Hoi An•day 8

Today was a really nice chill day! All we have wanted was some sunshine and warm weather and we definitely got it today!! We woke up and grabbed breakfast downstairs at our hostel. We all got bread and cheese. They legit gave us a baguette and a laughing cow cheese wedge! 

 

Can't complain about that! We got our stuff together and rode bikes down to the beach. 

 

The beach we went to today was nothing too special. We had heard good things about the beach but weren't too impressed. There wasn't much sand and the whole beach was lined with restaurants begging you to come in and eat. You can tell it's the slow season and they are all hurting for business. Sad but super obnoxious when you just want to relax. It was overcast and partly cloudy when we got down there around 10 so we were kind of bummed but after about 4-5 hours we all had PLENTLY of sun! Lindsay had it the absolute worst! I turned out pretty good with a nice start to a tan! :) I'm excited for my upcoming beach days in Thailand and Bali! 

We had coffee and a couple of drinks at the place we were laying out in front of. The beach chairs were free if you ate so that was a nice bonus. We decided to head out for Banh Mi's around 3. We rode our bikes back into town and filled our bellies with some delicious sandwiches!! This place, Phi Banh Mi, had the best rating on trip advisor and so many awesome reviews!! Oh!! And they also had advocados!!! I was in heaven! 

 

We headed back to shower and get ready for the evening. It started raining as soon as we left the restaurant so we pedaled quickly and made it home in good time. We relaxed and showered and decided to call a GRAB taxi to head back into town since it was still raining. We decided to check out this local restaurant that had awesome reviews. We got dropped off in the main area of Hoi An and we were completely taken back! It was absolutely stunning! Aside from the rain, everything was lit up with beautiful lanterns. So many colors and lights everywhere! We were sad it was raining but still couldn't get over how gorgeous the little town was! 

We found the restaurant we were looking for and it was empty. No one was there which made us a bit nervous but chalked it up to the bad weather. The ordered a decent amount of food because it was all pretty cheap but we were not really that impressed with anything we got...strange because every review on trip advisor was a 5/5. As soon as we were finished with dinner the guy asked us to write on trip advisor. We of course said sure we will definitely rate you later. He insisted that we do it now...we didn't have wifi so he gives all of us wifi...lindsay and I didn't have the app and told him we'd do it later when we got home and he said no you can google it and do it now. He stood over our shoulder watching us to see if we were actually doing it. He told us we needed to write a review and help him out so he gets many customers. He was super pushy and insistent that we fill it out right then and there. This explains why he had the BEST rating on trip advisor. So awkward, he just stands over you until you write a good review. We needless to say, none of us wrote a review while we were sitting there or once we got home! 

 

After dinner we stopped at an Irish pub for a beer. We didn't stay out late because we were tired, it was rainy and Lindsay was in so much pain from her sunburn. 

Cat Ba✈️Hoi An•day 7

Today was such a long day filled with travels! We started the morning off with a 40 minute bus, 30 minute ferry and another 2 1/2 hour bus to get us back to Hanoi. That first set of transportation went pretty well. We got to the bus station in Hanoi and had to get to the airport but didn't want to get ripped off by a taxi so we decided to get an uber. Easy enough except you need Wifi...which is everywhere but never seems to actually work. We finally found this little shop with wifi so we bought a couple of drinks and ordered an uber! 

Somehow our location got messed up and all of the sudden the driver is pulling up to some random Vietnam airlines building, ready to drop us off. We immediately realized we weren't at the airport (obviously) and had to try and explain to him where we actually needed to go! At this point we were really pushing it on time and we definitely went out of the way with our wrong location issue! Our flight was at 5:25 and we got to the airport at 4:25! Of course we got dropped off at the wrong end of the terminal so we had to rush all the way to the other end but luckily there was no line to check in or going through security! After we rushed over to the gate we found out our flight was delayed until 6:05. Well damn, we didn't even have to rush! We grabbed a bite to eat and chilled until it was time to board. The flight was only an hour and 20 minutes. Once we got to Danang we still had about an hour cab ride to Hoi An. We got a Grab taxi (320,000 dong) and were on our way. The drive to hoi an was really nice. The hotels and resorts we passed were beautiful. We finally got to our homestay, Little Leo, where the owner was waiting for us with tea and a Vietnamese snack. She was super sweet and gave us so much helpful information. We put our stuff in our room and then went out for food and drinks. We found a cute little place called Before and Now. They had a 2 for 1 happy hour (80,000 dong/$3.50) and the food was nice as well! Lindsay and I both got beef pho which was decent but not nearly as good as our favorite place in Hanoi! The steeets here are filled with beautiful, colorful lanterns!! It's absolutely wonderful! 

