Reunion on Koh Chang

When you move abroad loads of people say they would love to visit. The reality is, though, that a lot has to come together for most of us to make an international trip happen. My friend, Y, made it a reality this year! I was delighted when she booked her flights and we threw around a lot of ideas for our week together.

We decided to meet up in Bangkok at the start of my fall break and then travel southeast to a Thai island called Koh Chang. A few of my colleagues had been before and they suggested it based on beautiful beaches, a cool vibe and plenty of options for fun while still relaxing.

All went smoothly with both of our flights and we jumped up and down and hugged repeatedly upon meeting at the airport hotel on Friday night. We took an early shuttle the next day, which allowed us plenty of time to chat and catch up on the way to the island.

Our top 10 from the week (in no particular order):

1. Beaches! That's why we visit islands, right? Well, Koh Chang is one of the biggest islands in Thailand and it has lots of them. We stuck to the west coast on this trip, staying at three different resorts, which allowed us to see different spots on the island. The west is more developed than the east, but it sounds like there are some great spots if you want to get away from it all on the east side. I heard that one small town is only accesible by boat!

My classic feet + beach shot

At some spots the beach is rocky...still gorgeous!

2. Shoulder Season! This means that we paid very fair rates for some very fancy places… it also means that there weren't lines, crowds or sunburns… However, it does mean we had some gray skies and got caught in a few monsoon showers. Luckily, the weather is warm and you can swim rain or shine. Also, the sun really made an appearance in the second half of the week.

So where did we stay?

Mercure - I booked this hotel for our first few days so that we would have a place to head to right away. It was beautiful! We loved the beachfront location, TWO swimming pools and attentive staff. We didn't love the "hideaway" location since it meant we had to get all meals, snacks and drinks from the hotel restaurant and it made it more difficult to explore. 

We decided we were basically on honeymoon together!

Modern room

AWA - After some scoping out, we decided to spend our next few days in Kai Bai, which is a nice stretch of beach and has one main street with plenty of shops and dining options. We didn't love the hotel, but we did like the location.

Pretty pool

The main street

Ramayana - I found this one through its great Trip Advisor reviews. And it was a find! We had relaxing massages here, dined poolside, hiked to a waterfall and dipped in the pool and jacuzzi. The only downside is that it's not on the beach (but it operates a shuttle to and from). The grounds are carefully landscaped, the food is good and our room was cute! 

Y contemplates the water.

3. Thai Food! Y is vegan and I am almost vegan and gluten free… communicating these needs to folks who don't understand a lot of English and who don't have the same cultural concept of food preferences and allergies can be a challenge. Y and I had many successful eating experiences on our trip with favorites being coconut curries, phad thai (it's a classic for a reason!), fresh coconuts and fruity cocktails (hey, it's vacation!).

Drinking coconuts and waiting for veggie Thai food.

4. Hikes! Well, technically we only went on one true hike. But, we walked and wandered a LOT this week. On our last day we found Klung Phu waterfall. We walked here from our hotel, enjoying the local scene along the way and then the national park trail along the river to a gorgeous waterfall. We even saw a river turtle (photos didn't turn out) and lots of fish nibble visitors as they swim!

Starting our hike

Y dives right in

P.S. Dad, this one is a national park! We even stopped at the visitor center and signed the guestbook. ;)

5. Animals! We saw lots of fishies on our day trip snorkeling, but we were surprised daily by frogs, huge bees and lots of tropical bugs! A lot of the shop and restaurant owners also keep pets that wander their establishments.

Temple kitten

The most beautiful bee

He was hopping along the main street!

This one visited us on our hotel porch

6. Good company! As you may have noticed, I do most of my adventuring alone. It was a real treat to have a true blue friend's company this week. We realized that we had never been on vacation together before, but that we had similar travel styles. The week was an excellent balance of exploring, resting, reading and doing yoga together.

Hanging our feet overboard on our snorkeling trip

When in Asia...

Yes...

...we played peek-a-boo.

7. Coffee! Yeah, we are both big fans. It was super fun to wake up each day, giggle with each other and get our coffee as we got going. Coconut milk was our favorite option for creamer and iced americano the preferred drink.

