Here’s a quick life update:

I’m back in the U.S. after seven amazing months of traveling through Southeast Asia! In just two weeks, I’ll be heading out on the final leg of my adventure — a month-long NOLS sea kayaking and backpacking course in Alaska. Until then, I’m adjusting to the time zone, catching up with loved ones, and swapping out my gear (finally, some clean clothes! But not for long!).

Turns out, blogging while traveling is harder than I expected — between constant movement, spotty Wi-Fi, and my mini iPhone as my computer, it was tough to keep up. But I did my best to journal along the way, and now that I’m home, I’m starting to pull it all together, add photos, and share it here.

Stay tuned — more to come soon!

Lately, I’ve been venturing through northern Thailand and finding creative ways to get off the beaten path in my travels. Getting out of the touristy areas takes a little extra work and can be a bit stressful at times, but in my experience, it has been totally worth the effort. In Asia, the main form of transportation is driving a motorbike; however, for me, that would be about the worst idea ever! So, traveling somewhere remote without using a motorbike has been a major challenge for me - I'm terrified of the idea of getting on one.

From the major city of Chiang Mai, I bought a bus ticket to Mae Hong Son and asked the driver to drop me off at Soppong village. I went into the nearby 7-Eleven and asked if they could help me get a ride to my accommodation - The Cave Lodge. A random man shopping volunteered to drive me 20 minutes to the resort for a couple of bucks! It's sweet how people are so kind and willing to help others out.

The lodge is in the middle of the jungle forest, and the common area and dining room are open-air living spaces. The rooms are bungalows with views of the gorgeous river below. This place is known for its outdoor expeditions. I already knew I wanted to go trekking to the nearby tribal village on one of their tours, but when I arrived, they said no other guests had shown interest in trekking. This was unfortunate because they need a minimum of four participants to run a tour. So, my options were to either wait until someone else became interested or pay for all four slots myself.

The universe was looking out for me. I was sitting in the common area, trying to figure out how I was going to afford any of the adventures. Then, three adorable Australian women walked in, started looking around the common space, and checked out the expeditions advertised on the walls. One of them said hello, and we started chatting. They were staying at a nearby homestay and looking for tours to join. We instantly hit it off, and I asked if they would be willing to go on an expedition together. They were enthusiastic and excited to include me. The group was made up of four girls - two sets of sisters - and they were all around my age. Their names were Maya, Tara, Leah, and Rachel. Tara and Rachel had just finished their master’s degrees in psychology, so we had lots to talk about!

Caving Expedition:

Three of the sisters and I decided to go on a caving expedition together, which explored three caves. We got up early, were dropped off near the top of a nearby mountain, and then set off on our hike to the caves. The first cave was long and full of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns.

The second cave was intense - some real spelunking! Our guide told us to prepare to get wet. We stepped into a small river and walked toward a dark opening. Then, we started to crawl through a narrow tunnel that seemed to go on forever. Even the "large" parts of the cave were barely roomy. If I found a small pocket in the ceiling where I could stand up straight, I was lucky. I wouldn’t say I’m claustrophobic, but I had awful intrusive thoughts about what could go wrong in the cave. After about 10-15 minutes of crawling through freezing water, we reached the end of the cave and found a 30-foot waterfall. I’m usually not afraid of heights, but at that moment, I couldn’t help but imagine slipping down the underground falls. This was a wild adventure, unlike anything I’ve done before.

When we exited the cave, we stood in the sun to warm up. Our guide, Ten, noticed something in the garden near the cave entrance - a bird trapped in a net. He gently untangled its feet and set it free. The villagers use nets to keep birds away from their crops. One lucky bird was saved by Ten that day. Ten out of ten for my friend Ten!

After lunch, we hiked to our third and final cave - my favorite. It looked like a cathedral. The stalactites and stalagmites were white and sparkly from calcium runoff. The massive columns reminded me of Gaudí’s architecture in Spain. It felt endless, with room after room revealing jaw-dropping, glittering views.

Matey Aussies:

I bonded with the Australian girls so quickly, it felt wild to think we’d only known each other for two days. It felt like we’d been traveling together for months! The day after our caving trip, we hung out by the river - swimming and relaxing on the bank. While in Vietnam, I bought a deck of cards with thoughtful prompts designed to spark deep conversation. We spent the afternoon getting to know each other through that game. It encouraged vulnerability, and the company couldn’t have been better.

That evening, we walked through a cornfield to catch the sunset. We found a platform where farmers rest during hot days and we sat to enjoy the view. Suddenly, Tara grabbed a husk of corn and started tossing kernels into the field. Naturally, we all joined in! We made up games like trying to hit a corn stalk or aiming kernels at a hole in the platform’s roof. Eventually, we raced to clear the cob - something I proudly won! As we played, the sky turned orange, pink, and purple. Over the horizon, we saw thousands of birds flying toward Tam Lod Cave. Read on to learn more about this

It was such a sweet moment. I felt fully present - my mind wasn’t elsewhere. 

The next morning was their last before heading to the beaches of southern Thailand. We woke early and booked a sunrise tour. Our guide Ten drove us to the same hill where we began the cave expedition. We sat and watched the sunrise over the valley, the fog settled in the low points. We laughed, talked, and soaked in the beauty before us. Then we said our goodbyes, hoping our paths would cross again someday.

A David Attenborough Moment:

While staying at The Cave Lodge, I learned about “The Bird Show,” a local natural event featured in a David Attenborough documentary. It’s always been a dream of mine to witness nature the way his films capture it - and here was my chance!

At dawn and dusk, 300,000 swifts fly into a cave to nest. They approach from every direction, forming a spiral funnel before darting into the entrance. The sound of thousands of birds chirping and echoing inside the cave was surreal. Water - or something like it - rained down from the cave ceiling. Yeah… probably not rain.The best place to watch is beneath a rock outside the cave. 

As darkness falls, shadows begin zooming the opposite direction - bats leaving the cave just as the birds fly in. In the documentary, Attenborough explains that birds sometimes collide or fall from nests during territorial fights. The real danger is if they fall into the river, where giant fish lie in wait. Luckily, the water level was low during the dry season, and I didn’t witness any birds becoming dinner.

As day turned to night, the birds and bats crossing paths in opposite directions felt like a quiet, instinctive rhythm of the wild.

More Photos from Thailand:

The holidays have been the toughest part of my travels so far. This was my first Thanksgiving and Christmas away from home and I missed my family and the traditions we share. The weeks leading up to Christmas were rough because I had a hard time ridding my anxiety about the way I thought I would feel on Christmas Day… it’s frustrating how the brain works sometimes. 

