and Rich and I had a really nice afternoon. The son, who was about our age, brought us wine after wine to sample and described what we were tasting while also providing some insight into Australian wine (beyond the Australian wine with kangaroos on the bottles– looking at you, Yellowtail!). Lunch was a huge platter of cheese, olives, bread, crackers, and meats. It was such a different travel experience for us, and we loved it.

Wine! The Verdelho was made in Swan Valley.

Closing Thoughts on Perth

We could live here. Seriously. It was super walk-able and convenient. Perth was clean, the people were friendly, and we loved the art gallery as well as the whole cultural area near our neighborhood. We were able to really settle in– cooking at home, exercising, and washing clothes. All of our favorite at home things! (If you are not sure about washing clothes being a favorite at home thing, I invite you to live out of one backpack, stay somewhere with a washer AND dryer once a month, and then reconsider.)

Perth was the only city we visited on Australia’s west coast, and in a lot of ways, it reminded us of the west coast in the United States, particularly northern California. The weather was mild and comfortable, there was great wine country, the coast is full of beaches, and there was plenty of green space. Perth was the perfect first stop in Australia for us, and we really appreciate that because we have a full month in Australia, we are able to explore some of the smaller cities and coastline in addition to the larger Australian centers of Sydney and Melbourne.

November 5, 2018

Days 117 – 119: Singapore, We Love You

Ah, Singapore. You lived up to all of the hype. Rich and I knew you first as a country with a phenomenal educational system, and then we knew you as the home of Crazy Rich Asians, introduced to us by one of our favorite new authors, Kevin Kwan.

While we only had three short days with you, they were meaningful, and we will find a way to be back to see you soon. That’s a promise.

Day 117: Travel from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore

Day 117 may have been one of my very favorite days of the trip from start to finish. Yes, even on a travel day.

Working Out in the Dark in Kuala Lumpur

As I shared in my Kuala Lumpur post, our AirBNB there had an incredible gym. Rich and I woke up extra early to get one more strong workout in. Small problem: we got dressed and headed down to the gym at 5:15 AM. The gym opened at 7:00 AM.

Our apartment building had many incredible amenities including a playground, an outdoor chess board, barbecue grills, and a putting green that might as well have been a miniature golf course. Rich and I decided to head to the putting green to do a body weight workout on my Aaptiv app. There were no lights on the green, so we jumped around and got sweaty with the reflected city lights of Kuala Lumpur all around us.

Love seeing the Aaptiv confetti…because it means we made it!

At about 5:45 AM, before sunrise, the Muslim call to prayer started playing from intercoms in the city. The soft chanting and the bright lights of the tall buildings really created an other worldly experience.

Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore

One of our Grab drivers told us that there are over 80 flights a day from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore every day. Wild, huh?

Our flight into Singapore was unremarkable, other than the pilot’s reminder before landing that Singapore has the death penalty in place for drug possession. We clearly were drug free. But being reminded that you are entering a country where they can take your life is more than a little intimidating.

We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Yan, a cute boutique hotel within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. Singapore is pricey so it was the most expensive hotel room of Asia for us at $100/night and was also probably the smallest hotel room we have ever shared. It could not have been more than 100 square feet. The bed was in a corner touching two walls. Good thing we like each other. It also didn’t hurt that they gave us two free cokes, a bag of chips, and two packs of M&M’s each day.

Seeing Crazy Rich Asians in Singapore

I read Crazy Rich Asians in Vang Vieng, Laos in less than 48 hours, before handing it off to Rich for him to devour too. If you are not familiar with CRA, it was a megahit romantic comedy this summer and is based on the novel by the super talented Kevin Kwan. Rich and I have since read the second and third novels in the trilogy.

As soon as we read these delightful novels (seriously, read them), we knew we had to see the film. I also decided that we had to see it in Singapore, where the books and movie are set.

So the first thing we scheduled in Singapore was seeing the film, and when we looked up showings, the only one we found was at 9:30 PM, the night we arrived.

Nine thirty is a little late for us, but it was a bucket list item so we headed to a nearby mall at about 8:00 PM to buy our tickets. When we arrived, we discovered that the only showing was in fact at eleven thirty five, hours past our bedtime. We bit the bullet and decided it was worth it.

We spent the next three hours wandering the Singaporean mall and ate dinner in the food court at an incredible Korean restaurant.

This face says it all. Enjoying Korean food in Singapore.

Seeing the movie in the theatre in Singapore was all we could have hoped for. First, the movie itself is so much fun. But we were looking at scenes set in an airport that we had been in hours earlier and at places we had on our agenda to visit the very next day! This made the whole experience just that much more exciting.

One of my other favorite parts was listening to how the humor translated: there were lines that made us giggle that the mostly Singaporean audience didn’t blink at and other lines that hardly seemed like jokes to us that had them in stitches! This proved totally worthy of the loss of sleep.

On our middle of the night walk home through the beautiful and incredibly calm streets of Singapore, Rich and I agreed that this had been one of our very favorite experiences of the whole trip. Fun for all ages! Five stars! Two thumbs up!