Poolside selfie with caffeine :)

8. Swimming pools! We played in the waves and sand, but each spot we stayed had beautiful swimming pools - the Mercure had two!

Y takes her victory lap at the Mercure!

9.  Books! We are both big readers. My genre of choice is fiction. During the week I read…

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous - This was a recommendation from a former student. It is an intense and quick read and it won't be everyone's favorite, but I thought it was excellent. It's been described as a modern Catcher in the Rye and I can see why - you get into the narrator's head, hearing his thoughts about his life and the struggles he faces.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - a young adult classic! I don't think I ever read it growing up. Worth a read if you are young or old!

And Y was working on: The Rift: A New Africa Breaks Free by Alex Perry. It was a BIG book and covered a lot of history; she didn't quite finish it, but she said she had heard that the end was hopeful. I hope so.

10. Movie nights! Neither of us were looking for big parties or late nights and we enjoyed winding down with films on several evenings. What did we watch or re-watch? Kill Bill (1 and 2), Girls Season 5, Twilight Over Burma (and after viewing we both decided to read the book upon which the film is based) and a few episodes of Orange is the New Black.

On a much more somber note, Thailand experienced a huge loss during our trip with the passing of the King. There is no shortage of articles about his life and what is next for Thailand, but one succinct story is here. 

And I would like to congratulate myself for publishing a post about a trip that I took just a couple of weeks ago - way to go CassyBee!!!

Bye bye, Koh Chang, we hope to return someday!

Article of the Week:
Expressions are one of the more challenging parts of learning another language. Read here if you are curious about all the different ways we can use milk in Spanish. The article is in English! :)

Recipe of the Week:

I think that I have mentioned this blog before, but I tried their Spanish Vegan Fabada this week and it turned out amazing! The flavors were delicious and it really was simple to make. I didn't have sweet paprika, only smoky (from Granada, Spain!), but the dish still turned out great. 

Drink of the Week:
Another from the Simple Vegan Blog! If you want a non-caffeinated, comforting and creamy hot beverage this fall, I recommend a Turmeric Latte. Turmeric has many positive health benefits, including being anti-inflammatory. I used coconut milk for mine this morning and it was delicious. You could also add a dash of nutmeg, ground cloves or cardamom. 

I had to include one last sunset.

Til next week! ;)

Vietnam, Part 5, Hoi An

After an all-day motorcycle tour from Hue, I arrived in Hoi An. I took a little wander around town and then crashed. My room was adorable; I could have moved in. I was excited to explore the next day and stay the rest of my break here.

A cozy spot for the week

Hoi An is a beautiful town, which is well-known for its windy streets, river canals and tailors. It has a European touch to it and I loved all the coffee shops and restaurants with al fresco dining options. Its lantern festivals are also famous. It just so happened I would get to experience one of these magical evenings during my week here! If you can adjust your travel plans to be in Hoi An for a lantern festival, I would recommend you do so!

Colorful lanterns on a Hoi An street

Sampling coffee and deciding what to bring back!

Downtown Hoi An is car and motorbike free, but there are a lot of bicycles. I rented one for a day and enjoyed cruising around. 

Hoi An Canal

Panorama of the main canal

Historic Brid

Banana flower salad... did you know that bananas have flowers? And, that you can eat them?

A sample of what a local tailor can do...

Dusk in downtown

Most of the teachers travel away from Yangon when we have school breaks. I love living in Yangon, but I also love getting out when we have a chunk of time off of school. As it turns out a friend and colleague, K, was also traveling through Vietnam at this time. I met up with her, and her visiting parents, for dinner and the lantern festival.

The four of us ate at a restaurant near the water as the sun set. After finishing our meal, we made our way towards the canals. Hoi An limits electric light on these special nights (the 14th day of each lunar month) and with just the flicker of lanterns, the town takes on a magical glow. It was easy to purchase paper lanterns and hop in a boat. Our captain rowed us out, where we released our lanterns, watching them as they drifted out until they mingled with the rest. 

Selfie from our rowboat

My lantern on its way out

Moon over the canal

Lanterns on the water

I ended my time in Hoi An by picking up a few new custom-made items from tailors and relaxing at the beach. The beach is absolutely lovely; it has enough development to be comfortable (beach bars, ice cream stands, seafood restaurants), but not enough to take away the calm and charm of the place. 