I made some new friends who were traveling and also weren't spending the holidays with their family. So my friend, Isabel, and I booked an Airbnb for a week,  cooked our own food (first time I cooked for myself in 3 months!), watched National Geographic movies about Borneo’s wildlife (which is where I am currently traveling while I write this post!), and we relaxed and shared our little holiday traditions with each other. 

On Christmas, my family has the tradition of eating spaghetti with garlic bread for dinner. So we doctored up a delicious veggie spaghetti and garlic bread using two hot plates and minimal pots and pans. We had to get creative at times and it is easy to say that it didn’t feel quite the same as home. Nothing is better than grandma’s spaghetti !!! Then we spent the evening eating spaghetti while watching my favorite Christmas movie, Elf! 

Christmas Day was not as bad as I was anticipating. Mainly because my sweetheart boyfriend, Jake, was spending his Christmas Eve in the Vietnam time zone while he was back home in Illinois. Yes, he pulled an all-nighter just so we could FaceTime. Jake spent his night keeping me company so I wouldn’t feel lonely on Christmas day. Long-distance dating is never easy, but it is moments like this that make us grow closer together while living thousands of miles apart. 

Other Things in Hoi An:

So I ended up spending three weeks in Hoi A because I was waiting on a package that never ended up getting through customs. However, I spent my time there to the fullest!! There are a lot of crafting opportunities in Hoi An, which is TOTALLY up my alley. So I ended up taking classes in embroidery, lantern decorating, and, my favorite, pottery. In Hoi An, they have a small pottery village where tourists can go and look at potters’ artwork, try the traditional foot pedal wheel, and hand build some cute figures that work as whistles. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy the pottery village, and I was keeping an eye out for a class I could take. For those of you who don't know, I have gotten really into pottery over the last two years and I spent a lot of time at the studio back in Oregon. Most of the studios in the village weren’t exactly what I was looking for - single day 3 hour class. Eventually, we walked into a studio that looked different from the rest - it was a proper studio with one of a kind art. In the corner, I noticed a gorgeous pot that was two feet tall and had a tiger sculpted into it with a beautifully painted background. These were artists I wanted to learn from! So I asked them if they taught classes (In southeast Asia people will normally do anything if it involves them  getting enough money). So they said they could offer me full classes over the next two weeks!! I was so so so excited!! My hopes came true! So during my time in Hoi An, I spent a lot of my time at this family’s house learning new pottery skills in their courtyard. It was such a fun experience, and I had many moments where I thought to myself “I am across the globe doing pottery in Vietnam right now!” Some days there were massive downpours. Some days the family had to run errands and I was at their house alone. Some days there were a lot of tourists in the village and I had an audience of a dozen people watching me throw on the wheel. I learned to make a spherical pot with a super thin and skinny neck, and on one of my pots I learned how to attach a 3D sculpture of a tree like the ones I was seeing around the city. It was so fun spending time with their family and learning new pottery skills all the way in Vietnam! 

Another thing I spent a lot of my time doing in Hoi An was going to a tailor. Tailoring is a big industry in Hoi An and there are at least a half dozen tailors on every block. I ended up using the tailor my friends found, and the tailor was wonderful, affordable, talented, and my new friends - because I went back almost everyday! The owner’s husband even took me on a trip to their fabric warehouse because I couldn’t find the fabric I wanted in town. It was so sweet! They really went above and beyond! I ended up needing to ship a box home! They were able to replicate my favorite dress from home by only seeing a picture. So I ended up getting two dresses in different colors!!! 

I also drank SO MUCH coffee while I was in Hoi An. I kinda think that was a part of the reason I spent so long there - I became a caffeine addict and couldn’t leave the delicious coconut coffees!!! Coconut coffee is so good and basically like a dessert. They make an ice cream-like mixture of coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and ice. Then pour espresso over the top, and sprinkle some candied coconut flakes! Yup, I basically started every day with one of these. Sometimes I had one in the afternoon too. I ended up taking a coffee making class on my last day in Hoi An so I can replicate the coconut coffee back at home! Thank goodness I took the class at the end of my time in Hoi An because I learned that they put an extreme amount of sweetened condensed milk in every single coffee… I have found that they like overly sweetened drinks throughout Asia. Anyways, in the coffee making class we learned how to make five different Vietnamese coffees. I drank at least three cups of highly caffeinated coffee in two hours! I literally had to go back to my hostel and lay down to sleep off the caffeine in my system! I hope to make some of these coffees back at home, but with a way smaller amount of sweetened condensed milk this time!!

My Overall Impressions of Nepal:

I think Nepal is an amazing and beautiful country for the people, the culture, and the nature. Some of the nicest and sweetest interactions I've had on the trip so far were with complete strangers I connected with. Whenever I was having difficulties with anything or I needed help, people would always stop what they were doing and lend a helping hand. People from Nepal really want tourists to enjoy their time there and fall in love with their country! 

There were countless times that I found this kindness from my NOLS  instructor, Jagan. For example, I wanted to change my itinerary on the NOLS course to end my trip in Pokhara instead of going back to Kathmandu with them. However, I had outdoor gear I was renting from a shop in Kathmandu and they had my drivers license as a deposit for the rental (I knew this was a bit of a risky move, but it was the only way to rent quality gear I could count on in the mountains! So I was crossing my fingers that it was still going to be at the shop. Everything turned out fine… but it probably wasn’t my smartest decision). Jagan offered to return my rented gear for me to ease my worries and prevent me from paying extra days for the rental. This way, he could retrieve my ID and bring it back to me in Pokhara a couple of days later during Tihar. It was so sweet of him to go out of his way to help me like that! 

LOL I can hear my brother scoffing at this!

Another example of how nice people are is when Maddy was having some complications with her Vietnam visa. I was spending time with a friend from home, Nurbu, when I got some texts from Maddy explaining the issue. When I asked Nurbu for any ideas on how to navigate this, his cousins, friends, and him stopped their conversations and immediately started making calls and doing research to find a way to help Maddy and I out. We had a team of Nepalese men trying everything to figure out a solution!

