“Malaysia – the ‘true Asia’” This is the slogan of this country. And having visited a bit of Asia at this point, we were thrown off by this blanket statement. What does the “true Asia” mean exactly? If it means mass confusion, bizarre rules (some enforced, others not at all) and a shit ton of people?…
The Liebster Awards Are Here!
Big fat thank you to Kim and Rob at Simply Travelled for flattering us with the Liebster Award nomination! Their kind words about us really meant a lot and we love the “pay it forward” idea behind the entire Liebster Award concept. First off – it’s awesome to find blogs like Kim and Rob’s because…
Ipoh: Serenity, Serendipity and Censorship
Ipoh is located almost right in between Penang and Kuala Lumpur – just a short hour and a half train ride from the mainland town from Penang called Butterworth. The train system from Butterworth to Ipoh (ultimately down to Kuala Lumpur and a even a bit more south) is quite new. Kile and I were…
Penang: So Many Noodles, So Many Monkeys & So Many Stares!
After watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain visiting Penang, Malaysia – I knew I wanted to go. The main reason? The food. Penang is famous for being one of the most culinary rich places in SE Asia – especially when it comes to street food – which happens to be our favorite. Our week spent…
Koh Samui: Delicious Street Food, Unforgettable Memories and One Epic Party
Oh Koh Samui – we fell in love with this little island the longer we stayed. As mentioned in the previous post – when we first arrived, we were a bit scared due to the seclusion of our apartment and never having driven a scooter bike before. But we caught on quickly and immediately felt…
Out of the Chaos – Into Total Seclusion: A Lesson in “Letting Go”
We’ve been on the island of Koh Samui for 11 days now and we are truly loving life. Honestly – we haven’t done much of anything but that is totally fine by us considering the last 3 weeks. And when we first arrived here? I’ll be honest – we were a bit terrified. Before arriving…
Bangkok: Skewers, Sewage and Sightseeing
Where the hell does one begin when talking about Bangkok? Bangkok is like the Vegas of Asia. It has pretty much any vice you want – available to you at any time. Except with a lot more grime and grit. And culture. Instead of the streets being lined with casinos – they’re lined with temples. Instead…
Hong Kong: Skyscrapers, Beaches and A LOT of Sweating!
Hong Kong was never really on our initial list of countries to visit during this year abroad but since we were in Japan and making our way to Thailand, we figured- why not?! Of course we want to see everywhere and everything so I’m sure we would have gotten there eventually but the Japan visit…
Domo Arigato, Japan!
JAPAN! What a cool, strange, and magical place. We were absolutely enthralled by this country. We saw so many cool things, ate so much delicious food and explored some incredible places. But first? Let’s start from the beginning. We knew traveling from Dallas, Texas to Tokyo, Japan was going to make for a long and…
Storms, Family and Our Waistlines – Everything’s Bigger in Texas
We just wrapped up our last 2 weeks in the United States. All of which was spent in the Lone Star State – the oh so glorious and giant mini-country of Texas. Kile and I spent our last precious days cramming in as much family time and American food as possible. We completely succeeded on our…
Casinos, Caves and Aliens – Oh my!
The whirlwind of our lives continues! We’ve put some serious mileage on our car the past couple weeks, that’s for sure. Being in California, spending time with family and watching our friends get married seems like a lifetime ago already – it’s crazy how much “stuff” you can cram into such a short amount of…
Tall Trees, Long Drives and Big Events
We’re back in the U.S.A.! Well…for a few weeks anyway. We arrived home on May 12th and it’s been a busy, crazy, love-filled week and a half since we got off the plane. Stepping out of the airport back in Portland was comforting and strange at the same time. It was the first time being back in…
Reinventing Our American Dream 