WATER MARKETS: Cool sight, but they only take you to the touristy part where everyone sells the same tourist geared paraphernalia. TIGER TEMPLE: A tiger cub first arrived at the monastery in 1999 after her mother was killed by poachers. Although the monks cared for her and helped her recover, she ended up becoming ill and dying. Everyone in the temple and surrounding cities was saddened by this and decided they did not want to see another tiger go mistreated so they now care for tigers who are intercepted from poachers. These poachers make up to $5,800 (year's salary for a [View Full Entry]

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BUCKETS: Thailand and especially the islands in the south are all about buckets. Next time you want to have a party and guarantee that everyone is blacked out in 1 drink, just grab a few buckets, follow the recipe below and hand them out to everyone as they enter: - 1 pint of hard liquor - 1 can of soda/mixer - 1 smaller can of RedBull/2nd mixer Ex: 1 pint of Vodka, 1 can of Sprite, 2/3 can of RedBull Best wishes in remembering anything! FULL MOON PARTY: The island of Ko Phangan holds a full moon party every month. It's [View Full Entry]

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After Phuket's crazy Vegetarian Festival experience, I headed north to visit Thailand's islands. I also developed some sort of allergy to the country and all of a sudden had a ton of red mosquito bite looking itchy dots all over my hands and legs. Let me tell you, having health problems in a foreign country is the LAST thing you want. Steal my camera and take my money for all I care, but please don't make me spend time in these hospitals with people who barley speak English. I, unfortunately, ended up going to the hospital. I met a guy from [View Full Entry]

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I had no clue what was going on when I first arrived in Thailand and found myself surrounded by a population dressed entirely in white. Apparently, I unknowingly arrived in Phuket on the 2nd to last day of the Vegetarian Festival. There were street fairs everywhere and it was fun walking around and getting to sample all types of food, but don't worry... this festival was full of surprises. Here are a few things I learned: - The festival originated when some Chinese opera performers caught malaria on Phuket island. They decided to keep a vegetarian diet. Sure enough, they were [View Full Entry]

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My dad headed home and Tim (who we'd met on the way to Singapore and had been traveling in another part of Indonesia) came to meet me in Bali [Due to my camera being stolen, the Bali blog will be postponed until I get some pictures emailed to me]. Our mission was to head east and see Komodo Dragons with a few lovely island hops along the way. KOMODO DRAGON: (See video and pics) World's largest lizard. Super predator/Top of its food chain, which is how it's survived so unchanged for more than a million years. Lives on a few islands [View Full Entry]

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With about 242 million people, Indonesia has the 4th largest population in the world made up of over 700 ethnic groups and about 750 languages and 17,000 islands. It is the largest Muslim nation and practices a very liberal version of the religion. Unfortunately, like many other countries responding to current events and funds from the middle east, Indonesia is moving towards a stricter interpretation of Islam. Everyone's ID/Drivers Licence cards here state their religion. According to the government, everyone must believe in one god and as a result, Hinduism (normally a religion with 3 god [View Full Entry]

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A few British girls taught me a new drinking game in Kuta, Bali that I feel some of you may enjoy. Unfortunately, I have no photos because my camera was stolen from inside my hotel room. I'm really upset about it, especially because Bali is the most beautiful place I've been so far and now, I have no pictures :'( I guess I should've expected it though. Maybe I should just set aside $1000 from my budget for lost/stolen items for the next year because it's way more common than I'd like to think. Ay! Also, before I tell you the [View Full Entry]

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KAWAH IJEN, Indonesia - Like most tourists visiting eastern Java, you wake up at 3:30am to head to Kawah Ijen. You hike 3 difficult kilometers uphill to the top of the volcano. Every now and then, you bump into a skinny Indonesian man in boots carrying two heavy baskets of some hardened yellow material. You're told each basket weighs 40 kilos, making a total of 80 kilos / 176 pounds. You wonder how they can carry so much weight, but don't give it too much thought. Once you finally reach the crater rim, you are out of breath, but presented with [View Full Entry]

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[Read the story below. The articles that follow are only there if you're interested or bored and staring at your screen at work]. I wrote an article on occupational therapy while editing for the Mongolian Government News Agency and conducting a daily writing class to help them become better english writers. After being read by numerous people including my director who pulled me into his office and told me to stick to print because I had talent, I submitted it to their english newspaper: The Mongol Messenger. JOURNALISM LESSON NO.1 : NEVER WORK FOR OR PUBLISH AN ARTICLE IN A GOVERNMENT [View Full Entry]

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All it took was the sight of Coffee Bean to turn me into the happiest person there! Then I noticed California Pizza Kitchen, Border's, Zara, and I was overjoyed! Too bad I couldn't do any shopping (1. cause I don't have money for it and 2. cause I'm already going to have back problems from my giant backpack). Singapore is a city just like London and NY. It has it's own special drink: "Singapore Sling" which costs $25 and doesn't contain enough alcohol to get even me, buzzed. Singapore is known for its diverse food and the best part is, it's [View Full Entry]

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