I also noticed that people were extremely welcoming and inviting into their home and family. For example, I made a new friend from Kathmandu through a random connection with my mom. One of my mom‘s regular customers at the store she works at, Desperado, is friends with someone who is from Kathmandu. This customer visited her friend, Rita, 10 years ago and it was the first time they ever met in person. Rita showed her around for a week and these two women totally became close friends, but they haven’t seen each other in person ever since. However, they still stay in touch really well!! They know about all the family updates and her kids called the woman from Bend auntie. I find it really inspiring to see how these two women from opposite sides of the world have maintained such a strong connection with one another. Anyways Rita was super enthusiastic to meet me! She invited me to go out to dinner with her family - which was very convenient because it was on a night where I would be solo in Kathmandu (not my ideal circumstances as Kathmandu is overstimulating for me and gives me extreme anxiety). So I went to a restaurant and met this super cute family. Her kids were adorable and they were all super excited to meet someone from America. The dinner was lovely and they invited me to come to their house for dinner in a week when I was back in Kathmandu with Maddy. A week later when we went to Rita’s house for dinner, as soon as her daughter saw me, she ran up and gave me a big hug and her son was calling me sister. We ate Dal Baht, chatted, and helped the kids practice some English. At the end of the evening, her son gave Maddy a pen from his pen collection and her daughter invited me to her birthday party in December. I was so touched she wanted me there, but I knew that wasn’t gonna be possible. So I told her I wouldn’t be able to make her birthday party this year, but someday we will make it happen! 

The people and hospitality in Nepal warmed my heart and just makes me want to travel there again soon!!

WorkAway Experience:

After Maddy and I reunited (after Manaslu for me and after visiting the Vijahr from study abroad for her), we decided to do a WorkAway experience with each other! WorkAway is an online organization that helps connect people who travel abroad to locals who could use an extra pair of hands with various types of work. Through this program, travelers exchange their work for food, accommodation, sometimes payment, and a chance to live and connect with local communities around the world. For our WorkAway, we picked a job in a remote village where we helped a family with farming and learned about their permaculture practices. We spent the week living with a young couple and four stray village dogs. 

The village was called Patishwara and it was in the Gorka district of Nepal. It was kind of crazy getting there… The directions given from the WorkAway host were to take a bus in the morning from Kathmandu towards Pokora, but ask the driver to drop you off early in Chumkola. From Chumkola, go down the stairs to your right, turn left, cross the footbridge, then turn right, ask the shop to buy a bus ticket and take the bus for about an hour and a half to Patishwara. From the directions, we already knew it was going to be an adventure getting there, but our itinerary looked a little different. We got a little bit of a later start because we had to go to the immigration office to sort out Maddy’s visa, but we decided to take the bus later since I wanted to just get out of Kathmandu. We started our bus ride at 3 PM, but after seeing how slow the bus moves on the highway, we realized we would get to Chumkola after dark. After finding no hotels in Chumkola, we realized it wasn’t even a town. Chumkola was just the name of a tiny bus stop in a tiny village on the side of the highway. We started frantically searching nearby towns, and hotels we could spend the night and finish our journey in the morning. We stayed at this resort that reeked of mothballs and the following day asked a bus for a short ride down the road back to Chumkola. So finally we followed the directions to go down the stairs, cross the footbridge, and head to Patishwara. Everything turned out fine! We just had to think on our feet. We took a very bumpy bus ride and then made it to the village. 

Our WorkAway host met us at the bus stop and we followed him up the road to his house. Our host’s name was Kale (Ka-Lay) and he lived in an orange house in the middle of the village with his wife Manu (Mon-u). At his house there was a separate room built beside the house which was the kitchen where they cooked Dal Baht and curry on a small wood fire stove. There was a bathroom with a squatty potty and three huge jugs full of water with a plastic mug to use for flushing (which is just rinsing poop down the hole until it’s submerged in the water) and to take our showers. For a week, we took freezing cold mug showers. They actually weren’t that bad once I got used to them! Below the house was a separate building with two rooms. Maddy and I were in one room together and a mother and baby were in the other room together playing the Madagascar movie theme song on repeat! We were certainly out of Kathmandu and we were having a hoot! 

Kale has spent his whole life in the village (except for when he moved to Delhi for two months to try something new, then he discovered he really missed his small village and he wanted to spend his life farming). He learned how to farm at a young age, finished high school, and married his high school sweetheart. In Nepal, people usually get married with an arranged marriage, but Kale and Manu decided to run away to Pokhara and get married instead! Since then, they have been working on the farm, aiding Kale’s parents, and Manu is occasionally the village's mail woman. Kale is the only son in his family so that means he will inherit 100% of his parents land. Kale and Manu are both 26 and Kale’s birthday is actually on November 11th! Which is also my birthday, and it happened to fall during this week!! Crazy coincidence!!!

On my birthday, we had a chill workday and finished early. Maddy and I spent quality time hanging out. She bought me some buff Momos for lunch, then we bought some biscuits, choco-pies (which are basically a dingdong), and two Gorka beers (our favorite Nepali beer that comes in a huge bottle). We grabbed our goodies and took a short hike up the hillside to a rock that sits above the village and we watched the sunset. From the village, we could see Mount Manasu. It was a lovely surprise to see Manasu again and to see it from a new angle. It glowed a gorgeous vibrant pink, and once the sun and colors disappeared, we walked back down to the house. We had company on our walk too - two of the village stray dogs that loved us and we loved them! That evening I had a lovely birthday FaceTime call with the family!

For the farming on the WorkAway, we started after an 8 AM breakfast, walked about 15 minutes down the steep jungle hills (with the dogs, of course) and spent about four hours in the morning and early afternoon playing in the dirt and learning about permaculture. Kale’s farm is used to grow his family’s food for the year and they don’t grow any food to sell. They tend to all their animals and crops, and they plan extremely strategically. For example, Kale grows his own coffee beans. Coffee plants like a lot of shade, so he grows banana plants around them as the massive leaves provide a ton of shade. They also use non-crop vegetation as a compost, so they scatter the greenery around the base of the trees. Even the weeds don’t go to waste. They have the goats to use for meat and fertilizer. I loved the goats! They were so cute! Thank goodness we didn’t eat any goat while we were there. For our work, we did a ton of digging to prep the fields and we spread a lot of fertilizer. Kale expected Maddy and I to get squeamish with the poop, but I explained how working as a caregiver made me used to working with poop every day! *Anneke if you are reading this, thank you for preparing me for the real world! Much love!!* While shoveling, we had to break up the dirt. Kale did it with his shovel, but I thought it felt cool to crush it in my hand! What didn’t feel so cool was crushing a wad of goat shit in my hands when I thought it was dirt. That… was a first and hopefully last time experience…. Kale also grew rice on his farm. He said his family was the only one left that grew rice in his village. To harvest the rice, we made the rice stalks into a large bundle. We hit the end of the bundle over a rock on a tarp. This makes all of the rice seeds fall off the stock. Then we picked out all of the little pieces of leftover stalk so Kale could ship it to the mill to prepare it for eating.

