On The Road Again

I giggled as I Skyped with Elliot from my hotel room in Ao Nang. “Yes, that's how it's pronounced!” I exclaimed through my giggles. “I swear to God! You really do say it ‘Pee Pee'!” I was talking, of course, about the  Phi Phi Islands , a collection of islands in Thailand's Andaman Sea. I was just getting ready for a full-day tour of the island group, and I was assuring my boyfriend that, yes, you really did pronounce them in a way that made you giggle like a 10-year-old. Immaturity aside, I was looking forward to the tour. I only knew these islands as being the place where the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach” was filmed. But I soon learned that this island group is about much more than Maya Bay.   After piling into a speed boat with a huge group of Thai tourists and a friendly Canadian couple, we set off across the turquoise water of the Andaman. Our first stop? Koh Mai Phai, or Bamboo Island. Despite the number of speed boa...

You know how when you go to a zoo (or maybe to a park with lots of wildlife), they have those “Please don't feed the animals” signs up all over the place? Well, today I have a very similar plea: Please don't ride the elephants.   Not long ago, when I first started thinking about my travel bucket list, “riding an elephant in the jungle” was something I dreamt of someday doing — right up there with riding a camel in the desert and a horse on a beach. But then I started learning snippets of the truth about elephant tourism , and I quickly struck that item off my list. In Southeast Asia, elephant tourism is a booming business. You'll see baby elephants making paintings for paying tourists, young elephants performing on the streets, and endless ads for elephant trekking camps that allow you to ride that elephant in the jungle. But, knowing what I know now about the plight of elephants in Asia, I would advise you to avoid ALL of these things. ...

Chiang Mai is our home base while we are in Asia. It’s the city we have spent more time in than any other outside of the states. It’s a city we know and love, and we can give you tips for finding an apartment in Chiang Mai. The city is the perfect combination of an exotic location with the comforts of home but at a fraction of the costs. For us, Chiang Mai is the perfect city for us to work remotely from. If you are considering moving to Chiang Mai, we will second that thought and we will try to help you find a place to stay in Chiang Mai. Finding an apartment in Chiang Mai is a relatively easy process, but there are some pitfalls to avoid and we will show them to you. Find a Chiang Mai Apartment Online Before moving to Chiang Mai from overseas, it’s best to get an idea of what your budget will get you. There are some great online resources to help you locate an apartment in your budget and that fits your lifestyle. Use a Chiang Mai real estate company, we have used Chiang Mai Perf...