 

We headed back to our hostel and just chilled! Can't wait to wake up tomorrow with no plans!!! Ready for a few beach days!!! Really crossing our fingers for good weather!! 

Cat Ba Island•day 6

We had to meet downstairs this morning at 7:50 for our tour so we headed down around 7:15 for breakfast. It was decent but nothing special. We took a 15 minute bus over to the boat. There were probably 20 of us going out on the boat. The boat was nice but the weather was still bad. It was so cold...64 degrees and super windy!! 

 

We were out on the water for about 1 1/2 hours before we stopped at the first spot. The first stop was kayaking. It was so beautiful! So many caves and bays to check out. Gabby and I were together and Lindsay took one for the team and went with another girl from Denmark. She was really sweet! We kayaked for a little over an hour. I didn't bring my phone with me so I don't have any pictures but it was really nice! We had lunch on the boat while we were still at this spot. None of us really ate much at our table. The food was a little iffy and didn't real appeal to us so we just got beers instead! ☺️ 

 

 

Our next stop was for swimming and snorkeling. I wore my swimsuit but as soon as we got on the boat I knew that I would not be getting in the water. It was just too cold and I didn't want to be miserable! The water wasn't THAT cold but the air was cold enough that I wasn't down for it! Lindsay jumped in a couple of times but Gabby and I just sat up top watching! 😁 

The last stop we made was to Monkey Beach. 

 

We had about an hour here. There was a view point that you could go up to if you wanted. The guide said it was a little hike but really it was rock climbing! 

 

Not hard for us but some people were caught off guard when they started and realized you are essentially climbing your way up to the top. It was an awesome view tho! 

 

 

We came back down and had a beer while we waited to board the boat. We headed back to Cat Ba and got there right around 5. We decided on grabbing dinner at Green Mango again because it was really good and didn't want to chance another crappy meal (there wasn't much around to choose from). We were all super happy with our meals and enjoyed some happy hour wine! 

Because we are old ladies, we went back to the room and were passed out by 9:00! 😂 

Hanoi🚌🚤🚌Cat Ba•day 5

Before we went to sleep last night we asked the hostel about getting to Cat Ba and they told us you take a bus, a ferry and another bus and it's 415,000 dong ($18.00). They couldn't book us because it was too late but told us to come back in the morning and they'd book it for us. Lindsay and I were shocked at how much they told us but knew we needed to get there so we were like okay, whatever. I couldn't sleep so I was looking online for info about tickets and found a blog saying you can buy tickets from Hoang Long travel company for 200,000 dong ($8.00). 

We knew the bus would probably leave pretty early so Lindsay and I left the hostel around 650 to go find this travel company and hopefully buy tickets for today. We got lost but eventually got to the shop and just like we had read, the tickets were 200,000. We were stoked to save so much money! We left the shop and set out to find our favorite pho restaurant! We definitely had to stop there one more time before we left! It was just as busy as it was yesterday and just as delicious!! We grabbed a cup of Vietnamese coffee from cafe hieu before heading back to get gabby and pack up our stuff! 

We checked out and made our way back to the travel company. Gabby and I bought a couple of baguettes and some laughing cow cheese for a snack along the way! 

6 of us piled into an SUV and drove about 30 minutes to the bus station. We waited there for about 20 minutes before our bus arrived. The bus ride was about 2 1/2 hours. I passed out for most of the ride. I only slept for 1 1/2 hours last night. My dad called me around 1am and we talked for almost 3 hours! And then it took me forever to fall asleep so by the time we got on the bus I was exhausted! After the bus we took a ferry for about 30-45 minutes and then we had one more 30 minute bus to get us to Cat Ba. 

 

 

The weather has been pretty crappy but we are just enjoying hanging out together and being silly! 

We grabbed a couple of happy hour mojitos and some food when we got off the bus. The mojitos were good but the food was not so good. We went and checked into our hotel. We actually had our own room with 3 beds which was a nice change! We got changed and then went and walked around for a bit. We booked a day trip for tomorrow and then went and got foot massages! The massages didn't disappoint! 👍🏼 

We were ready for dinner and headed down to a place called Green Mango. It was highly recommended on trip advisor so we were hopeful it would be better than our lunch! The food was great and we were all happy and exhausted. We called it a night around 10:30! 

Tomorrow we are doing a boat tour around Halong Bay! Hopefully the weather clears up a bit! 

Hanoi•day 4

Today was the perfect day!! We had come across a travel blog that had the best food places to check out in Hanoi if you only have a couple of days so we decided to start the day off with a cup of Vietnamese coffee from Cafe Hieu ($1.10). The coffee was everything that they said it would be! So delicious and a great way to start the morning! 

