As some of you know, my sister, Bri, lives in Australia, and this year we decided to have our annual get together in Asia. After a lot of research and indecision, we settled on Thailand and decided to spend some time up north in Chiang Mai, followed by a couple of weeks on the island of Koh Samui. While researching where to stay on Koh Samui, we stumbled across a place called Khwan Beach Resort and were immediately obsessed with the fact that they offer glamping, which is basically super posh camping.
Read moreA Review of Redang & Wisana Village
I don't think there are enough descriptors to adequately tell you how incredible the island of Redang is. White sand, clear water - so picture perfect everywhere you look that you get overwhelmed trying to decide what to photograph next. Even better? Getting to stay in a bungalow at Wisana Village steps from the water on one of the most pristine beaches I've ever seen. If you're traveling to Malaysia and looking to experience the islands, we couldn't recommend Redang and Wisana Village more!
Read more10 Reasons to Visit Singapore
We were totally intrigued by Singapore. Yes, we're usually into remote places and outdoorsy adventures, but Singapore won us over. Sadly, our stay there was cut short due to our decision to give up our seats on the Japan leg of our flight to Singapore (but yay for earning a ton of mileage points!), so this is definitely not a comprehensive overview of Singapore! Regardless, we want to share ten reasons to visit Singapore, based on what we experienced.
Read moreArchitectural Wonders of India
I know I already wrote about our time in India and included lots of photographs, many of which were architectural in nature, but I couldn't help but post a full collection. India really has some of the most amazing buildings! There are so many beautiful structures that they almost start to strike you as common place. Almost. I didn't feel like including captions describing where each photo was taken (I'm pretty lazy sometimes), but would be happy to tell you if you ask. I will say that these photos were taken at the Taj Mahal, Jaigarh Fort, Jal Mahal, Amer Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal, and the Red Fort. Ready to feast your eyes?
Read moreA Review of The Manor: Tales of Irony in Delhi
Up until India, the fanciest place we'd stayed was a three and a half star hotel in Thailand. However, when I planned our trip to Nepal and India I decided for once we were going to splurge with two days at a luxurious boutique hotel in Delhi called the The Manor. I think some sort of premonition guided me to this decision, because after two weeks of trekking, rafting, a major earthquake, and the chaos of driving around India trying to get in as many sights as possible, The Manor was an extremely welcome end to our trip. This experience was not only relaxing, but also a slightly nerve racking adventure at times because heck - we don't know much about the protocols and expectations of fancy people in fancy places!
Read moreImpressions of India
Riotous colors, sweeping architecture with an intricacy that has been lost by the modern world, sleek displays of wealth and burgeoning technology. And yet in the same day, images of desperate poverty, a constant scent of manure and sweat, piles of garbage getting trampled down in the street. This extreme juxtaposition will remain my greatest impression of India. What a country. It has it all - both good and bad - and managed to flood me with almost every emotion. Wonder, fear, sadness, helplessness, anger, excitement.
Read moreA Day and a Half in Jaipur
We headed to India with only one solid plan: to see the Taj Mahal. India is a vast and incredible place that we could probably spend months exploring, but the real focus of this trip was Nepal and as such, concrete plans for India fell by the wayside. Either by way of providence or disaster (depending on if you're a glass half full or half empty kind of person), we ended up not being able to get to our hotel in Delhi and so at one o'clock in the morning ended up embarking on a three day tour of the "golden triangle" with a personal driver.
Read moreCalmest Shopping in Delhi?
I've shopped in a lot of places but India has to take the cake for overall craziness. I was stoked to head to the markets when we got to India. I'd been dreaming of lavish textiles, jewelry, and knick knacks for the house long before the trip started. Sadly, after my first foray into the markets in Jaipur, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to bring myself to go back to the markets again. I'm used to being hassled to come into shops and bargaining for things without fixed items. But being grabbed by the arm and pulled into stores was new to me, as was being followed around the market by a swarm of venders who didn't stop peddling their items to you no matter how many times you stated you weren't interested.
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