The final thing I want to explain are the mug showers I mentioned earlier. This was totally new and took some time to find the best strategy. Basically there’s a large plastic mug and a couple large buckets of freezing water. So I grabbed a mugful of water and poured it on my body. My strategy was to go from the bottom up, so I could ease into the cold water. Then I soaped my body and rinse from the top down. There is definitely a learning curve to it, but it honestly wasn’t that bad once you got used to it! 

A Nepali Wedding:

So I mentioned that my friend from Bend was in Nepal at the same time as me, and he so kindly invited Maddy and I to his cousin’s wedding reception. We eagerly accepted the invitation and were so excited to see the celebration. When we arrived at the venue, the bride, groom, and all their bridesmaids and groomsmen were doing a choreographed dance to some of Nepal’s recent pop song hits. It was impressive to see how much work they put in to the dance performance in order to provide entertainment for all their guests. In Nepal, they have a tradition of giving the bride, groom, and their immediate family a white scarf (called a Khada) to congratulate their marriage. Even though I have never met any of these people before, they seemed happy to have us there. The mother of the bride even stood up from her chair to give me a big hug. It was such a cute moment and I couldn’t have felt more welcomed to their celebration of the newly weds! At the end of the evening, while most people socialized, the older men and women from the groom's side started a traditional song and dance to send the couple their best wishes. This was a beautiful sight to see! Everyone stood in a circle, had there arms wrapped around each other, and then they danced with coordinated and rhythmic steps while they beautifully sang with the accompaniment of a traditional stringed instrument. The sounds rang through the hall and gave me chills! 

Sapa, Northern Vietnam:

When Maddy and I first arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, I got food poisoning on day two of being in the city. This bout of sickness kicked my butt and I ended up sleeping through almost our whole time in the lively city. Luckily, I started to feel well enough to travel north to the mountains in Sapa, Vietnam! We took a sleeper bus. 

*side note: these buses are kinda wild and also a pretty comfortable way to travel. The bus has stacked reclinable seats where you can basically lay flat with your legs straight. Being small, I can sleep quite well in them so I like traveling in the buses! * 

While we were in Sapa we stayed at a tiny Homestay that Maddy found. Maddy found a blog about this homestay and the blog described how the host, Mama Chao, and her family are an absolute delight and how they show you around the villages and the surrounding nature. It seemed like an odd way of finding our next accommodation, but we decided to give it a try! It ended up being an amazing way to start off my time in Vietnam by spending time with an adorable family and meeting more travelers - who I’ve ended up traveling with for some time now.

A typical day at Mama Chao’s starts off with a breakfast of banana pancakes, Vietnamese coffee, and fruit. Then she takes you out on a hike around the surrounding villages. While we were there, the weather was extremely cloudy so we couldn’t see the view of the valley; however, it cleared up on our final day so we got a chance to see the rice paddy terraces and bamboo forests that covered the entire valley. 

On one of our hikes, we walked through an area in Mama Chao’s village that experienced a major landslide just in October. It was shocking to see how large the landslide was and how much damage it did to the ground. On the edge, there was a house that was a few feet away from being effected. I asked if anyone was injured, and Mama Chao said that three homes were destroyed and six people died - some being children and a baby. A large typhoon came through northern Vietnam and devastated some of these villages. Most families were able to sleep at the school in the center of the village to stay safe, but some were unable and it’s tragic what happened to them, their families, and their communities. Walking through this area and witnessing the vulnerability of these communities to frequent natural disasters was an intense experience. 

Yet amidst this reality, I found moments of beauty and connection, like at Mama Chao’s, where I had the chance to glimpse the Muong people’s traditional craft. While in Hanoi we went to an ethnological museum and I learned traditional art work is a major part of the culture in Vietnam and that the smaller villages are the ones who mostly still continue these practices. For the Muong people, their traditional craft is weaving/embroidering clothing with a yarn they dye themselves with Indigo plant leaves. In Vietnam, they celebrate the Chinese New Year and it is a really big event for Mama Chao’s village. People dress up in fancy traditional attire and a lot of the time the young adults are expected to meet their spouse at the New Years celebrations. Mama Chao and her husband met at the New Year’s party when she was 17. After the seven days of new year's partying, Mama Chao and her husband got married! They dated for seven days before marriage… Talk about cultural differences!!! Since the New Year’s party is such a big deal, the mothers hand sew each one of their family members an outfit to wear for the week. That means Mama Chao is making an outfit for herself, her husband, and her three kids before the new year in February. This is a TON of work and women will usually stay up all night working on their projects. While I was traveling with Maddy, she was teaching me to mend some of my clothing. One evening during our stay at Mama Chao’s we stayed up late with her and her sister all working on our own sewing projects next to the kitchen fire - this was one of my favorite moments while traveling in Vietnam so far! 

Another cute moment at Mama Chao’s was when I played and interacted with her kids on our final night at their house. I played with her two youngest kids, taught them paddy-cake, and showed them magic tricks (like splitting my thumb in two). Then they pulled out a deck of cards and started to teach me the rules while not speaking any English to me. When we played, I would just put down random cards and look at how they reacted. Mid-way through the game, Maddy leans over and whispers “do you even know what game you are playing right now” and I relied “nope!” This was such a cute and wholesome moment I shared with Mama Chao’s kids! It was adorable!!

Ha Long Bay to Cat Ba:

Maddy and I parted ways, and I took a 10 hour bus ride from Sapa to Ha Long Bay to find that there is absolutely nothing to do in Ha Long Bay - unless you are going to the port to go on a multi-day cruise. That’s not quite for me and I thought I could entertain myself with the city, but what I found was an eerie abandoned city. There were all these massive buildings and resorts that were completely empty and unfinished inside. I was told that they were building all these new buildings to prepared for a tourism boom, but COVID put a hault to that and then they went bankrupt! Which basically left all these unfinished construction projects around the city. It was hard to even find a restaurant that 1) was open and 2) existed in real life. It was quite weird, so I decided to travel to Cat Ba - a near by island with lots of outdoor activities to do. 