Day 118: We See All of Singapore By Foot

Okay, slight exaggeration, but we did walk a lot!

Merlion Park

We first walked to Merlion Park which includes sweeping views of the Marina Bay Sands, the most amazing hotel I have ever seen. The hotel has three super tall towers with a roof deck that includes multiple bars and restaurants and an unbelievable infinity pool– more on that to come. We took some pictures with the Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion, a giant half lion, half fish that overlooks the lake.

With a nice view of the Marina Bay Sands.

Lunch at the Hawker Stalls

If you have seen Crazy Rich Asians, you know that Singapore has markets of street food sold in individual hawker stalls. My crazy Rich (couldn’t resist) looked up the hawker stalls from the books and movie, and we headed to Maxwell Food Centre for lunch. We were starving so we ordered a lot, and it was all so, so, so good. Like so good that these tiny stalls with kitchens no bigger than what you would find in a food truck have earned Michelin stars.

We ate:

Fried Dumplings. Yum.
Carrot Cake. Forget the dessert. This dish is actually made of radish, garlic, fried eggs, and rice, and the flavor defies description. I’m salivating thinking about it.
Hainanese Chicken Rice. The chicken is boiled, then served with an oily, vinegar-y ginger rice. I am not the biggest meat eater these days, but this was so good.
Char Kway Teow. This is a big plate of charred noodles cooked in a hot wok with eggs, soy sauce, bok choy, and bean sprouts.

For ~$13, we had a true feast!

Fried dumplings from a hawker stall. Amazing.

Carrot cake, chicken rice, and char kway teow

The SuperTrees

After this very big meal, we need to walk again. We walked about two miles to the SuperTree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay.

I feel like for so much in Singapore, you just have to see it to believe it. The SuperTrees fall in this category.

So the SuperTrees are giant, vertical gardens that are the same height as a sixteen story building. The solar panels on the SuperTrees generate enough electricity for all of the lighting in the Gardens by the Bay. The SuperTrees are indeed super: they are home to “over 162,900 plants, comprising more than 200 species and varieties of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and tropical flowering climbers.”

My mom’s garden club back in Nashville, Tennessee would have been in heaven.

Rich and I paid a $3/person admission fee to walk on the walkway above the park for even more spectacular views of Singapore. There was live music on the lawn below, and lots of local families were clearly enjoying their day. If we lived in Singapore, I know what grove you would find us in every weekend!

People just chilling on the lawn, listening to live music under the Super Trees

SuperTrees in Singapore — The SuperTrees are as tall as a sixteen story building.

Drinks at Marina Bay Sands

Rich and I debated whether we just wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon at the SuperTrees grove, but ultimately decided we might regret not at least stopping by the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel.

One of the most replicated shots in the cannon of luxury international travel has to be the shot of the back of a traveler staring off into the Singaporean high rise skyline from the infinity pool of the Marina Bay Sands (for a quick sample, see here, here, and here). Unfortunately, the only way to swim in the pool is to pay for a room there, and at $380 a night, that experience did not fit into our around-the-world-for-a-year budget.

Shoot, at $14/a drink, I’m not sure two cocktails fit into our budget either, but when I tell you that the rooftop bar at Lavo surpasses every rooftop bar, maybe every bar, I have ever experienced in terms of atmosphere, please believe I am not exaggerating for a second. I felt like I was an extra in the Great Gatsby (minus the outfit I walked all over the city in!) sitting on top of a skyscraper. It was really just the absolute coolest.

As close as we got to the incredible infinity pool…

Cocktail in Singapore — Really enjoying a great cocktail at the Marina Bay Sands.

Meh. The view of the SuperTrees from the top of the Marina Bay Sands

We enjoyed about an hour of bliss high above the world, and then, thankfully, caught a Grab back to the hotel. We immediately went to sleep.

Day 119: The Singapore Botanic Garden

Because the Philadelphia Eagles took on the Carolina Panthers at 1:00 AM. If you haven’t been following along, Rich and I are ~~psycho~~ extremely dedicated football fans so despite a 12 hour time difference, we have watched almost every Georgia Bulldog and Philadelphia Eagles football game.

The Eagles lost by blowing a 4th quarter lead, and we stayed up until 4:00 AM. Wah-wah.

More Hawker Stalls

In Crazy Rich Asians, four of the main characters enjoy a meal at the Newton Food Centre. So, of course, we had to eat there too! And we had to make jokes about our friends Colin, Nick, Rachel, and Araminta meeting us.

Rich and I realized that the day before our eyes had been slightly bigger than our stomachs, so we reigned in our ordering. We shared one noodle dish and one oyster omelet and left stuffed!

The Singapore Botanic Garden

Our walk from the Newton Food Centre to the Singapore Botanic Garden was just lovely. Imagine the nicest neighborhood in the city where you live. Now make it greener. Now add sidewalks. Now remove any and all trash. You have our walk.

The Botanic Garden could have been my mom’s garden club’s second favorite Singaporean field trip destination. There is a large lake with swans, but the crown jewel is most definitely the National Orchid Garden.