 

After coffee we wanted to head over to Pho Gia Truyen for apparently the best pho in Hanoi. The travel blog said they ate there four times during their time here! After reading the trip advisor reviews we got the same great vibe from everyone so we knew we had to check it out. Unfortunately they have one option and it's beef pho. Gabby couldn't eat with us but went and found something vegetarian and came back and met us. 

 

The restaurant had a line out the door and all the seats were taken. It's crazy how smooth everything went tho. You wait in line, order, pay 50,000 dong ($2.20), get your pho and by then someone has gotten up and you sit. No one is waiting long for food or a table and everyone in the restaurant is silent! 😋 

 

The pho was just as amazing as we had read! The best pho I've ever had! It was PHO-nomenal! 😁 

After breakfast we walked over to the lake/park. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The weather was perfect and there were so many outside people taking advantage of the day! We walked over to a temple and walked around inside. I'm not sure what kind of Buddhism it was but it was really beautiful! 

 

All through out the park there were games set up by a local club called MyHanoi. The club was founded in 2006 to bring back some old culture, games and traditions to Hanoi. It was really neat and interactive for everyone! 

 

After walking around for quite some time we stopped and had another coffee at the Cong Cafe. We had decided to go to a Water Puppet Show at 3:00 so we decided to grab lunch before the show. Another place that was highly recommended was called Banh Mi 25. It is a little shop that only sells sandwiches. I got a chicken banh mi ($0.88) and a beer ($0.66) and was a happy camper! 

 

The water puppet show was recommended on a lot of different things that we read so we decided to check it out. On of the sites said 'one of the most worth while things to do in Hanoi'. Well it was interesting to say the least! It was about an hour and Lindsay and I couldn't stop giggling. 

 

It was honestly just weird. I would not recommend it but everyone has their things that they enjoy! 

After the show we needed a beer so we walked around a bit before finding this little corner that is really popular. Each corner just has a little hole in the wall spot selling beer. They set up little tiny chairs in front of their shop and people just sit and enjoy the beer and people watching. We moved from corner to corner having beers. We started thinking about dinner and had one last place on our list to check out! It was called Bun Cha Ta and it was absolutely amazing! 

 

After dinner we went and met up with a guy I met in railay beach a couple of months ago. He is teaching in Vietnam and was out celebrating his birthday with some friends. We had a beer and called it a night. We were tired and have to get up and moving pretty early tomorrow. Heading out to Cat Ba Island! 

HCM✈️Hanoi•day 3

I didn't end up falling asleep until 3:55! I don't know why I was so wired but I just couldn't shut my brain off and fall asleep! We had to leave the hostel by 7:30 so I got up around 6:45 to get my things together. We got an uber and headed out for the airport. We were a bit early so we grabbed some muffins and coffee and hung out. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:10 but we didn't end up leaving the runway until 11:25. We were getting so antsy and knew we would be hungry soon! 😁 We finally landed, got off the plane and out of the airport around 1:40. We decided to try and take the bus into the city center as it was the cheapest option (9,000 dong/ $0.39). 

 

The bus was easy enough to figure out but unfortunately we had no idea how far we were or how long it was going to take to get there...an hour and twenty minutes we were pretty tired and over it...but I mean for 40 cents you can't really complain! :) 

 

We found our hostel and got checked in and settled. We went back out almost immediately to find food. We were getting pretty hungry as the only thing we had eaten was the muffin at 9am. We walked and walked and walked and had such a hard time finding food places! The streets were lined with shops, boutiques and coffee/juice shops. All really cute places but no where to actually sit and have dinner. We finally came across a vegetarian restaurant that the girl from the hostel recommended so we decided to try it out. It was a gorgeous place and almost immediately we knew it was probably too fancy for us but decided to sit down and eat anyway. 

 

Once we got the menu we were just giggling because it was definitely way more fancy than we wanted and we knew the food was going to come out in these beautiful dishes but super small, dainty portions. By this point we were hungry and just wanted the best bang for our buck. Since we were already seated at a table we decided to just order a drink (they looked fantastic) and then head out to find dinner elsewhere. The girl didn't speak any English and definitely thought we were odd. 

 

After leaving we had the same trouble finding dinner and at this point we were all Hangry. We eventually strolled past a place that had food that worked for all of us. Unfortunately the food was no good. While eating and talking to each other we all said yeah, our food is fine and just ate...but afterward over a beer we all ended up admitting that our food was not good. Tonight's dinner was definitely a waste of money, but you win some and you lose some, right? 

