Dueling Backpacks

Thinking back on our Thailand travels will evoke images of sandals, sunscreen, and sand. Most people might imagine themselves running away to a tropical island one day (or at least wishing they could) and we pretty much did just that for a whole month. There were never any important sites to see or museums to visit. There was only the beach and we spent days on end walking through the sand and swimming in the ocean. 

Day 279 (April 3, 2019) – Bangkok, Thailand We were back in Bangkok! Despite going seemingly everywhere on this around the world trip, we had yet to go anywhere we had already vacationed, until we landed in Bangkok. Bangkok was the starting point for our 2013/2014 Southeast Asia trip and unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Bangkok the first time around. I’m sad to say that the repeat visit didn’t change my mind.

Day 271 (March 26, 2019) - Koh Phangan, Thailand After spending ten days in Malaysia for our visa run, it was time to head back into Thailand. The plan was to first spend eight nights in Koh Phangan, an island known for two diametrically opposed things: full moon parties and its conscious community . 

Malaysia was a great destination for our Thailand visa run. In fact, it should have been on our radar all along. We saw beautiful beaches on Langkawi and ran around the vibrant city of George Town , snapping pictures of street art and eating as much food as we could.

Day 261 (March 16, 2019) – George Town, Penang, Malaysia George Town was such a pleasant surprise. We didn’t have many expectations going in, only knowing that the tour books recommended a visit, yet it ended up being one of my favorite cities of our trip. George Town, also called Penang (in reference to the state in which is resides, almost suggesting that the only reason one would go to Penang would be to go to George Town), is Malaysia’s second largest city and located off Malaysia’s northwest coast on Penang Island. The city is soaked in history, being the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. George Town became a critically important port city and a magnet for people and goods coming in from all over the region. This gave George Town a unique and eclectic clash of Colonial and Asian styles and a vibrant multiculturalism. Perhaps the greatest gift to come from the diverse mix of people and cultures is the food. We soon realized that our goal was to eat our way throug...

Day 256 (March 11, 2019) – Langkawi, Malaysia Malaysia was never on our list of places we planned on visiting when we thought about this trip long ago, but here we were! It was kind of fun because it felt a bit unexpected, although we had a very good reason for going there. Thailand only gives you a 30-day visa and our time was up. We wanted to stay longer to see more of the country and we could do that by exiting and re-entering to get another 30-day visa. In other words, out trip to Malaysia was our visa run. While we could have entered and left Malaysia on the same day just to get our new visa, we instead turned the opportunity into a 10-day Malaysia trip, visiting both Langkawi and Penang.

Day 252 (March 7, 2019) – Koh Lipe, Thailand Travel is sort of a funny thing sometimes. You spend all this time getting somewhere far away so you can see new things, learn about how others live their lives, have new experiences, or whatever else you want to get out of your efforts. Even though many people might agree on the reasons why they travel, it is an extremely personal experience. Everyone has their own preferences for things to see and do. Travis and I don’t always agree on what our favorite places, activities, or experiences were, but more often than not we find ourselves on the same page. That’s why the things we either liked or didn’t like about our trip aren’t necessarily what other people might like or not like.

Day 247 (March 2, 2019) – Koh Muk, Thailand When we started this trip I think I always had this vision of sometime along the way being dropped off on a remote and miniscule tropical island with perfect beaches and nothing to do but lay in the sun and read a book all day. This imaginary island was supposed to be the perfect get-away-from-it-all island with nothing to do and no way for people to reach you. Our trip to Koh Muk (also spelled Koh Mook) was pretty much as close as we were going to get to that tiny tropical island.

Day 243 (February 26, 2019) – Koh Lanta, Thailand Koh Lanta was pretty much a perfect Thai island. It was exactly what I was hoping to find from our island-hopping adventures in the Andaman Sea. The beaches were among the nicest we’d ever seen, all the cozy little beach-side restaurants we visited were absolutely delicious, and the whole place had a super relaxed feel. Forget Phuket . Koh Lanta was the elusive Thai island paradise we had been searching for.

Day 235 (February 18, 2019) – Koh Phi Phi, Thailand I was determined to not go to Koh Phi Phi while we were in Thailand. I had read all about it and came to the conclusion that I’d rather spend my time elsewhere. However, as much as I tried to avoid it, it was on the way to all the other places we wanted to go. We would have had to sail right past it to go elsewhere, so we decided to stop on Koh Phi Phi anyway and see what all the fuss was about.

Day 233 (February 16, 2019) – Phuket, Thailand Our first stop in Thailand landed us in Phuket (the “h” is silent), one of the main gateways to the Thai islands. Although Phuket is itself an island it’s so large that just trying to figure out which part to stay in is a challenge. So rather than planting ourselves in one spot for a week, we took the opportunity to visit three different parts of the island over nine days. We spent four days in Patong, three days in Kata, and two days in Phuket Town. These places were strikingly different from one another but in a way they each provided a different atmosphere so that anyone can find something to like on Phuket. No matter where we were on the island, we were never far away from the crowds, but at the same time we were also never far away from a pristine tropical beach.

We were in Singapore for such a short time, only four days, that reporting on expenses seems a bit unnecessary. However, for the sake of completion, here we go. This is short and to the point.

Day 226 (February 9, 2019)  –  Singapore Originally, our plans didn't involve visiting Singapore , but we were made an offer we couldn't refuse: free accommodation! My friend Sharon from high school now lives in Singapore and graciously offered to host us for the four days we were in town. Singapore is known for being quite the expensive city, and it certainly would've been had we paid for our own room. But thanks to Sharon's generosity, we were able to put that money towards awesome food and drinks instead. It was great catching up with Sharon, and the city turned out to be so much better than we had expected. The city is so vibrant and cosmopolitan that it is high on my list of places to live if we ever settle down and find a job again (and if that job would let me work remotely from Singapore). Public transit is super efficient, and the city is extremely safe. The only downside is there was a heavy Big Brother feel to the place, with government security cameras ...