You may be skeptical that Rich and I wake up at 1:00 AM to watch football and enjoy flowers as much as we do, but put your skepticism aside. This is not any average garden; the National Orchid Garden contains the largest collection of orchids in the world with over 60,000 varieties. The gardens are so peaceful and colorful– we had a really nice time wandering around.

The ION Orchard Shopping Center

From the garden, we headed to the ION Orchard Shopping Center to eat food court dinner and see if we could refresh any articles of clothing in our backpack that were especially haggard after days and days and days of wear.

I should start by saying that Rich and I are not big mall fans. We do almost all of our shopping online. Still Singapore malls are so incredible compared to American malls; we got our first Dunkin’ Iced Coffee of the trip (!!!!) and went to work.

Two stores that we found that we loved:

Uniqlo
Muji

The concepts of both stores was similar: they both offer high quality basics (t-shirts, jeans, etc.) with no labels for reasonable prices. Rich was able to replace a lot of articles of clothing (t-shirts, shorts, etc.), and I picked up a few fresh t-shirts. Winning!

Mall Madness. Dunkin’ equals yum in every country.

Final Thoughts on Singapore

Singapore is just so lovely. The city is calm and clean, and everywhere you look you see greenery and art.

When we were in the Grab on the way back to the airport, we heard a commercial on the radio reminding Singaporeans that they must be united as a people. Multiculturalism, secularism, and meritocracy are seen as keys to social harmony, and collective success is valued above that of the individual.

Before Crazy Rich Asians came on in the theatre, there were a number of commercials that played instead of movie trailers.

One commercial urged Singaporeans to save for retirement as not being a financial burden on their children was the greatest gift they could bestow. Another commercial highlighted the importance of young adults becoming early childhood education teachers in order to teach small children values and skills they would carry forward throughout their life. The final commercial encouraged Singaporeans to avoid antibiotics when they have the flu because the flu is a virus and not a bacteria, and they could develop resistance to antibiotics by taking them when they were not helpful.

My point of sharing these anecdotes is that we did not love Singapore just because it looked pretty, although it is visually stunning. We loved the beauty of the ideals of Singapore. Since its founding in 1965, Singapore has experienced a meteoric rise economically and socially. It is clear that there is national pride in being the best in every possible area, and in pulling all citizens up with every success achieved.

We are excited to visit Singapore again in the future…like when the sequel of Crazy Rich Asians hits theatres!

November 2, 2018November 2, 2018

Our FOURTH 30 Days Abroad: By the Numbers

These posts feel a bit like the monthly baby photos– we should have brought some sort of cute stuffed animal to mark our time away!

Not to compare our travels to raising an actual human child, but I will admit to feeling a little #proudparent -ish of how we are growing as travelers. These posts may not mean as much to our readers as they mean to us, but Rich and I really enjoying spending time together reflecting and crafting these every thirty days.

Amanda has an unhealthy obsession with Gritty, the new Philadelphia Flyers mascot. He’s ugly, but he’s our ugly. It was only a matter of time before she slid him into the blog.

Without further adieu, our FOURTH 30 days! And if you like this post or want to see the progression of thirty day reflections, be sure to check out our first , second , and third thirty day review posts too.

Dates Included: September 24 – October 23, 2018

Countries Visited: 4 (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia)

Cities/Towns Visited: 9 (Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Yogyakarta)

TRANSPORTATION

As you can see, our modes of transportation varied greatly in these 30 days! It’s not just planes, trains, and automobiles for us.

Flights: 7

Bus Rides: 1

Taxi/Uber/Grab Rides: 28 (22 Grab rides)

Van Rides: 3

Tuk Tuk Rides: 1

Funicular Rides: 1

Ferry Rides: 1

Train Rides: 1

Long Boat Rides: 2

Rich boarding the ferry to Koh Samui, Thailand

LODGING

AirBNB’s: 5

Hotels: 4

FOOD

Percentage of Meals Eaten Out: 60% (41 meals)

Percentage of Meals Eaten In: 21% (14 meals)

Percentage of Meals Eaten in Airport Lounges: 15% (10 meals)

Percentage of Meals Provided by Hotels or AirBNB’s: 4% (3 meals)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

If you are a frequent reader of these posts, you know that while Rich and Amanda spend most of their time together, walking what you would assume to be the same distances, Rich consistently records many more miles than Amanda. Will the tide turn? Or will Rich continue his walking dominance?

Rich

Total Distance: 342,795 steps (158.40 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 11,460 steps (5.28 miles)
Daily High: 22,434 steps (10.30 miles)
Daily Low: 1,676 steps (0.77 miles)

Amanda

Total Distance: 296,857 steps (133.22 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 9,895 steps (4.44 miles)
Daily High: 20,759 steps (9.07 miles)
Daily Low: 132 steps (.06 miles)

Rich wins. I am also confident that the day I only had 132 steps was a day that I had my FitBit off, if only because we have not stayed anywhere where I could have only gone 132 steps and still eaten food.

INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY

We had a tough time finding anything to read where you would want to read the most: the beaches of Thailand! As you can see, Rich and I both continued to love Kevin Kwan, the author of megahit Crazy Rich Asians.

Rich

Books Read: 3 (Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend)

Amanda

Books Read: 4 (China Rich Girlfriend, Truly Madly Guilty, Me Talk Pretty One Day, The Slap: A Novel)

OVERALL COSTS AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL BUDGET

Flights: 16% (12% decrease)

Other Transportation (Buses, Trains, Ferries, Taxis, Funiculars): 10% (5% increase)

Lodging: 41% (1% decrease)

Food: 21% (5% increase)

Sightseeing: 3% (same)

Other (Books, Haircut, Laundry, Toiletries, Massages, Yoga): 9% (3% increase)

FAVORITES:

Favorite Meal:

Amanda: Rich’s birthday dinner at Akira Back in Bangkok. We had the best sushi of my life.
Rich: My birthday meal at Akira Back in Bangkok. Amazing sushi.

The aforementioned sushi. It was so delicious, we forgot to take a picture of it until after we had eaten a few pieces already.

Favorite AirBNB:

Rich: Our AirBNB in Kuala Lumpur ($40/night) It was located right in the middle of all of the places we wanted to explore. Below the building were a bunch of cool restaurants and coffee shops, and I enjoyed the views and the gym. I just wish I could have gone swimming in the amazing infinity pool.
Amanda: Our AirBNB in Kuala Lumpur ($40/night) The views were amazing, and I LOVED the building’s gym. The location also could not have been better and allowed us to walk almost everywhere we wanted to go.

Favorite Hotel:

Amanda: I really loved the Grand Sunset Hotel, our hotel in Phuket, Thailand. There was a beautiful rooftop pool, and they had all kinds of little free treats throughout the day: coffee from 3-4 PM, popcorn and a cocktail from 6-7 PM, and free ice cream from 8-10 PM.
Rich: I loved our boutique hotel in Singapore, Hotel Yan. It was stylish, sleek, and perfectly located. They had the best toiletries and mini bar with free Cokes, M & M’s, and chips replenished daily.

Favorite City/Town:

Rich: Singapore
Amanda: Singapore

Favorite Beach/Pool:

Amanda: So many beaches! I really liked Railey Beach in Thailand. Runner up goes to Phuket where we got the amazing sunset pictures.
Rich: Railey Beach was beautiful, but so hot! We lasted maybe 30 minutes before we were covered in sweat and retreated to the water, followed by a couple of Tiger beers with a view.

Favorite Mode of Transportation:

Rich: I really enjoyed the rawness of traveling in the long boat to Railey Beach and back. It was exciting wading into the water and climbing in and out of the boat. There was a real authentic feeling that made me feel like a local.
Amanda: I did not enjoy the long boat because I thought we might drown. I don’t have a specific flight, but I loved anytime we flew and got to go to an airport lounge. It is so nice to be able to eat as much as we want and drink an extra latte without worrying about costs.

In front of two long boats in Krabi, Thailand

Favorite Book:

Amanda: I weirdly read two books (Truly, Madly, Guilty and The Slap) about adults behaving badly at backyard barbecues in Australia. Me Talk Pretty One Day was the first David Sedaris book I had ever read, and it was both hilarious and touching. So it wins as my favorite book for these 30 days.
Rich: Crazy Rich Asians. If you have not noticed yet, I…love…Kevin…Kwan… Almost as much as Amanda loves Gritty.

Least Favorite Moment:

Rich: We landed in Yogyakarta and our hotel was only a 23 minute walk from the airport according to Google Maps. We decided to tough it out and walk, can’t be that hard right? WRONG! We had to go a different route than what Google Maps stated due to airport security, and it added about 10 minutes to the walk in 90 degree heat with 20 and 25 lb backpacks on. When we arrived at our hotel, we were tired and drenched in sweat. FAIL!
Amanda: Trying to hike to the Big Buddha statue in Phuket and failing because the blog directions I followed were terrible. I should have done more research before leading us down the wrong road in really hot weather. Not finding a statue is really not that bad, but Rich and I got cross with one another, so that moment stands out as being my least favorite. If you are going to argue, you should at least be able to do it in air conditioning.

Most Favorite Moments:

Amanda: I loved the day in Singapore where we walked and walked and walked and saw the SuperTrees and then had a drink at the top of the magnificent Marina Bay Sands. It helped that we had seen Crazy Rich Asians in Singapore the night before– on our long walk, we passed so many places from the movie. I also loved getting a Thai massage in Krabi, Thailand, and I loved our routine in Kuala Lumpur, especially getting to go to the amazing gym in our building. On our last morning in KL, we got up to go to the gym but it didn’t open until 7 AM so we headed to the building’s putting green (yes, the building had a putting green) to do an Aaptiv strength training workout in the dark. Right as we finished, the Call to Prayer came on softly in the background, and we were surrounded by all these huge skyscraper buildings– it was a moment where I really felt like I was a world away from home, experiencing something I never could have scripted if I tried.
Rich: I loved the sunsets at our rooftop pool in Phucket. I also loved our Thai massages in Krabi. But my favorite thing was EVERYTHING in Singapore. From seeing Crazy Rich Asians to eating at the hawker stands to the beautiful SuperTrees to the drink and view from the Marina Bay Sands, it was everything I imagined. One day, I will swim in that infinity pool.