 

We had an after dinner beer and called it a night. Traveling all day was exhausting and long. I'm excited to wake up tomorrow with no plans and see where the day takes us! 

Ho Chi Minh•day 2

Today was another super chill day but really nice! We woke up again in time for breakfast at the hostel but decided to lay back down after eating. I don't think we realized how exhausted we actually were from everything that we've been doing, so it's been really nice to just have some down time! We got up and moving around noon which is so unlike me! Gabby was worried that I was ready and waiting for her but I had been sleeping too! :) 

 

We headed out to find a little cafe we had read about called ID Cafe. It was such a good find!! We had our first Vietnamese style coffee here and it was absolutely delicious! I'm craving one now as I'm writing this! We also both got our first Banh Mi sandwiches! We sat at this coffee shop for hours just enjoying the weather and each other's company! 

We decided to walk down to the really popular market and on the way we passed by a really neat street food market. We had just eaten but we walked around and checked out all the food and then decided to sit and have a strongbow. We wanted to come back here for dinner so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We drank our beers and played a few rounds of cards before walking down to the shopping market. 

 

It reminded me a lot of the markets in Bangkok...tons of the same little trinkets at every 3rd stall. Gabby bought a couple things and I just trailed behind her. She is definitely the shopper! :) 

 

After we left the market we just walked around the streets checking everything out with nowhere specific to go. As we were walking we came across this huge, beautiful park! It was so green and spacious and there were so many people being active! Such a change of scenery from Thailand! People running, walking, playing badminton, practicing Kung fu (or something of the sort), stretching, doing yoga and using the exercise equipment. 

 

We walked around the park for quite a while before finding a bench to sit and relax on for a while. It was so nice and the temperature was perfect! Around 6:00 we decided we would head back to the street food market and grab dinner. 

 

We were so hungry by this point that it took forever to decide what we actually wanted. I decided on morning glory with beef($3.30). 

 

It was covered with peanuts and really tasty! We got a couple more strongbows to wash it down! For $1.30 you really can't beat it! The seating is just a bunch of picnic tables so we just grabbed a little open section. A girl from Canada ended up sitting down next to us and we chatted for over an hour. She was really sweet and down to earth! She had been living/working in Australia for a year and then had been traveling for the last 6 months with about 6 more to go! She gave us so much awesome information on things to look into and we shared some information about Thailand and India! It's really neat to meet people that have the same mindset and values as your traveling. Great connections to have and friends to run into down the road! After dinner we walked back towards the hostel. It was quite a far walked but we made it with no problems and never got lost. We saw parts of HCM that we hadn't seen yet which was nice! 

Gabby's friend from Seattle flew in tonight so we went to the airport around 11:00 to pick her up! I was super excited to finally meet her because Gabby has said so many great things about her! We swooped her up around 11:45 and got on the bus back into town. She had only eaten airplane food for the last 24+ hours so we got closer to our hostel and found a place to grab beers and food! Her first meal in Vietnam may or may not have been Mexican! 👍🏼😁 I knew I liked her! We got back to the hostel around 1:30am and headed to bed because we had to be up early and back at the airport in the morning! 

Ho Chi Minh•day 1

The hostel has free breakfast until 9:30 everyday so we made sure to make it up for that! :) 

 

After breakfast we decided to chill for a couple more hours before heading out for the day. We were both still feeling extremely beat! We got up and moving around 11 and were out and about by noon! 

 

Of course after our busy morning we were ready for lunch so we headed off to find this place called Royal Saigon. The food here was really good and the family that owned it was super sweet! 

After lunch we jumped in a cab and headed to the war museum. What an interesting place. 

 

We spent a good 3-4 hours there just reading every piece of information we could. So intense.

 

We got a cab at the museum to go back to hostel. On the way there it cost us 40,000 dong and there was a decent amount of traffic and what not. Within minutes of being in this cab we noticed that the meter was jumping So fast. We started paying attention to it and realized that we hadn't even been driving for 5 minutes and it was already up to 55,000! We decided we just get out and walk but had to wait for the driver to turn and go through the light. Before he turned the meter said 62,000 and by the time he stopped (right after he turned) it was up to 95,000! In a matter of 30 seconds!!! We were so annoyed...he tried to tell us it's because of traffic jam but he wasn't realizing that we saw how fast it jumped in such a short time. We handed him 50,000 and got out. He wasn't happy but either were we. 

On the walk back we got talked into massages. We both had been wanting/needing them since our trek so it worked out. They definitely weren't as good as our weekly Thai massages but they did the trick! 

