My Trusted Housesitters Experience

In 2017 I decided to take some time off of work in order to travel, study yoga and contemplate future life options. It was a huge decision and an opportunity for me to grow, leaning into uncertainty. I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to save money while I worked and lived in Myanmar, but this blog is about one of my tips to make time off affordable, whether you are on your own sabbatical or simply taking a vacation: Trusted Housesitters.

About a year ago I learned about Trusted Housesitters, a site that matches traveling home and pet owners with sitters. It's an interesting arrangement because no money is exchanged; you get a great place to stay and fuzzy company and they get great petcare and home security. I investigated a bit more and decided to go ahead and sign up, even though there is an annual fee (of about $100 US). I figured that even if I only got one sit of a few days that the membership would pay for itself.

I have had a fabulous experience with the Trusted Housesitters organization and with the homes and pets I have looked after. 

Place: Bangkok, Thailand
Dog: Toby the Corgi

Who could resist that face?!?

This was a very sweet gig. Toby's home was a huge, modern top floor apartment in the trendy Thong Lor neighborhood of Bangkok. I had my own guest room, a gorgeous kitchen and a roof top with a view to enjoy.

Toby was a busy little dog, and still a puppy, but my main task was to take him up on the roof (pictured in the video above) or outside for a walk, twice a day. I spent extra time with him, playing, brushing, even doing a little training, but I had lots of free time to explore the neighborhood, Bangkok and relax in a fantastic apartment, cooking my own food, doing yoga homework, reading and enjoying Netflix. The cleaner came three times a week, which was another perk!

He did spend time chilling, too. 

Place: Taos, New Mexico, USA
Cats: Tennessee and Button

This sit allowed me to explore another part of New Mexico. I know Santa Fe well since my parents have lived there 15+ years. I secured this sit when I was still in Spain. Here is the house:

I fed these two cats their very fresh meals (raw chicken livers for breakfast and dinner and sardines for lunch), read, did yoga homework, wandered around town and spent quality time with these felines. 

I enjoyed fires in the evening. Button did too!

And slept in this princess bed.

These owners were very kind; they sent me a personal thank you after the sit!

Place: El Dorado, just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Cats: Skaaget, Nauset and Graham

The owners of these three cats needed a sitter who could commit to a "maybe" because their plans were up in the air. Since I was already staying with my parents in Santa Fe, this it was easy for me to stay flexible. It worked for me and it worked for them! And in the end, I did get the sit. These owners had a special request: that no gluten be brought into their house, as one had a severe allergy. I'm 8 years gluten-free; it worked for me!

Meet the three kitties! Three is the most pets I have ever looked after. Two were very friendly and the third totally warmed up to me by the end of the week. The new skill I learned with this sit was how to give a cat pills, as Graham needed daily medicines. He was really good about my efforts and I can say I am confident doing this now!

The house was a lovely, very Santa Fe style kind of home. There was a woodstove, walking trails, a patio and I even got to use the car to zip into town for an errand or yoga class (or to visit ma n pa). 

My cozy room.

And those southwest sunsets...

---> Okay, so now you want to housesit, right? Here are a few tips. :)

Building Your Trusted Housesitters Profile:

• Take the time to build your profile! Pretty much the rest of the tips come down to this. It is a project, but your investment of time will pay off when you get some great sits. I broke up the task, working a half hour or an hour at a time until I got it where I wanted it. 
• Consider what title captures you as a sitter - this is the first thing viewers of your page will notice.
• Include photos of you and animals you own/know and some that show your personality and hobbies. Homeowners want to know you... you are going to be staying in their house!
• Be honest about your experience and what you can/can't do. There are all types of animals and sits and you want to make sure you can look after the critters you sign up for. I've seen farm animals, cats that need injections and rescue dogs that require special patience and love. Sometimes the sits require, but don't provide, a vehicle, which would mean committing to renting a car. Carefully consider what you can take on.
• Get external references from your boss, landlord and anyone you have petsat for in the past. This helps create your profile and shows you are responsible. 
• Go through the external verification. You pay a fee and Trusted Housesitters runs a background check on you. Having this on your profile gives petowners peace of mind. 