Enjoying Singapore and being on top of the world at the Marina Bay Sands.

DELTAS:

Looking back on the last thirty days, here are a few things we might have done a little differently.

Eating out so much has been tough. I think we have been to three grocery stores in Southeast Asia. There are frequently 7-11’s or small local markets, but if I were to try to cook a whole meal, I’m not sure I would know where to start. Eating out occasionally is nice, but Rich and I are both pretty introverted and so we find eating in way more relaxing. And I miss cooking and eating what I have cooked.
We would not have gone to Iceland. Wait, aren’t you supposed to be talking about Southeast Asia? Yes, stay with me. We were looking at the budget last night, and we have done a pretty decent job staying on budget in Southeast Asia. And yet, we are still over budget on the trip…for almost the exact amount of money it cost us to go to Iceland. Iceland was pretty but was SO expensive, especially when viewed in light of how far the money for those 6 days would go in Southeast Asia (read: it would pay for everything for 19 days). And we slept in a tent in Iceland and ate hot dogs. We should have saved Iceland for a trip of its own versus including it in our around-the-world trip.
We wish we had picked a better AirBNB location in Bangkok. As I think about how much we loved Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and how meh we felt about Bangkok, I have to think that if we had been in walking distance of the things we wanted to visit in Bangkok, we would have liked it more. Bangkok traffic was insane (makes 75/85 traffic in Atlanta and 676 traffic in Philly look light) and so it took forever to get anywhere. And Rich and traffic are not friends.

LOVES:

Our new planning routine. Since Phuket, Rich and I have dedicated time to meet with each other to calendar out our time in each new location. This facilitates a discussion about our priorities for what we want to see and do in each place so that we are on the same page from the jump. If I am being honest, sometimes it is hard to really tune in and listen to Rich, not because he isn’t charming and interesting, but because we spend all of our time together and sometimes he’s talking to me, but I am daydreaming or playing on my phone or am just otherwise distracted. During our meetings though, I can totally tune in, focus, and pay attention.
The balance of beaches and cities in the last 30 days. We had a lot of beach and pool time in Thailand, but we also spent a significant amount of time in some of the largest cities in Southeast Asia in Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. The balance was nice. We could chill in the beach towns, and then enjoy walking and moving as much as we did in the big cities.
Being together! Nope, not sick of each other yet. In fact, the longer we are gone, the more common experiences we have to compare and share with one another. Rich was organizing our Insta stories the other night, and just watching videos of everywhere we have been and all we have done was so fun. Remember when we watched the World Cup in Croatia (but left because the fireworks were scary and the fans were throwing beer bottles!), and then we were in Malta and we ended up at Friday Happy Hour with the St. Vincent Retirement Community, and then we were in Hanoi, Vietnam exercising with thousands of people in the early morning hours? All of our experiences build and build and build. This is truly a trip of a lifetime, and we love sharing all of it with each other.

October 27, 2018

Days 110 – 112: Pretty Penang, Malaysia

After a nice, long twenty day stretch in Thailand, we packed our bags and headed to pretty Penang, Malaysia!

Day 110: Travel from Koh Samui, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia

I do not know if this will be as shocking to you as it was to us, but the airport in Koh Samui was OUTDOORS. As in the area where the ticket counters were was covered, but it was not fully enclosed. Additionally, to get to the terminals, you walk down a street, not a hallway.

On our way to Penang — The outdoor terminal in Koh Samui

My mom shared that the airport in Hawaii is like this so maybe this fact does not surprise you, but it sure surprised us, in the very best way. We thought the airport was beautiful.

Maybe our excitement about this reflects that we have been traveling for more than 100 days. We spend a lot of time in airports.

So on day 110, we flew from Koh Samui to Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur to Penang. Whew!

Rich and I had an amazing airport lounge in Bangkok, which was a treat. We thought we would get an airport lounge in Kuala Lumpur. We did not, which was disappointing. BUT we learned that we could visit airport lounges upon arrival into a country which meant that we were able to eat a free dinner in a lounge when we landed in Penang. This was a win for day 110 AND for many days moving forward– food is a major cost for us, and we will take all the free meals we can get.

Upon checking in to the AirBNB, this time in another high rise condo, we went almost immediately to bed…

Day 111: Football, Food, and Street Art

Because the University of Georgia took on the LSU Tigers in the biggest football game of the season so far at 3:30 PM in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and 3:30 AM in Penang, Malaysia. Previously undefeated UGA lost and looked terrible doing it.

Once the game ended at 7:30 AM, we went back to sleep.