By the time we were finished we were ready for a drink and some dinner! We walked forever before finally deciding on a spot where we grabbed some Vietnamese food and beer! 

Our hostel has a daily happy hour from 6-9 so we decided to head back and have a few drinks there. Lucky for us, we walked in to find out it was ladies night and we got a free drink! :) we sat and enjoyed our drink and then headed up for showers! We were pretty oily from the massages! 

Excited for day 2 in Vietnam!  

Off to Vietnam! 🇻🇳

Alarm went off abruptly at 7:45! Good 2 hours of sleep for this girl! I got up and moving. I had a good idea of what all I needed to pack but it was just more of getting everything organized and put together! Doing last minute things around the house and making sure I had everything I needed for Vietnam! Gabby and I left the house around 11 to head down to the van station. It took forever for the van to leave but we were finally on the road by 12. 

Luckily there wasn't any traffic and we made it to the airport around 1:15! We got checked in to our flight and then went and got subway! We had been craving it for days! Our flight was delayed about 40 minutes but we weren't really in any hurry so it didn't matter too much. 

Once we got on the plane I put my headphones in and passed out! I don't even know what time we ended up taking off or how long the flight was. I woke up to the flight attendants getting ready for landing. Perfect timing! 

Once we got off the plane we had to get our visa put in our passport. The line wasn't too long and we had already filled out the form ahead of time so we just turned it in and waited about 5 minutes! They called our names, we paid the $25 and we were on our way! :) 

We exchanged money and then we were off to figure out how to get to the hostel. Of course we were bombarded by taxi drivers but we decided on checking out the bus. The girl was really helpful and told us where we needed to get off and it ended up only being 20,000 dong (30 baht/$0.87) each for about a 20 minute drive, which was so much cheaper than a taxi!  

After we got off the bus we walked about 10 minutes to our hostel. It was nice to be outside and see the streets while walking around. We checked in and then went back out to find a bite for dinner. We were pretty overstimulated and super exhausted so we defaulted to pizza and pasta! It was delicious! We made our way back towards the hostel and ran into a yogurt place! :) of course we made a cup before going back! Tonight was a chill night...we were so exhausted from the non stop travel the past 2 days! 

Travel Day•day 13

This morning started off a little more stressful than we planned. Our first flight is at 3:40 out of Bagdogra. We have to take a jeep from Darjeeling to Bagdogra which is a good couple of hours away through the super windy mountain roads. We decided to get to the taxi stand around 9 just to be safe and give ourself plenty of time. We got to the stand around 8:40 and were just pushed into the crowd of people also waiting for a jeep. These are shared jeep taxis that hold about 10 people (2 in the front with the driver, 4 in the middle and 4 in the back with all the luggage on top). We were waiting and waiting, trying to stay patient but getting a little antsy. Finally around 9:15 we got into a jeep! He didn't end up leaving for at least 15 minutes because he was waiting for one more person to fill up the jeep. We finally start moving and not even 10 minutes in he pulls over because he has a FLAT TIRE. So all 10 of us pile out of the jeep and are just standing on the side of the road waiting. The spare tire that he pulls out of the back looks like it's 100 years old and in worse shape than the flat. 

Luckily the tire went on with no problems and we also didn't have any problems with the tire the rest of the way (which I was genuinely nervous about)! 

We randomly stopped on the mountain around noon because the driver was hungry...so he gets out and gets food meanwhile the rest of us are impatiently waiting for him! Gabby and I were getting pretty nervous about time. We had know idea how far we were but knew we were still on the mountain so we were still doing the super slow, driving down the curvy mountain. Around 1245 we are finally back into town and the driver stops in a pretty busy area for a younger Indian couple to get out. While he was getting their bags off the roof I asked them where/when we should get off the jeep for the airport. Lucky that I asked because the couple was actually headed to the airport and had already sent for an OLA (like our uber)! They offered for us to go with them and we ended up paying about 1/4 of what we expected to pay to get the airport! The whole trip from Darjeeling to the airport only cost me 255 rupee (130/125)! We made it to the airport with plenty of time to catch our flight and were starving and excited to be able to grab a bite to eat! This was just a short flight down to Kolkata where we would then fly back to Bangkok. Security was a complete disaster! So unorganized and crazy. People just doing whatever they wanted and not following any of the rules or lines, etc. When we got through security we were even more disappointed! It was TINY! 3 small gates, a coffee stand with a few snacks and a jewelry shop! We were annoyed but decided to just wait to grab dinner when we got into Kolkata! International terminal would definitely have something good! :) The flight to CCU was uneventful. We got into CCU grabbed our bags and ended over to the international checkin. We were so much closer to dinner! We got checked in and through security pretty easily only to be extremely let down AGAIN!!! international terminal and there were TWO places. A coffee stand and a little half ass restaurant. We ended up ordering potato wedges, French fries and tandoori paneer (was the most bland and boring thing ever) and a chocolate muffin! On top of there being nothing we had like 4 hours to kill. We sat at our table for hours playing cards. It helped the time go by a little bit! 