Applying for a Sit:

• Check the site often or set up email notifications. It does pay off to be the first person to apply for a sit, especially in popular areas or at peak travel times. 
• Always include a personal note that shows that you have reviewed the sit and include why you are interested and a good fit! Some owners get a lot of interest so make your note stand out.
• Offer to talk on the phone or over Skype as well as via email. This helps them to see you are a nice person. And take the "interview" seriously!
• Follow up if you don't hear back, but know that sometimes homeowners do get bombarded with offers or change their travel plans...

During the Sit:

• Follow through and have fun! Most petowners will walk you through the details about the home and animals when you arrive. They may provide you with a manual with all the info (love it when they do this!); if not, ask questions and take notes!
• Communicate often. It's easy with technology to send photos and videos, showing them that their fur-babies are happy. This keeps them happy too.

After the Sit:

• Of course, leave the house in tip-top order! I've heard that some sitters even stock the fridge or prepare a special meal and leave it as a thank you.
• Send a thank you note/text to express your gratitude for the time in their house. 
• Ask that they review you on Trusted Housesitters so that you can get more sits! This is so important as reviews and trust fuel what this site is all about. 

If you are curious about signing up for Trusted Housesitters, feel free to post questions! You can get a discount off of your membership by using this link when you sign up! (Full disclosure: I get a discount when you use it, also.)

Happy traveling and happy petsitting!!!

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! ;)

Copy my trip to Koh Lanta!

I had been curious about Thailand long before moving to Myanmar. Actually, curious is probably an understatement - I had been dreaming of going for a long, long time. Images of amazing food, beautiful nature and postcard perfect beaches entered my mind on many a gray Seattle day.

Bangkok is just over an hour flight from Yangon and I visited it four times during my first year in Myanmar. However, getting out of the city and exploring more of the country was definitely on the to-do list. For my fall break this year, I wanted something relaxing and easy to plan since I was in the deep woods of my Master's research. A writing retreat, yoga and beach time on a Thai island seemed like the ideal break.

I'll share some stories and photos in this blog, but I'm also including information about how I got around and where I stayed... in case you want to copy my trip to Koh Lanta. By the way, "koh" means island in Thai.

I flew out of Yangon on a Saturday morning. After a short layover in Bangkok, I boarded a plan south to Krabi airport. With carry-on only luggage, I was ready to go as soon as the plane touched down.

I booked a shuttle with this company - I set it up about a week before. The representative found me quickly at the airport and gave me a few minutes to reload my Thai SIM card, buy a bottle of water and bag of nuts and then I was off in the shuttle. The day was a bit overcast, but that didn't affect my excitement - I was island-bound!

View from one of our two ferry crossings

The entire journey took about 5 hours. We had to wait in line for awhile at the second ferry and the roads on these islands aren't exactly freeways. It was a relief to get to my bungalow right around sunset. 

I was greeted warmly at Cha Ba Bungalow and Art Gallery and I quickly settled into a cozy, but spacious bungalow, complete with mini-fridge, a double bed and my own private patio. I had dinner at their Picasso restaurant, cocktail in hand and toes in the sand. 

Night shot of Picasso

The next five days were filled with sand, sun, writing, the occasional rain shower (a good reminder to get out of the sun and back to my pages!), wandering the town and, of course, delicious Thai food. My bungalow was right next to Oasis Yoga and I highly recommend the classes at this studio. The space is beautiful and the teachers are knowledgeable and friendly. They also have a little cafe where you can get smoothies, homemade crackers and other snacks.

Beachside Breakfast

Sunset stroll

I wish I had more photos to share with you, but I had an unfortunate incident with my camera on my first snorkeling trip. I was so excited to get underwater shots and I checked the instructions for taking it swimming with me, but it promptly died as soon as I jumped into the water. To their credit, Amazon has been kind enough to replace it, so look forward to some fishy photos next time!