Eating Malaysian Food in Penang

When we woke up a few hours later, we were hungry. Rich has a favorite Malaysian restaurant back in Philly, named Penang Restaurant because of course, and one of his favorite items on the menu is the roti canai. For the uninitiated (which I was before meeting Rich), roti canai is an Indian pancake that is doughy and melts in your mouth and comes with a delicious red sauce. I should be a food critic.

We got showered and ready, found the top rated restaurant for roti canai, hopped in our Grab, and found out the restaurant is closed. Apparently in Malaysia, you can only get roti canai for breakfast. In America, we always ate it for dinner!

No worries though. If there is one thing people in Malaysia appreciate, it is food. Our AirBNB was pretty sparse (only one roll of toilet paper was provided), but it came with a thick binder of recommended restaurants. When we arrived at the roti canai restaurant 30 minutes before closing time to discover that it had already closed, our driver made a recommendation of where we should eat and what we should order. Then he drove us the extra ten minutes there for no additional charge.

He nailed it! The food was delicious, and the restaurant was filled with travelers from all over the world.

Lunch in Penang — Eating is serious business in Penang.

Street Art in Penang

In 2008, UNESCO named George Town in Penang a world heritage site. In 1786, the East India Company had founded Penang as a trading center. Because Penang was a hub of economic activity, settlers from India and China as well as across Europe landed in Penang bringing their rich cultures with them. Today, a mosque stands on one block and a Hindu temple stands on the next, and the food is one big mashup of the best flavors from India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. The neighborhood is incredibly diverse.

In 2012, the George Town Festival commissioned artist Ernest Zacharevic to create an open air gallery for visitors to the UNESCO heritage site. Zacharevic created eight murals which incorporate paintings with actual objects such as chairs, bicycles, and motorbikes. Since 2012, other artists have added their own murals to walls throughout the area.

After our big lunch, we headed out to find as many murals as we could. They really blend in to the surroundings, and typing in “children on bicycle” in GoogleMaps didn’t work too well for us. Locating all of the murals turned into a sort of hunt for buried treasure!

We did pretty well though and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. The art is awesome, the tourists who were lined up to take pictures were patient with each other, and we had a fun time figuring out the shots we wanted to take.

Enjoy the gallery below!

Day 112: Visiting the Kek Lok Si and More Food in Penang

I’m sad to report that we still did not make it out of the house in time to enjoy roti canai for breakfast! Rich and I both got a bit of a cold upon arriving in Penang, and we needed some extra sleep.

Kek Lok Si

Kek Lok Si is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and it sits high on a hill overlooking Penang. The threat of heavy rain loomed for the duration of our visit, but thankfully, it held off, and we were able to wander through the pretty gardens and temples.

The large, prominent pagoda at Kek Lok Si features Chinese, Burmese, and Thai architectural designs, which really captures the spirit of Penang quite nicely.

The Pagoda with Chinese, Thai, and Burmese design

We took a funicular (!!!) to the top of the hill, where a giant bronze statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, stands overlooking the city. Near her statue are small statues representing each Chinese birth year so we took pictures with our respective animals: a horse for Rich (fine) and a rat for Amanda (terrible).

One small thing I really appreciated at Kek Lok Si that I had not seen at any others were the wishing trees. The temple sold “wishes” on small ribbons that included things like successful career and being together forever. I was struck by how universal all of our wishes are! Across the globe, people wish for joy and peace and health for themselves and the people they love.

Lunch Time!

Rich picked out a place for lunch back in George Town, but when we got in the Grab, our very talkative Chinese Grab driver insisted that we go somewhere “better” instead. So she took us to her favorite Malay restaurant and talked the whole 25 minutes on the ride there.

Things we learned from/opinions of the driver:

Malaysia has had a very corrupt government for several generations but major changes have been made in the past two years that should lead to less state corruption and more regulation.
Malays are very confused by American politics (“The loud rich man and the wife lady were the two very best people you have to interview for your prime minister?”)
According to our driver, the Chinese do not like the Muslims in Malaysia (remember: Malaysia is a Muslim country) but they are fine with the Indians.

Let’s be kind, and say she was a character. I’ll also say she picked out a great restaurant for lunch, and we ate well!

Final Thoughts on Penang, Malaysia

We loved the street art in Penang, we got incredible, flavorful meals in Georgetown, and it was great to be in a large city with modern conveniences.

We were a bit run down during our time here so we didn’t get in quite as much as we had hoped (read: roti canai). That wasn’t Penang’s fault, and at the same time, it wasn’t really ours either– sometimes you just have to play the hand you’re dealt, and we can’t feel great every day of this marathon journey.

Penang was an incredibly easy city to navigate though, and the people were friendly and welcoming. If you are visiting Southeast Asia, we would definitely encourage you to keep Malaysia on your list.

On to Kuala Lumpur…

October 10, 2018

Days 94 – 97: Birthday + Traffic = Bangkok

So Bangkok was great because we celebrated Rich’s birthday there, but Bangkok was also a bit of a #fail because we underestimated traffic and stayed a bit too far away.