This was a GOOD move!! I ended up hanging out on the beach and taking a bunch of tours because you needed a boat ride to get to the locations with cool things to do. The first night, I signed up for a tour (an hour before it started) to go sea kayaking at night to see the bioluminescent algae. The boat ride was stunning at sunset because the islands towered out of the water and the water reflected the sky’s colors! Once the sun went down, the water came to life! Movement in the water makes the algae glow an aqua blue color! Most of the time I was playing in the water rather than paddling my kayak, but who wouldn’t do the same! We got to a dark area in the ocean that was surrounded by islands! At this point, the guide told us that we could get out of our kayaks and swim! There was a part of me that felt anxious to jump into the dark ocean water at night, but then I thought “well at least I would see a shark glowing through the water before it eats me”. So I decided to jump in, and I have absolutely no regrets! It was so magical!!! I felt like a mermaid while I spun through the water making the world sparkle around me!! It felt like I was in a fairytale and it blows my mind that what I was seeing was real! (Unfortunately, I do not have any photos because this bioluminescence does not show up in pictures). 

A few days after being on the island, a former co-worker from my summer of working at Wilderness Adventures in Wyoming met up with me! 

*Side note* My friend, David, traveled to Nepal a few years ago and the pictures he posted on social media are a part of what made me want to travel to Nepal myself (Nepal blog post coming soon!). So I texted him for travel advice and we joked that we should meet up and travel together when I go abroad! Fast forward to now, while I was in Sapa, I was exchanging my instagram with another traveler I met and I noticed that we had a mutual follower. I said “Wait! You know David!?” And he said “Yeah! I went to a Jazz bar with him in Ho Chi Minh City just a few days ago”. So I go to text David, and of course he texted me over a week ago telling me he was in Vietnam (I’m so awful at texting for those of you who don’t know… but you probably do…). So David and I connected and made plans to meet up in Cat Ba! It’s a good thing I met this other traveler because there is a decent chance I would have missed David while in Vietnam! The world works in very interesting ways sometimes! * 

Okay, back to Cat Ba! 

So David and I meet up and decide to go on a hike in the Cat Ba National Park. The hike was short and sweet, the views were spectacular, and David and I were back in the outdoors together! It was really nice to catch up with him, reminisce on our summer of leading kids on outdoor expeditions, and talk about where life has taken us since then.

The following few days, I went on a day long boat tour with a friend that I met in Sapa - Freya from Germany! She introduced me to her friends she met while traveling, and I have been traveling with this group of people since! On the boat ride, we ate good food, kayaked around islands and through caves, and we went swimming in the warm water. And I made new friends!! On my final day on Cat Ba, I decided to take a tour to go rock climbing!! It was so sick!! We took a boat ride (yup, another boat ride) out to a beach where the guides set up some routes and then belayed us while we climbed. It was super fun to climb in the outdoors again (it’s been a while) and the views were so beautiful from the high vantage points. The rock was sharp, the routes were challenging, and my body was sore for days later! It was a blast!!

Phong Nha, Vietnam Caving:

I embarked on a caving expedition in Phong Nha, central Vietnam. I’ve been solo traveling (without Maddy) for about a week and I have been making my way down south with some fellow travelers. Looking for an opportunity to slow down from the fast pace of traveling, I wanted to get out into nature and spend some time in the mud! I decided to take a trip by myself and go on a wilderness expedition in this town that is known for having the largest caves in the world. I looked into some tour companies as I have heard that navigating the back country areas of Vietnam is complicated and potentially dangerous, so I found the company Jungle Boss! Looking at their brochure, I saw that they offered overnight expeditions where you can camp inside of a cave!! For those who know me, it’s no surprise that this caught my eye! It was a bit on the pricier side, but I decided to sign up for it (literally the evening before the trip) because when am I going to get an opportunity like this again!? Phong Nha National Park is home of the largest caves in the world (by volume) because of the mountainous landscape and limestone rock. The expedition I signed up for trekked, climbed, and slept in the fourth largest cave in the world - Pygmy Cave! 

We started off the expedition by trekking about four hours through the WET rainforest - it is their rainy season right now. While we walked through the jungle, all you could hear was the rain dripping from the trees, birds singing, and our boots squishing the mud with every step! The trip ended up feeling almost like a private tour because there were only two other travelers taking the tour with me!! They were kind men (one from Canada and the other from the Netherlands) who were funny, nice, and very chill. We all got along well and we had a blast together on this expedition. The ONLY part of the trip that I didn’t like were the leeches… Apparently bug spray kills leeches and makes them release their bite when they are attached to you. We were told that they can bite through clothes, so I wore long pants, two pairs of socks, and the guide was constantly checking and spraying them off me while I was squealing at the sight of them. They were so gross, but manageable. 

After a long wet trek, we made it to our first cave - Hang Over Cave (where leeches don’t live! Thank Goodness!). Through the thick jungle, a massive hole in the mountainside peaks through the twisted vines and enormous leaves. The opening of the cave is lined with plants and abruptly turns into dirt, rocks, and stalactites. Off in the distance we see columns, pools of water, and complete darkness behind them. We began our trek by walking into the dark cavern to find an unworldly landscape. I’m surrounded by glistening rock formations protruding from the floor and ceiling that are HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS years older than me!! These stalactites (on the ceiling) and stalagmites (on the ground) formed over thousands of years when rainwater seeps through the cracks in the limestone rock; which changes the chemical structure of the rock; and when it interacts with the cave’s air, the rock’s minerals turn into crystals that grow downward from the ceiling forming an icicle-like stalactite. *At least this is my understanding of it* Water eventually drips from the stalactites onto the ground where the same process takes place, but the crystals accumulate upward to form stalagmites. Eventually (over thousands of years), the stalactites and stalagmites grow so large that they meet each other in the middle and form columns. 

As we continue to walk through the cave, we see endless pools of water. Then I realize that there are fish in the water. Fish?! Deep into the cave?! Our guide explains that the fish are here due to the typhoons in the region. Just two months ago, the jungle and cave flooded from the typhoon. So these fish traveled from the river at the bottom of the valley and were washed up into the cave all the way up the mountain side. I can’t even comprehend the amount of water it takes for the river to flood all the way up into the cave. The fish are also super white (almost translucent) because they have adapted and evolved to live in total darkness - which somehow results in them losing their pigmentation. 

The pools of water also really caught my eye! The water was a striking aqua blue because of all the minerals from the limestone rock. There was a thin white film on top of the water, and I learned that it was calcium from the ceiling drips. The shapes of the pools were also striking. The edges were thin, tall, and wavy walls of hard rock, and we had to balance on these tiny edges to walk between the pools of water.

