(This post starts out very Lewis Black and ends very Jack Johnson.) After a week of excitement and adventure in Chiang Mai, we decided that a little R&R was in order. We poured over the Lonely Planet: Thailand Islands and Beaches book at several meals until we found an island that was not touristy and close enough to Bangkok. We settled on Koh Chang. The staff at the Ben Guesthouse was amazing (as always) and they booked us an overnight bus to Bangkok, a bus from Bangkok to Trat, and a ferry from Trat to Koh Chang. We were all set. [View Full Entry]

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(Fair warning, this is a long entry. Feel free to ignore the text and enjoy the photos!) As promised, here is the account of our jungle trek. It was advertised as a 2 day/ 1 night jungle trek complete with a waterfall, hot springs, overnight stay in a tribal Karen village, elephant ride, and bamboo rafting. How could I resist?!? We started around 9:30 on the morning of January 24th. We piled into the back of a pickup truck with 8 other trekkers. There was a roof and some bench seats along the sides, so it was safe, just bouncy. Our [View Full Entry]

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After saying goodbye to Jessi at the Beijing Airport, I had a day to kill in Beijing before flying south to Guangzhou to meet up with Katie and catch our flight to Bangkok. Thankfully, we both made it to Guangzhou safe and sound. One flight delay and 16 gate changes later, we were on our way to Thailand. With a full day of travel behind us, we checked into our hostel in Bangkok for the night. We totally got the Boom Boom Room honeymoon suite. There were mirrors on 3 walls and the ceiling and there was some sexy netting at [View Full Entry]

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I am finally home (in Wuhan) after spending over 4 weeks on holiday (yes, I was on holiday like a Brit) in Thailand and Malaysia. The seven of us all had different travel plans: Laura and Sarah decided to take the train down through Vietnam, Alexes went home for a few weeks, Nick and Dan started in southern China before Nick went to Cambodia and Dan went to the UK to visit his lovely girlfriend. Katie and I decided that we wanted to see Thailand. I went to Beijing to see Jessi off and then Katie and I met up on [View Full Entry]

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With the holidays and Jessi's visit to China, I have been neglecting my blogging. We leave Wuhan tomorrow for Beijing. Jessi flies out on Friday for home, and I leave Sunday for Thailand. As if the last 3 weeks with Jessi here weren't enough of a vacation, I get to go backpack through Thailand for another month. I am a lucky, lucky girl. I promise to write more when I get home. For now, here are some pictures of our adventures. [View Full Entry]

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I have had an eventful December thus far (including the first of too many goodbyes, finally making it to a softball game, and going to a Christmas Market at a French street in Wuhan), but I want to write about today’s adventures while they are still fresh in my mind. Sarah, Katie, Alexes and I met with Jo and Maggie for lunch. We went to a restaurant with spicy Szechwan dishes. The dumplings and the noodles were fantastic. After lunch, we headed over to the Guiyuan temple in Hanyang. Maggie was an amazing tour guide. She translated and explained everything for [View Full Entry]

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We played softball! [View Full Entry]

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After weeks of good intentions (and one thwarted attempt), we finally made it to the Art Museum. It was the last day of some sort of festival in Wuhan, so we were able to get in without paying the admission fee. Even though we only had a chance to explore two of the many galleries at the museum, it was so refreshing to meander through the high exhibition halls and just let the art wash over me. This particular exhibit was mostly newer pieces. They had used some traditional techniques, but they also branched into new styles. The paintings were also [View Full Entry]

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For the last few weeks, I have been anticipating the holiday season. I was getting a little nervous because I knew that the excitement and novelty of living in China would wear off right around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had fully expected to be hit with some full-blown homesickness. This is officially the longest that I have been away from home and I honestly thought that I would be feeling it more. Surprisingly, I am not really homesick at all. I miss family and friends like crazy and there are nights when I would give my left arm for a cheesy [View Full Entry]

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Well, ladies and gentlemen, I did it. I ate dog. I decided before I came that I was going to be open to most (if not all) of the culinary challenges that came my way. Dog meat was not something that I wanted to add to my daily diet, but it is something that I wanted to try. To clear a few things up, most Chinese people do not eat dog. It is not in the regular rotation with chicken, beef, pork and fish. I have learned that it is a fattier meat, so it is often considered a “winter dish”. [View Full Entry]

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