We boarded our flight and took off on time. We were so much closer to a shower and our beds!!! *we haven't taken a shower since we started our trek* 😳 

The immigration/customs and baggage claim in Bangkok went really quickly since it was so late and not super crowded! 

We had already decided to just take a cab back to saraburi to get there faster!! 

We were definitely planning on having to haggle with our driver to not charge us a ton to take us to saraburi but we walked up and he told us 1000 baht right off the bat (we were expecting 2000ish and hopefully working our way down to 1500ish)! 

The drive home only took about an hour and 15 minutes putting us at the house at 3am! I was so excited to be home and really should have gone to sleep straight away but I had too much to do before leaving in the morning for Vietnam! 

I started some laundry and then took the longest shower! It was my first shower in way too many days! I finally fell asleep around 5:30 and my alarm was set for 7:45! 

Darjeeling•day 12

Today was our last full day in India! Pretty crazy how fast the time has flown by but we've had a great time! 

I will say tho that when we woke up this morning I was wishing that we were leaving today. I am so tired of being COLD! It was fine for a few days, and when we were trekking it wasn't too bad because we were exerting so much energy that I stayed warm pretty easily! But waking up today I was freezing and thinking about how excited I am to get back to the hot weather of Thailand!! ☀️

We took our time getting up and ready this morning because we had absolutely no plans and nothing really to do! Darjeeling is a pretty small town so we've seen all there is to see in the short time we've been here. 

We walked down to Glenery's for breakfast and wifi. We took our time eating and decided that we'd kill a few hours of our day by going to see a movie. 

After breakfast we walked around town for another hour or so before heading over to the theater. We were going to see Beauty and the Beast at 12:40! I am typically not a movie watcher..especially not one to pay to see a movie. I'm just not good at sitting still and tend to fall asleep if I do end up watching a movie but we had nothing else to do so I was totally down! 

The movie ended up being so good!! I was so happy I went to see it! So randomly about 1/2 way through the movie it just stopped and it was time for an intermission...we had no idea this was a thing so we were a bit confused as to why the movie just stopped at the most random spot but luckily someone told us about the intermission. So we took advantage and grabbed some cheesy popcorn! 

After the movie we walked around for about another hour before finding a little coffee shop to stop in. We had a cup of coffee and hung out for a good couple of hours...talking, relaxing and people watching. After a few hours we decided it was time to eat again. That's all we've done! Eat, walk, eat, walk! We are a little burnt out in Indian food so we settled on a classic...SUBWAY! It definitely hit the spot! We walked back to the homestay and played a couple of rounds of cards with Passang before calling it a night! 

Tomorrow will be busy but pretty uneventful! Just a day full of travels! ✈️✌🏼

Sandakphu 4 Day Trek

Wednesday || Day 1

Today was one of the most challenging things I've probably ever done...physically but also mentally! 

 

We started our 4 day trek through the Singalila National Park today! We booked the trek through Ashmita Trekking. We met at the office at 10 this morning where we met 3 other guys that would be trekking with us. Two guys about our age and then one older guy, all 3 from Paris. They had a guide and Gabby and I had a guide. We left the office and drove about an hour to the start of the trek. 

Okay, so I feel like I live a pretty active lifestyle but holy moly...within the 5 minutes I was breathing like I've never exercised in my life! I was really questioning my abilities and felt like I should just quit while I still had the chance! This is were the mental part really came into play. The high altitude most definitely has an impact on your breathing and ability but I was not letting myself take that into account...instead I just kept telling myself that there was no way I was going to be able to make it the next 4 days! Luckily I had Gabby with me who helped a lot with the mental aspect. I just had to breath and take it easy. We started in Bhanjyang at an altitude of about 2000 meters. It's a lot different than what I'm used to in Thailand and I just had to keep reminding myself of that! 

I'd say things got a little easier after the first 30 minutes or so but I could definitely tell that my body was going to be exhausted by the end of this! We hiked a good 13/14 kilometers today up to Tumling, Nepal (about 2900 meters)!

In the beginning of the trek we ran into another guide and trekker. They are from another company but the guides are friends and they were doing the same trek as us so we all trekked together! So we've now picked up another friend named Ott, from Estonia. 

Through the next four days we will be weaving in and out of India and Nepal! At many points today we were standing in between the two countries! 