To simply put it, everything I saw in the cave was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The millions of year old rocks were over one hundred feet tall towering out of the ground. The size of the cave was totally mind-boggling! The height of the cave is 164 feet tall (it could fit a 15-story building), the width is 328 feet wide (over two football fields), and the total volume is over 35 million cubic feet! To put that into perspective, the volume of the Pygmy cave is almost TWICE the volume of the St. Louis Cardinals Busch Baseball Stadium (according to ChatGBT). So the cave is MASSIVE!! 

What also struck me was how “off the beaten path” this expedition was. There were only two other people on the trip and we kept thinking about how this would be an entirely different experience if there were 200 other tourists around, fighting to get the “perfect photo” of the cave’s opening and the nature. Unfortunately, most other natural wonders are spoiled due to it being overcrowded and the noticeable human impact. The environment was so breathtaking, and it looked like the forest and cave had minimal human impact. Or so I thought… our guide explained to us that the forest we were trekking through was completely destroyed by American bombings during the Vietnam war. The Phong Nha National Forest area was targeted due to its close proximity to the Ho Chi Minh trail which was used as a supply route for Northern forces. Thousands of bombs were dropped every day, and our guide (who is the same age as me) shared that his grandfather died from those bombings in the war. He also informed us that people living in the villages would go to the jungle to hide, and they would flee to the caves to use as a bomb shelter. Learning this spun my perspective of the forest I was walking through and it was interesting to learn this information as an American, from someone the same age as me who was born long after the war too. I didn’t know what it was going to be like traveling in Vietnam as an American. But so far what I have noticed is that the locals don’t bat an eye and they are happy to see a young American visiting and learning about their country. There were victims on both sides… 

The people are healing, and so is the jungle. 

More Moments with Mamas: 

On my final night in Phong Nha, I was in my hotel room packing when I heard a knock on my door. I had no clue who was knocking and I didn’t have a peep hole. So I hesitantly opened the door and saw a middle aged woman standing there with half of a Paloma fruit on a plate and her phone opened to Google Translate in her other hand. The Google Translate said something like “Hello! I am a mama who is happy you are staying here, so I brought you a grapefruit. You are so cute. Please come and visit mama again some day”. I smiled and said “Cam On” (thank you in Vietnamese) and she gave me a big hug! This was such a random act of kindness and such a wholesome interaction that made me feel so welcome here!  

On a different day while traveling, I was having an emotional moment (solo travel can be hard) and I decided to take a few minutes to myself to sit on a street curb and cry a little bit (this is a normal and good thing for me). So I was sitting there in my feels wiping my tears away when a nice Vietnamese woman came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder and said “what’s wrong?” in her cute Vietnamese accent.  Of course once I figured out what she was saying, I started crying more. She sat down next to me, rubbed my shoulder, and started talking to me. I could barely make out what she was saying, but I could tell she was trying to be kind and support me. She reached into her purse and gave me a tissue. Then she was squinting her eyes, wiping them, and saying “NO”. I figure she was giving me advice on how to stop my crying. Then she started miming something that looked like she was drinking something and feeling refreshed. I said “Oh yes! You are right!” And then held up my water bottle. She said “no no” and pointed to a beer can littered in a corner nearby. This made me giggle and take sips of my water. I would drink and then give her a thumbs up. She then opened up her bag and started showing me all the souvenirs she was selling. Then she started doing a confusing mime where she would say “no” and then punch the air. I couldn’t tell if she was saying that I should say no or if that’s what she wanted to do when people said no to her…. Finally she taught me how to count to five in Vietnamese and then stood up, said goodbye, and walked away with a smile. It was an interesting situation, but it felt nice to have company while I was processing my emotions. And at the end of it she did in fact help me stop crying while we didn’t even speak any of the same language. 

**This post was written on an earlier date. Also, I am working on catching up on blog posts.

A few weeks ago I began the most incredible outdoor expedition I have done yet! I embarked on the Mount Manaslu Circuit with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). It is a major hike in the Himalayan mountains that is in the Gorka region of Nepal. Over nine days of hiking we: hiked over 109 miles, hiked almost 52,000 ft in elevation gain throughout the trek, and hiked over Larke Pass at 16,900 ft. I saw things I could never imagine, my breath was taken away both from the scenery and the high altitude, and I learned so much about Nepal and the people living here. My group consisted of four middle aged adults from various parts of the United States - though we discovered random connections between each of our lives - and we drank lots of honey lemon ginger tea while having deep conversations with our guide and his local friends. Here is the low down on each of them:

Jagan: Our NOLS instructor who is from Pokhara, Nepal; has summited Mount Everest twice; is someone who shares so much love and compassion for the people living in Nepal and people who are interested in getting outside; and he is someone I hope to be like when I grow up! Jagan is an incredible, kind, and understanding person and we need more people like him in the world. 

Nima: Jagan’s assistant instructor who was excited to lead people up into the mountains. He is Jagan’s employee for his company Freedom Adventure. He is a very kind, patient, and helpful man. 

Rebecca: A NOLS alumni who is also from Oregon (Portland), has a daughter my age, has a nephew who just started his freshman year at Lawrence University, and is extremely sweet. 

Alison: Another NOLS alumni who is from Indianapolis and is extremely experienced in NOLS alumni trips. She is very thoughtful, funny, and very nice! We were roommates throughout most of the trip! 

Jeanine and Craig: A couple from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Craig took a NOLS and NOLS instructor course when he was young and this was the first NOLS course for Jeanine. Craig had great one-liner jokes through the trip and they definitely gave off mid-western vibes that I have grown accustomed to during college. They have two sons who are both in school now. One of their sons goes to school in Vermont and is on the Nordic team. It turns out, one of his friends from Nordic is someone I went to high school with in Bend, Oregon and we did vocal Jazz together. 

Balaram, Saduram, and Safal: Our porters who spoke little English (but we found creative ways to communicate with one another), were so supportive, offered contagious smiles along every step of the way, and were the strongest men I have ever seen in my life!! Safal is a sweet 19 year old and our trip was his first time portering. He wants to go to school to study dance and he taught me some dance moves too!! 

Here are the pictures, stories, and things I learned on each day on my trip of a lifetime! 

