Last Chance Before Christmas

One week til Christmas!!!

Still have someone on your Christmas shopping list and are panicking because you don't know what to get them? Does one more trip to the mall scare you?? (it should) Our travel-inspired 2012 calendar is a gift that fits for just about anyone. Today is the last day to order and get it shipped in time for Christmas!! (US only)

Each page of the calendar features a photo from our travels around the world. You can hang with a bulldog clip (included), display on an easel, or clip all 12 pages on a string for some wall art. After each month, cut the bottom of the page off, and like magic, you have a double-sided travel postcard ready to mail.

To help you out even more, we're having a sale on calendars today only! Purchase the calendar here (and see more photos in the shop).

And hey, if you like our stuff, like us on Facebook.

- Julia & Yuriy

Around Phuket | 2 of 2

To escape dirty and crowded Patong Beach, we decided to rent mopeds and ride along the coast of the island to see what we might find.

I had several reasons to be afraid of driving a scooter... I had never driven one before, I'd have to drive on the wrong side of the road (in comparison to the US), if I got hurt I had no idea what we would do (go home?), there's insane traffic in Patong, there are a lot of crazy drivers in Thailand, and I was wearing a dress. Nonetheless, I did it. Partly because Yuriy believes in me so much, and partly because I saw a lot of Thai girls riding scooters (often 3 girls to 1 scooter) and I knew if they could do it, I could do it. 

It was an incredibly beautiful drive. The road was a curvy ribbon that wound through the hills along the coast and offered some amazing views of the ocean below on the right. 

We pulled over at a nice secluded beach with not many hotels, called Nai Harn. We did some sunbathing, reading, and watched the sun pull closer to the water on the horizon. 

The soft light and warm air blowing in my face on the ride back felt unreal. I felt more confident on the scooter and could go a little faster, so Yuriy and I had fun passing each other and riding side by side. We didn't go long before pulling over at a little restaurant on a cliff and had dinner as the sun finished setting and light disappeared. Then a nighttime ride back to our place. What a beautiful day.

- Julia

Around Phuket | 1 of 2

We came to Patong Beach in Phuket so we could go on a scuba diving trip from there. No other reason. Yuriy had been here before and warned me about the tourist crowds, huge resort hotels, American chains, nightclubs, old and overweight white men with young Thai girls on their arms, and seedy massage parlors. All of this was true. The girls at massage parlors in Phuket were dressed up and dolled up and try to drag tourist men in off the sidewalk by actually grabbing them. It was very suggestive and gross. 

Most people book a scuba diving liveaboard far in advance. We didn't plan anything. We hoped we'd find a last minute deal when we arrived in Phuket and it worked! All the boats leaving the next day were booked, so we had to stay in Phuket for 3 days before going, but it was worth it for all the money we saved. 

We tried to avoid the main beach and enjoy ourselves regardless. We found some beautiful, more secluded beaches a little ways out of the city and some of my favorite things about Phuket were the $1 Nutella crepes on the streets and riding a moped for my first time! More on that later...

- Julia

Soooo many scooters everywhere you go. 

We got Nutella crepes and fresh cut fruit on the street probably every day. 

Wild Bus Ride

I used to think a rough day traveling meant your flight got delayed by 30 minutes and the flight attendant informs you when she comes around that she's out of ginger ale. That changed after we experienced some rough travels during our time abroad.

Headed from Luang Prabang, Laos back to Chiang Mai, Thailand, our options were limited to a two-day slow boat down the Mekong River (which we already did one way) or 18 hours by bus. Eager to get on our way, we chose the quicker option by bus. We arrived at the bus station half an hour early, only to find tickets were sold out for the day! We really didn't want to catch a ride back into town and find a hotel to stay in... when you're ready to leave a place, you're ready to go. 

Not all hope was lost. We were given the option of riding downstairs where all the luggage is stored on the bus (for the full price of a ticket, mind you). Deal. We tried to look at the bright side—we’d be able to stretch out our legs, lay down to sleep, and not be confined to a seat. 

But we were in for a surprise. Not long after we got cozied up between suitcases, bikes, and a giant spare bus tire, we were joined by a crated dog, a cage full of confused ducks, and 2, then 3, then 5 local Lao people! We rode the distance in utter disbelief sandwiched between bodies and luggage (after a while, they’re all the same… just extra baggage). 4 of the locals were men, and one was a pregnant woman. I don't know how she did it. It was a miserable night of exhaustion and inability to sleep. The man laying next to me really didn't mind poking me with his bony body every time he shifted during the night. The next man over kept sucking loogies and making grunting sounds. It was noisy and bumpy downstairs and I periodically fought nausea throughout the night. The next day my hip was bruised from laying and bouncing on one hip all night long (there wasn't enough room to readjust onto my back).

Oh but these are the times we will always remember. Bad experiences tell good stories. And traveling is about making stories. 

- Julia

While everyone sitting upstairs is in cushy chairs with blankets and TVs, we're riding downstairs with luggage and a handful of locals also without seats.

Horrible quality little video of our space. But you get the picture. 

Around Luang Prabang | 3 of 3

Luang Prabang is a slow city and not incredibly big. There aren't many tourist activities, which we liked. One of the days, we rented a pair of bikes and decided to explore a little outside the city center. We biked past quaint neighborhoods and busy shops, workers on rice paddies and kids in the streets, all on dirt roads, some bumpier than others. We were planning on visiting Tad Sae waterfall (which was 15 km away) but we never made it; we stopped too often to do other exploring and photo taking. We came across signs for a smaller waterfall on the way there, and decided it would do. We had to cross a stream on the way to the waterfall. The only way across was on the "bridge," which was just a bunch of planks on top of rocks.

A bike is my favorite way to explore a city. You get to see and experience so much more than you would on foot. It was an awesome experience passing by locals just going about their everyday business. Mopeds are nice (and fast), but they're loud and people hear you coming from a distance. A bike is peaceful and less intrusive, and it only takes a second to hop on and off. 

This is our last post in Laos and then we're heading off to Phuket, Thailand where we did some scuba diving. Enjoy the last bit of photos from Luang Prabang. 

-Yuriy

Updated: forgot to add this little video we took of a game of Takraw.