So our first night stay is in Nepal which is pretty cool! We are staying at a beautiful homestay! We got to the homestay and were welcomed in with a nice hot cup of tea! We were all freezing! It started to rain right at the end! Maybe 15 minutes before we reached the house! We made a fire and all sat around and relaxed until dinner was ready. There is another family staying here tonight. They are also from Paris and have such an awesome story! So there are 6 of them....grandparents, son and daughter in law and 2 kids (3 years old and 14 months)!!! And yes! They are all trekking! Like the same trek that we are doing that I was whining about (just at a slower pace, 6-7 days). The dad is carrying the 3 year old and the mom is carrying the 14 month old! And then the grandparents are trekking too! 

And to make them even more badass, the couple has been driving a camper van for the past 8 months with the 2 boys! They started in Malaysia and have made their way to India at this point and plan to go all the way back to France! The grandparents came out for 2 months to visit/travel! 

Alright we are waking up at 515 tomorrow to see the sunrise so I better call it a night! 

***I almost forgot a pretty major detail which plays into my struggle this morning...I've been sick with "Delhi Belly" as some people call it. Something I ate recently has not sat well with me and I've been sick for the past 36+ hours... everything I'm eating is going right through me causing me to have NO ENERGY whatsoever! So, this is a major part of the reason that I felt like I should quit while I was ahead this afternoon! 

But, I must say..I'm super proud of myself for getting through the day! It was HARD but I did it! 

Thursday || Day 2

We started the morning out with a beautiful sunrise! We were able to see some really beautiful views! We got an awesome view of the Kangchenjunga Range (also known as the sleeping Buddha). The Kangchenjunga is the 3rd highest mountain range in the world at 28,169 feet (about 8600 meters)!  

 

 

After the sunrise we came back had tea and breakfast and got our stuff ready to get on the road! Today was a pretty long trek! About 17 kilometers! We FLEW threw the first 7km! The first 7km was all pretty flat so it was really easy and allowed us to cover a lot of distance in no time! The second half of the day definitely wasn't that easy! It got tougher as we got closer to Sandakphu (which is the highest point we are going to).

Sandakphu is the highest peak in the West Bengal at 3636 meters (11,941 feet). Four of the five highest peaks in the world can be seen from its summit if the skies are clear (Everest: 1, Kangchenjunga: 3, Lhotse: 4 and Makalu: 5)! 

So after a very tiring day we made it to Sandakphu! We were all completely beat but really excited! It started hailing while we were trekking today! And, there was still snow on the ground!! It's pretty chilly here! This Thai/Florida girl is having quite the time trying to survive! 😂

We got in around 4 and dinner wasn't until 7 so we had plenty of time to relax and warm up! We sat by a little fire, drank hot chocolate and played a bunch of card games! It was a nice afternoon! 

•we are sleeping in Nepal again tonight•

We are planning on getting up early again tomorrow! If the weather is good then we will be able to see Mt Everest!! Fingers crossed for clear skies! 

Friday || Day 3

As soon as I opened my eyes this morning I could tell it wasn't going to be clear enough. I looked outside and it was super foggy. I heard the guys talking outside so I walked out there and I was right...the visibility was no good! Such a bummer as this was our only chance to see Mt. Everest. Back to sleep we went for a couple more hours! 

Three of the guys had to leave earlier than us today because they had flights to catch Saturday so they were only doing 3 days. We said goodbye to them, enjoyed our breakfast and then headed on our way!

Today was down hill basically all day! Definitely easier than the uphill climb yesterday but still tough on your body! 

 

Also there was a decent amount of snow/wet mush on the ground so you had to be a little more careful with your step! 

The day seemed to go by pretty quickly and we arrived at our final homestay around 1:30! This homestay is in India! Such a beautiful little spot and the weather was so nice when we got in! We sat outside and chatted for a bit before deciding it was nap time! 

 

I woke up from my nap to super intense thunder and rain! This storm seemed to come out of no where! We got lucky that we made it in before the rain started! Gabby and I went to the common area around four and were lucky enough to grab a little stool by the fire. We chatted and enjoyed a cup of hot tea! We played a couple rounds of cards and listened to music. The storm still hadn't stopped and the power had gone out. The ladies in the kitchen never stopped working! Just lit some candles and kept cooking! 

A little while later we got to learn how to make momos. They are like little dumplings and so delicious! 

 

We had dinner around 7 and then just sat around chatting for a bit. I don't think I've ever gotten this much sleep! My bedtime the past couple of days has been 8:00! Haha 

Saturday || Day 4

Gosh I can't believe today was the last day! Although the first day seemed like torture, it has honestly flown by! I have enjoyed each day so much! Pictures don't do this trip justice but I know the memories I have will never fade! 