You win some, you lose some. Every destination can’t be Chiang Mai. Sigh.

Keep reading to hear how we celebrated Rich’s FORTIETH birthday and what we might have done differently in Bangkok if we had a chance.

Day 94: Rich’s 40th/Travel Day

Our general approach to travel days– as you can imagine, we have a lot of travel days– is to endure and make the best of what we get. Sometimes we get airport lounges with free food and great WiFi; sometimes we just buckle up and hang on.

In other words, in retrospect, we might have rearranged our days so that we weren’t traveling on Rich’s actual birthday to avoid an early morning and having to adhere to a schedule to make our flight.

Travel from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

Travel from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, Thailand’s two largest cities, was easy enough. We took a tuk tuk from our apartment to the airport. Since the flight was domestic, there was no lounge available. The flight was a little over an hour, direct, and then we took a taxi from the airport to our AirBNB, which was in another high rise apartment building. We got our first taste of Bangkok traffic– the ride from the airport took close to an hour. Eeek.

Violating International Laws, aka Checking Into Our AirBNB

Here’s where things got a bit weird: Despite our host writing that “everything was fine with AirBNB and immigration,” we were instructed to “under no circumstances” communicate with anyone at the front desk of the apartment building and to walk directly to a mailbox to retrieve our key.

Based on the giant signs in the lobby declaring that short term rentals were against the law and anyone violating the act would be reported to authorities, I think that perhaps everything was NOT fine with immigration! Here we are, the only white people in the building, speaking about three words of Thai, with giant backpacks, trying to act like we lived somewhere we had literally never been before. We were not exactly thrilled with our host for putting us in this shady situation.

I guess we did okay because the authorities never came for us. Nothing says living on the edge like violating short term rental acts in a foreign country. I mean there are only about one thousand movies about Americans/Brits ending up in Thai prisons. Happy 40th!

The MASSIVE sign alerting us to our potential AirBNB problem…

Birthday Eating: McDonald’s and Mr. Food

It was rainy when we got to our apartment, and we didn’t really have getting fancy in us so we decided to postpone a true birthday celebration until the next day. We were HUNGRY though.

When we started googling nearby restaurants, reality sunk in that we weren’t close to much. We decided to walk to the closest mall, about 10 minutes away.

This. mall. was. creepy. It was HUGE, but we saw maybe 15 other people shopping in the hour or so we were there. Apparently, it was a very new Korean-style mall doing some sort of soft open so maybe no one knew they could go? It felt a bit apocalyptic.

The food court had NOT fully opened, but McDonald’s had! You don’t have to believe me, but we had not had any American fast food on the previous 93 days of our travel. Eating Mickey D’s on Rich’s birthday felt so right.

Honey, I love you so much I’m taking you to the Golden Arches for your birthday.

When we got back from lunch, epic storms rolled in so we vegged away the afternoon. Instead of going out in Bangkok, we talked about watching Hangover II in Bangkok. Then we wandered out for dinner at Mr. Food around the corner, and it was surprisingly yummy.

Mr. Food in Bangkok — Rich clearly enjoying Mr. Food

We were in bed by 10:30 PM. This is forty.

Day 95: Let’s Celebrate!

The next morning, we made it out for coffee and to buy groceries. The grocery store was huge and beautiful, so Rich was happy.

Yep, looking pretty everyday at The Everyday Cafe

We spent the afternoon by the pool and had it all to ourselves. In Thailand, there is a HUGE industry devoted to skin whitening (seriously– it’s scary) so tanning is pretty much an anathema to the locals.

And then we got ready to go out!

Dinner at Akira Back

While we have eaten out a lot in Southeast Asia, for the most part, we try to do it as inexpensively as possible. But this was Rich’s 40th birthday dinner, so it was time for a treat! We picked Akira Back, a modern Japanese/Korean restaurant on the 37th floor of the Marriott Marquis in downtown Bangkok.

Interestingly enough, SIX of the top 25 restaurants in Bangkok are all located in the Marriott Marquis. Go figure.

The distance from our apartment to the restaurant was only 4.6 km away (less than 3 miles). However, in a Grab (SE Asia Uber equivalent) through Bangkok, it took us 45 MINUTES to get there. Bangkok traffic is seriously no joke.

We arrived in time to enjoy one cocktail at ABar, the bar adjoining the restaurant, and the experience was wild, in a good way. The decor looked like it was from a movie set, and we sat on an outdoor terrace overlooking Bangkok below. Rich and I both took a minute to take stock of how amazing our life is and how grateful we are to be taking all of this in together.

Happy to celebrate my love. Rich asked me to point out that he was happy that I matched the decor.

Dinner was everything we hoped it would be. We enjoyed crab fried rice, wagu short rib for two, INCREDIBLE sushi, and fries made with duck fat along with an unbelievable view of Bangkok. Happy Birthday!

Day 96: Temples in Bangkok

Surprising no one, Bangkok has some amazing temples. A bit surprising to us, however, was how long it took us to get to them– temples that were just 12 km away (~7.5 miles) took more than an hour to reach via Grab. It’s okay, my husband loves traffic (bahahahahahahaha).