Interested in snorkeling or diving? Check out Go Dive for trips to nearby islands. 

Spirals in the sand made by little crabs

Last dinner at Klong Dao beach

I loved my location, but since I had a week, I wanted to check out more of the island. I headed south to Kantiang Bay. Again, I had reserved a room right at the beach, this time at Kantiang Bay Resort. They sent a truck to pick me up and I enjoyed my view from the back as we made the half hour journey south. 

When I got there, I decided to spend a few extra dollars a night and upgrade to a beach view bungalow and the change was very much worth the extra Thai baht.

My room by the bay

This accommodation is in a beautiful setting; you can walk into town (I loved working with a coffee or grabbing a bit at the Drunken Sailors), walk along the beach and swim in the warm waters of the bay. I didn't see it, but I heard that at some times of year there is bioluminescence glowing in the water at night. 

Another sunset :)

The location is ideal in many ways as you can probably already imagine. The plus/minus depending on your point of view is the Why Not Bar right next door. My first night there I enjoyed dinner, live music and fire dancers. However, the party goes on late into the night, so if you are looking for a tranquil spot after dark, this might not be the bungalow for you.

Live music and kitty company at Why Not Bar

Fire dancers

I hope the above video works; these guys were amazing!

Walkway to the beach

There are lots of mini-sand dollars here.

I decided to do one last snorkeling trip to the nearby Koh Rok National Park. If you go to Koh Lanta, this trip is a true not-to-miss! Sparkling clear turqouise waters, fishes in all colors of the rainbow, the softest sand I have ever touched...a real paradise! My recommendation would be to arrange an overnight stay at the park. You must go through a travel agent since it is a national park and they limit the number of visitors. I imagine the stars would be amazing out there at night and it would be so much fun to have this beach to yourself after the day trippers leave.

Kantiang Bay Resort helped me arrange travel back to the airport on my last day. I was sorry to leave this place, but I have a feeling I'll be back!

Email me for more info on Koh Lanta, or check out their site! Thailand is a really easy place to be a tourist and it offers so much variety. 

I'm glad that I went for the Master's in Education capstone this fall, but it was a lot of work! I'm happy to be done and back to my own reading. Here's what's been on my kindle since then:

• El bebedor de lágrimas by Ray Loriga
• Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich (One of the most creative and fun books I've read in a while; thanks for the rec, S!)
• Human Dark with Sugar by Brenda Shaughnessy (Thanks for the rec, Y!)
• Fear of Flying by Erica Jong (I can't believe I didn't find this one sooner!)
• My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem (loved it, loved it, loved it)

A Week in Chiang Mai with the Class of 2018!

One of my favorite parts of my job is taking experiential education trips each year. In the past, I have helped organize and lead trips around the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, Washington DC and last year's finale at Eastside Prep: Cuba.

My new school groups students together by grade level and I was excited to find out that I would be accompanying the 9th grade and 3 other teacher-chaperones to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We worked with Traidhos, which is an awesome organization and school, should you ever need a host for a school trip in SE Asia.

Day 1: Traveling 
It took most of Sunday to get to Traidhos due to a layover in Bangkok. Still, we were all excited to be traveling. The students went crazy for fast-food chains and duty free shops during the stop (none of those items are available in Myanmar...yet).

Passport, Boarding Pass, Coffee = 3 of my Favorite Things!

Traidhos welcomed us with a barbecue and bonfire after we settled into our apartments.

Day 2: Team-Building and Ropes on Campus

One of the goals for the week was to help the students gel as a group. This first day of low ropes and challenge activities required the students to work together and think creatively and critically to solve problems. It's really fun to sit back and watch them grapple with these challenges.

Challenge #1: Get ALL students up to the platform.

They did it and in record time!

Low ropes challenge course.