 

We woke up to a gorgeous morning! It was the first day that I wasn't bundled up to start the day! We ate breakfast outside in the sunshine! 

We had a really easy day today! Only about 6km on pretty flat ground! We started around 8:45 and just took our time! We stopped in a flat area at one point to chill and eat some apples and oranges! 

We made it to the end around 10:30! A jeep picked us up and we still had about a 4 hour drive back to Darjeeling. I just wanted to sleep but the roads are SO ROUGH and windy that it was impossible! 

We stopped for lunch about 3 hours in and made it back to Darjeeling around 3:45. We chilled for a little bit just trying to stay warm and then went out to grab a bite for dinner. 

Nice chill evening at our homestay! 

Our India trip is slowly coming to an end! But I can't wait for WARM weather! ☀️

Darjeeling•day 7

Today we headed up north to get ready for our four day trek! 

We packed up and left the hostel around 8 this morning and took a tuk tuk to the metro station. From the metro we went to the airport change and got on a shuttle bus that would drop us off at the airport. We were flying from Delhi to Bagdogra. The flight was nice and easy...I legit slept the whole entire time! It was fantastic! Once we got to Bagdogra we had to take a taxi up to Darjeeling. It's about 3 1/2 hours. We organized a taxi for about 1800 rupee (about $30) and were on our way! 

 

The ride to Darjeeling was absolutely beautiful! We honestly felt like we weren't in India anymore! The houses, people and scenery were so different! The houses were so bright and colorful! A lot of the houses didn't have doors but instead pretty curtains hanging. We were driving around the same time that school was getting out so we passed soooo many kids walking home from school! They were precious! The people in this area look a lot more Asian (or Nepalese) than Indian. It was such a change from Delhi. They were beautiful! 

 

This was one of the windiest drives but beautiful! We were on the narrowest roads that looked like they could only fit one car but we somehow managed to make it all the way up with no problems! 

We got up to Darjeeling and found our homestay, The Cozy Nest. The owners are the cutest couple! So welcoming and friendly! There house is adorable! We went out to find the trekking office and check in for tomorrow's trek and then grabbed a bite to eat. It's freezing here! Like 9 degrees Celsius! Ugh!!! After dinner we headed back to the house! We ended up sitting in the living room with Passang (the wife) playing cards and drinking tea! It was a really nice chill evening! We start trekking in the morning! I'm so excited!! It's going to be a long 4 days! 

🎨HOLI🎨

Today was the whole reason Gabby and I planned the trip to India•Holi Festival 2017! 

We had read a lot, looked at pictures and videos and talked to lots of locals about it once we got to India! We had an idea what to expect but it was still so overwhelming but an awesome time! 

Five of us (Michele, Andy, James, gabby and I) from the hostel spent the day together "playing holi". The guys at the hostel didn't want us to go out by ourselves (especially the girls) because it can get really crazy throughout the day. But told us some areas to head towards where it may be a little more calm. People drink something called Bhaang, which is a really strong alcohol mixed with some sort of milk and mint and who knows what else! Anyway, the men are typically pretty drunk and VERY aggressive and touchy by the late morning/afternoon. We went out around 10 and it was pretty chill. 

 

We bought a couple of bags of color and were starting to get covered as well! 

 

When you see people you go over and tell them happy holi and put some color on their cheeks and forehead...some people are very delicate and others take their hand and smear color all over your face! 

 

But...you typically give what you get! 😁 so if you get a handful of color then you typically put lots of color on that person as well! It's a lot of fun! Some people put it in your hair or have spray foam that they'd ambush you with! We also ran into many groups of people on rooftops throwing water balloons or big buckets of water over the edge. The festival reminds me of songkran in Thailand! 

 

A little bit later we headed to this strip that is pretty busy and touristy with backpackers and what not. It was definitely a whole new ballgame here. The men were definitely more aggressive and kind of bombard you all at once. Wanting to take a selfie with you and cover you with color. It got to be too much so we found a rooftop restaurant down the street and stopped for lunch! It was all in all an awesome day and experience! By the end of the day we were COMPLETELY covered! 👍🏼🙃 

 

This is what I looked like once we got back to the hostel! 😂 showering was quite the process...color everywhere!!! 

The festival typically ends around 3 but we didn't want to go back out for dinner because you can still run into people on the streets that are drunk and still playing! We were nice and clean and didn't want to be bothered so we ordered pizza, chilled at the hostel and played cards. 

 

Tomorrow we are heading north! ✈️