Wat Arun

I learned my lesson from the temples in Chiang Mai and had a scarf ready to go if I needed to cover up at the temples in Bangkok. Apparently I did because while Rich was paying to even enter Wat Arun, another visitor tapped me on the arm and said, “Cover your legs.” Yes, m’am. (Rich: “Does she even work here?). It’s bizarre to go from being someone who enforces dress code to being someone told to cover up! Not exposing your knees or your shoulders is tricky when the daily temperature tops ninety degrees– and when all of the outfits you brought fit in one backpack.

Wat Arun is a beautiful temple, covered in mosaics. It was also super crowded with people jockeying to get the perfect Insta shot, which sometimes included separate lights and multiple photographers! Being an influencer is serious business (my friend Sarah Jo: “I read all of your blogs. Are you internet famous yet?” Me: “Decidely not. But I feel super honored that about 100 people read my blog each week. That is a lot to me!”).

At Wat Arun– getting a picture with no one else in it took some work!

Wat Pho

From Wat Arun, we took a quick, cheap ferry across the river to reach Wat Pho. Wat Pho is home to a famous reclining Buddha and has been a temple longer than Bangkok has been the capital of Thailand. The reclining Buddha was cool, but I felt a bit boxed in with many other tourists and signs everywhere warning of pickpockets (of which we have seen none in SE Asia, by the way).

However, outside the temple with the reclining Buddha, there is a huge courtyard filled with phra phrang, or towers. They were all mosaics, like Wat Arun, and we enjoyed walking around that space which was a lot more open.

Full view of my scarf skirt– we call this “make-it-work” fashion

Khao San Road

From Wat Pho, we walked by the royal palace, which unknown to us closed at 3 PM. Ooops. It looked pretty spectacular from the road but was surrounded by high walls which prevented us from getting any good shots. We then walked another 15-20 minutes to Khao San Road.

Khao San Road is the center of backpacker life in Bangkok, and while we saw many hostels along the road, umm, we aren’t sure if any of the hostels have working showers? Sometimes we feel a bit grimy as we travel, but if we ever reach this level of grime, I’m going need one of the hundred people who read this to leave me a comment that it’s time to pull it together.

Rich and I got delicious and CHEAP pad thai from a street vendor, although she stuck us in a bit of an alley to eat it (maybe our cleanliness was going to scare the other customers away?). We then went back to one of the restaurants on the strip to split a big beer and do some people watching. Rich and I both could have sat there for hours– I would be hard pressed to name a better spot for people watching perhaps in the entire world. The New York subway, perhaps? It’s up there.

You can catch a bit of the scene behind Rich

Georgia had a 2:30 AM football game against the University of Tennessee so we went home and crashed so we could rise in the middle of the night to watch it. Dawgs won at 5:48 AM, and we went right to sleep.

Well, one of us made it until the end of the Georgia game…Not quite as glamorous as actually being in Athens. #thisisalso40

Day 97: Let’s Work!

We slept in post-early-morning football game, and then decided to get some work done. We had played with leaving the apartment to work from somewhere else, but it was pretty rainy, and our apartment had a HUGE couch so we burrowed in and got to work.

Not much to report here: Rich did some New Zealand planning, and I published our post on Vientiane, Laos. We ate rice for dinner at a spot about 100 yards from our apartment, stocked up on game watching snacks at a 7-11 across the street, and then threw a load of laundry in the apartment complex’s washer and dryer (hallelujah for every dryer we can get, even though one of my dresses definitely shrunk from a dress to a swimsuit cover up!).

It was now the Eagles turn for a middle-of-the-night football game.

Watching your team lose is bad enough. Staying awake from midnight until 4:00 AM to watch your Super Bowl champion team lose to the terrible Tennessee Titans (sorry Nashville readers, but you know this season it’s true!) in a horrendous overtime showing was BRUTAL.

Closing Thoughts on Bangkok

Bangkok is probably a lot like any big city globally. Everyone wants to be in the center of the action, but to get there, you have to pay.

We knew that we were going to be about 5 KM out from downtown, but we didn’t anticipate how long it would take to get into the city or how hard it would be to walk. I think we imagined Bangkok as being a lot like New York with pretty easy access to the city from the boroughs via subway– as well as the boroughs being pretty well developed themselves– and that just wasn’t the case.

After being there, it seems like Bangkok exploded population-wise and the infrastructure has not been able to keep up. If traffic makes you crazy, Bangkok is NOT the city for you.

The American couple we met in Chiang Mai told us that they had seen A LOT of old Western men with very young Thai girls in Bangkok, and thankfully, we didn’t see any of that. Also, while we might have encouraged our backpacker friends on Khao San Road to raise their bar for cleanliness/hygiene, we didn’t see anyone eat a scorpion or seem outrageously drunk, though we were there in the late afternoon. Maybe that was the trade off for staying farther out in our “legal” AirBNB: for better or worse, we had a much lower key, 40-year-old-appropriate Bangkok experience.