Day 1: We hung out in Kathmandu and took a cooking class, but it turned out, it was much more than a cooking class. The class was put on by an organization called Sasane and their mission is to help Nepalese and Indian girls escape sex trafficking, and give them opportunities to pursue a career where they can make a difference. There was a girl who gave a presentation on the organization and she was 19 years old, absolutely adorable, and working on going to law school. All of the girls teaching the cooking class were so strong and inspiring! I felt so privileged to meet them.

Day 2: Today we took the craziest drive of my life, but a typical Nepali drive up into the mountains. All seven of us and a driver crammed into a four wheeler jeep and drove on a “road” up to a village towards the Manaslu Circuit. The drive was the bumpiest experience ever and we were usually driving on the edge of a cliff! Though it was terrifying, the views were spectacular! I tried to focus on the views rather than the thought of plummeting to my death… at one point in the drive, we drove past women harvesting rice in the rice paddy fields. We stopped the car to watch, learn, and try it. They used a rounded serrated knife to slice the rice tuft off the stock. Then they lay it out neatly on the ground so the plant can dry out. Right before we left, I noticed a couple of little boys staring at me, so I walked over and said hi. The group of boys quickly doubled and they asked me where I was from. Then I asked for their names. They all mumbled their names so fast with sounds of words I’ve never heard before. I told them my name, and they all repeated it like parrots. When we started to leave, they asked me if I would come back to visit them. They were all such beautiful children and definitely had little crushes on me. Hehehe

Day 3: Today was our first day hiking, and it was mostly on the road. The views were incredible - rolling mountainous “hills” surrounded us while the river was roaring. Cars and motorbikes still honked as they flew by and waterfalls missed us along the way. We got to the teahouse and I took a freezing cold shower, but hey! I got a shower on a NOLS course!?

Day 4: First day of actually being on a trail and it was stunning. We saw our first white topped mountain and Nema, our guide’s assistent, told me that it was 17,000 feet tall! We eventually started to hike through the forest. The greenery was endless. There were beautiful trees and bushes, and there were pine and bamboo trees. When we took a break, there were men with hardhats and men wearing camo with massive guns. I was sitting on some steps and the men next to me, started moving things from bags into boxes. These men looked like they were putting sausages into the box. The sausage logs had a foreign word in it that started with an “S”. So… it turns out the sausages next to me were actually dynamite! These men were working on building a road all the way to Tibet so they need dynamite to carve away at the mountain side. Nepal is building a road to China so they can transport cheap goods from China into Nepal. What is sad is that it means this trek will not be around forever and soon people will be able to drive almost the full Manaslu circuit. I am very thankful that I’ve gotten the chance to do this trek before it is too late. When we got to the teahouse the owners had a cute little boy that wandered into our room and explored Alison‘s belongings (while she supervised). He started looking into her bag and would pull items out to play with. He pulled out an earplug case and squished all the orange plugs. Then he pretended the case was maybe a gun? Then a car? It was adorable to watch this boy explore items he has probably never seen before.

Day 5: After spending the night in a triple room with Alison and Rebecca, we started on a long day of hiking. We were all quite quiet because there was a fair amount of climbing in the hike. What I was really looking forward to on the hike was the apple orchard close to the teahouse. Jagan told us about the apple juice the night before and I craved it before and after our visit to the orchard. It was the best apple juice I’ve ever had. Nothing was added. It was pure apple. After the orchard visit, we got the teahouse. It was one of the most beautiful buildings and scenery I have ever seen. The buildings were painted in Tibetan style and very brightly colored. There were floral paintings on any surface that could fit it. The colors were amazing and the rooms were very cozy and the lodge-like. The place was absolutely perfect. After dinner, Jagan explained the history of the region we are about to hike into.

In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled his country of Tibet and many of his followers came too. The Dalai Lama was banned from Tibet. Then China took control over Tibet and they locked up the Tibetan borders with Nepal. That means all of the Dali Lama’s followers (who had no visa or passport) were unable to get back into their home country. It is still like this to this day and many Tibetan migrators have not been able to cross the border to even see their family. Nepal has embraced Tibetan refugees and most of them inhabit the northern area of the Manaslu valley. This part of the valley is wider than what we’ve been hiking through the last few days. There is more land and space for agriculture, so the people who migrated have settled in this area so they can make a new life for themselves and grow their own food. In the next few days, we will be seeing a lot of villages with migrant ancestry. Something that I found very interesting is that, while most Tibetan migrants can not go back to Tibet and are unable to obtain visas or passports, migrants who live very close to the border (as far as Samagaon) can go back-and-forth with ease. 

Day 6: Today was a pretty chill day. We only had to hike 5 miles, so we got to the teahouse by lunchtime. The hike was beautiful of course and we saw a lot of cattle. I learned that cows are sacred in Nepal and you are not allowed to kill or eat beef. The reason they are sacred is because they are considered a second mother to a child - since a child first drinks their mothers milk and eventually drinks cow's milk. There were yaks as well as caks on the hike - cow and yak. Once we got to the teahouse, I was exhausted so I took a two hour nap.

Day 7: Today was another short hike and we are now at 11,500 feet. We started the day by getting our first look at the Manaslu mountain. It was jaw droppingly outstanding. It stood bright with the morning sun, and looked sharp in contrast with the morning blue sky. We started drinking our coffee on the roof while admiring the mountain. We ended up having breakfast up there too. It was an absolutely perfect morning, and I could just feel my good brain chemicals flowing. We started out on our beautiful hike with lots of cable bridges, gorgeous views, and tons of yellow turning Tamarack trees. After 5 miles of hiking, we got to the town we were staying in as we walked in. We heard music and saw a crowd of people our trip leader, Jagan, ask some locals what was going on and he learned that it was a community celebration and that we were welcome to join. We dropped our packs and sat down to watch the start of the show. People came out dancing wearing beautiful clothes - Chupas too! There was singing, dancing, children playing, elders, families, technology difficulties with the microphones, monks and nuns, and smiles with laughter on every face. It was beautiful to witness! I had no idea what they were saying, but I could tell everyone was happy. in the evening we talked with Jagan’s friend - who was the owner of the tea house. We had a very deep conversation about the road being built to China and conserving the environment on the truck. We asked him what he thought about the building of the road. He said that he had two opinions about it. 1) because it’s going to affect his livelihood - it is going to hurt the tourism industry in the area, and 2) it is best for the greater good of the community. he said 90% of the village is living in poverty and the other 10% is not because they are working the tea houses and in tourism. He said that having the road will help the people living in poverty because it will make it so much easier to get goods, items, and products up here. Currently the only way to transport things to almost all the villages we’ve stayed in is by loading items onto donkeys. The items are either coming from India or coming from China down a different valley, to Kathmandu, driven up the sketchy road, and then carried by donkeys to the villages. This makes it extremely hard and expensive to get anything up here. Therefore, the road will help these communities develop and create more developed towns. Jagan’s friend said “though the road is going to impact me personally in a negative way, it is going to help this community so much. Therefore, I am happy they are building the road. We’ve already started looking for alternative trails we can use to sustain houses and tourism for hikers.” 