The next challenge was an especially interesting one. Students received ropes, plastic barrels and an oar. They had to create a raft to cross the river and each take a turn rowing across to retrieve a scroll. The first team to collect all scrolls, wins.

Figuring out how to keep the raft together. 

I survey the teams working from a nearby bridge. 

Paddling towards the scrolls!

Staying dry was a challenge!

And in case you'd still like an idea of what kind of experience these kids were having, here's a quick video clip. My job is entertaining on a day-to-day basis, but events like these stand out.

The day ended with the long-awaited trip to the Chiang Mai night market, full of art, clothes, souvenirs, food. Thai markets are the best I've seen in Asia. Who knows? Maybe I will bring you a souvenir from here...

My co-chaperone shows off her market spoils!

Day 3: Market and Elephant Nature Park

Our next day began with a road trip out to the Elephant Nature Park. It is a ways outside of town, so we stopped at a local market on the way. 

Thai desserts

Lots of snacks!

Chilies and spices.

Why are there pink and green eggs? I don't know, but they are pretty. 

A variety of insects... want to try?

After a long morning drive, we arrived to the Elephant Nature Park. This is an amazing spot and the owner really cares about the elephants and has invested a lot (time, energy, money) into creating this space for the animals. You can stay and volunteer at the park, or at the nearby cat and dog shelter. If you are looking for a place to live and volunteer for awhile, either of these would be wonderful options!

We received a lot of information about the elephants at the park and most are there because of injuries from humans. The park has only one rule - they don't use the traditional hook when caring for the elephants. 

Feeding the elephants!

Does it look like she is waving?

Our next stop was the river, where, yes, we got to bathe the elephants!

View of the park from the restaurant.

Group pic by the river.

Mama and baby

We returned back to a Thai arts and crafts lesson.

Painting umbrellas

Decorating paper lanterns

Evening Muay Thai lesson

Days 4-5: Biking, Kayaking and Boat House
Our next day began with a bike ride through the Thai countryside. We rode by farms, small houses and out to the edge of a national park. It was beautiful! I don't have more pictures to share because I'm not very good at biking and doing another activity, like snapping shots, at the same time.

Biking to the lake

Temple rest stop

Resting and lunch by the lake

Beginning our kayak journey!

It took about two hours of rowing to get to the boat house inn. We stopped to jump out of the boats and swim and cool off. Unfortunately, one of the students lost his Go Pro camera... But, we all made it to the small hotel and restaurant where we would stay the night. We jumped off of the diving boards, swam, ate a homemade Thai meal and played games before calling it an early night.

View from the boathouse

Playing at the boat house

Sunrise

After a short motor boat trip out of the park, we traveled to a small village to participate in community service. We worked to continue building a new school building. The students worked diligently, kept great attitudes despite the hot conditions and hard work. 

The new school will have four rooms.

Mixing cement

Slow, but steady, progress

Group shot at the end of our workday 

After we returned to campus, we had a short break to rest and clean up. Unbelievably, it was already time for our last night's activities! We had a special Thai dinner, followed by dancing, music and fire-blowing! The highlight for the students was releasing the lanterns that they had previously constructed. 

Traditional Thai dancing and music

More dancers

Fire throwing...

And fire-blowing!

Countdown to lantern release

Watching it float away

Are you thinking what I was thinking? As the daughter and sister of wildland firefighters, I wondered, "Isn't this a fire hazard?" I asked our group leader and he explained that when the lanterns burn out they are very high above ground and that any flame is completely extinguished by the time they return to earth. 

Day 6: Goodbye

Our last day was a travel day back to Yangon. The kids were sad for their adventure to end, but we were happy to return them to their awaiting parents upon arrival. 

What I'm reading: I just finished Tina Fey's Bossypants (Yes, laugh out loud funny!) and The Great Gatsby (I'm not sure how I got through high school English without reading that one... but I did!).

Where I'm typing: I'm finishing this post in Hong Kong - I have a long layover on my way back to Yangon from Taipei! Yay for great fast free wifi!