Beach near Hoi An

We've made it to the end of my Vietnam saga! I am sorry that my posts lag so far behind my adventures.

I am going to continue on my Tuesday publication schedule until the holiday break...so keep reading! Hopefully, this will let me catch you up on my goings and goings (if that is even possible - I have been in Yangon 1 out of the last 5 weekends...).

Favorite sweet treat:

A friend make these gluten free vegan cookie dough balls for a recent potluck and they disappeared FAST! I haven't tried the recipe yet, but it looks pretty easy and not too unhealthy.

Podcast Recommendation:

I don't follow many podcasts, but I have become hooked on Tea with BVP. It focuses on second language acquisition and it has been shaping how I think about what I do in the classroom.

Another Blog Recommendation:

One of my former students is studying abroad in Spain this year. Follow her journey and live vicariously through her adventures with El Mundo Loco.

Ha ha, this is what my backpack looked like when I got home! I took carry-on only for my two weeks in Vietnam!

Vietnam, Part 4: On the Road

So, how would I get to Hoi An, my next destination??? Train? Plane? Bus? Private transfer? A fellow traveler tipped me off onto an even better option! The people you meet, the conversations you have and the tips that you get from fellow travelers are some of my favorite things about traveling.

And so I found the motorcycle tour company, Le Family Riders, that would not only drive me there, but stop to see sights along the way. They were friendly, organized and experienced. I strongly recommend that you use them if you visit the area!

I was picked up at my hotel early in the morning. We drove out of town, stopping for pictures and eventually for coffee. It was a cloudy day, but I was glad for the overcast skies because I was worried about burning since I knew I'd be outside most of the day.

A deceiving photo... I never actually drove this thing. ;)

At a traditional Vietnamese breakfast spot, I met up with other travelers in my group. We went on to visit a local fishing village.

Cloudy and windy, but not cold!

After the second stop we turned off of the main road, for a detour and another stop, curving up to a secret swimming spot. Most of the visitors were Vietnamese and they hung out under shelter, socializing and drinking beer. We decided that we had to take a dip in the water and try out the natural water slide.

A stop at natural pools and waterslides

After our dip in the pools, it was time to head towards lunch, which would be on a floating restaurant. 

A view back at the town towards the floating restaurant where we had a seafood lunch feast.

Next, it was time to go up and over the mountains, pass through Da Nang and arrive in Hoi An. Here is a video of us cruising up the hill! Mom, please note that helmets were worn the entire time. 

I guess this road is a famous twisty and turny uphill climb and has been featured in shows like Top Gear. It's a popular spot for locals to come and take photos. We saw several wedding photo shoots taking place as we climbed upwards. 

Cheese!

Looking back through the mist from the top.

These teens were playing in the wind and taking selfies - too cute!

View of the coast - the sun did begin to peek out.

Selfie on the back of my ride

Our last stop was the temple on top of Marble Mountain. A lot of the marble used to make decorations and religious statues comes from this mountain and there is a beautiful temple on the top. We left our drivers and bikes below as we whizzed to the top of the mountain in a glass elevator. From there we had some time so we explored the many nooks and caves, took pictures of the coastal views around (it is near Da Nang) and then descended via the stairs.

Winding around the different prayer spots

Garden and Buddha

Steps leading to the very tippy top of the mountain

And the view from the top!

Hi Mom! These marble statues look like Tarzi! ;)

Eventually a very long day ended at my hotel in Hoi An. Stay tuned for the last chapter in my series on Vietnam! (It probably won't be next week... we are on fall break and I will be in Thailand, where blogger doesn't work.)

I just finished reading:

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood - I think this is her newest novel and it is the first Atwood I have read. I liked it. It did get weirder than I thought it would at first, but it was pretty engrossing and definitely creative. I'm looking forward to discussing it at book club later this month.

Human Dark with Sugar by Brenda Shaughnessy - I don't read a lot of poetry, but Y recommended this book to me and Shaughnessy is amazing. It's definitely a book of poems that I will go back to.

And what I am really excited to listen to:

One of my favorite artists, Conor Oberst, is releasing a new record. You can hear it and read an article from NPR here.