This conversation has been on my mind a lot, and I’ve been thinking about it deeply. At first, I was sad to hear that the building of the road was going to change the Manaslu circuit forever, but now after conversations and careful thinking, I think the road is going to be a really great thing! I have never seen poverty like this, and I now realize that the world is developing at a really fast pace and it is wrong to expect communities to not change just for tourists’ curiosity and viewing pleasure while we walk by peoples‘ homes for a split second on our hikes. I want the best for these people and hope these children will have opportunities to live a happy and hygienic life where they’re able to make choices for themselves and follow their dreams. Building the road is taking a step in the right direction. 

Day 8: Today was our rest day to acclimatize to the high altitude. We have been monitoring ourselves and looking for any symptoms of altitude sickness. We fill out a questionnaire and record our oxygen levels and heart rate each evening. I appreciate how NOLS and Jagan take our health, hygiene, and safety very seriously. I have full trust in my instructors. We strategically hiked more miles at the beginning of the circuit when we were at a low elevation. Now that we’re at a high elevation we hike slowly and not too many miles. For our acclimatization day, we went on a hike to an alpine lake beneath Mount Manaslu. The water was from a glacier so it was a beautiful aqua color. We saw an impeccable 360° view of the mountains, and Manaslu was the biggest of them all! It was a beautiful day, and the mountains were breathtaking. There were also juniper trees - my favorite kind of tree! Earlier in the morning we saw the people from the festival tuning their instruments they would be playing that day. One instrument was a beautiful horn that could be condensed or stretched out into a 6 foot long, didgeridoo-trombone-like horn. In the afternoon, we went back to the community festival where I mainly just watched all the kids and families enjoy their afternoon and interact with one another. I noticed a darling (maybe 2 or 3 year old) girl who is being watched and taken care of by a bunch of teens sitting around the area. It really does take a village! There was also a little boy (about the same age) who was playing all around the festival and playing with rocks in the dirt. Suddenly, he appeared behind me. At first I was excited and ready to play, but then he pulled out a lighter and was able to make it spark! Holy #$?% !!! This kid is going to light me on fire! So I grabbed a rock and hoped he would play with that instead. Thank goodness he went with it!! He grabbed the rock and tapped it on the lighter and handed the rock back to me. We did this a couple times until he got bored and ran to play with something else. Phew! That was close!

Day 9: Today was another short day to work on getting acclimated to the altitude. We have hit the altitude where the vegetation has turned grim. There are no more trees, only shrubbery. We gained some elevation, then got to the village with our tea house. Everything has a Tibetan influence in this village because we’re only a few kilometers from the border. We can see the trail that leads to the border and Tibetan peaks off in the distance. We grab our usual lunch - Dal Baht - at the tea house, and then we set out for a hike to work on gaining altitude. We hike up a steep hill, go through a ton of switchbacks and finally get to the top to see a terrific view. We can see a dozen mountains surrounding us and two valleys - the one we have been hiking through and the one we are about to hike through. It was absolutely gorgeous and worth the climb. Plus climbing altitude will help me through the next few days! Back at the tea house, I washed my face with FREEZING cold water in a “public” spicket in the middle of the courtyard. After dinner Jagan, Alison, Rebecca, and I had a nice conversation about following dreams and Jagan shared the story of him following his dream to climb Mount Everest. Apparently he told his family he was leaving for “work” one day and went up to climb the mountain. He got caught in a mild avalanche, injured his eye and some other body parts, but continued to climb towards the peak. He made it to the top and lived to go home and tell his family about it. What a story!!

Day 10: Today was only a 2 mile day, but we got to the final tea house before the pass. It is a very minimal tea house with questionable food. Our bedroom was nine square feet and made up of three thin mattresses connected to each other. The five of us set up like sardines in this tiny room. I decided to take one for the team and sleep in the center, but we were all totally squished. Though it wasn’t the most comfortable bed, I slept more than I expected. Earlier in the day, I did one last hike to a high altitude to get acclimated - you want to hike high and sleep low.

Day 11: The Larke Pass @ 5,106 meters / 16,900 feet 

We woke up at 2:45 AM, packed our bags, and shoveled porridge into our mouths along with coffee. Around 4 AM we started our ascent along with the other 80 or so hikers. We started slowly hiking in a huge line with the other trekkers. Hiking slowly is good to pace yourself. I felt cold, anxious, and was trying my best to breathe deeply.  After about 20 minutes (I’m already gassed) Jagan talks to Nema in Nepali, Nema starts to hike off trail looking like he wanted to pass the long line of people. I hear Jagan say “follow Nema,” but he is already 30 feet in front of me and is moving quickly with Craig. So I follow instructions to step off trail and try to catch up with Nema and Craig. I was unsure if Jagan, Jeanine, Rebecca and Alison were supposed to follow too, but I just kept trekking on! By the time I caught up to Nema and Craig, I was exhausted and out of breath.

As we continued to trek on, I saw some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen in my life! The sun was starting to rise in the shadows, turning into a beautifully intense landscape. A soft orange-ish pink crept around the mountains’ silhouettes. The mountains stood tall around me and were kissed by the alpine glow. The world was coming to life, and we were about halfway up the pass. periodically we took breaks to catch our breath and look at the incredible environment around us. The ground around us looked like sand dunes made of rock with a dusting of snow. Hiking with Nema and Craig felt very peaceful, and we were all getting giddy about the environment around us. Eventually, the sun broke over and started warm us up and the world surrounding us. We lathered up with sunscreen, swapped our beanies for our sun hats, and put on our sunglasses. At this elevation, the sun is incredibly intense. Not long after our sunscreen break we finally make it to the top of the pass around 7:30 AM. There sits a yellow tent, hundreds of prayer flag surrounding a large sign saying we made it to the top of the pass, and our three adorable porters cheering us on and dancing. The view of the valley we spent the last few days hiking was breathtaking and so was the altitude. Yes, it was hard to breathe!! It took a lot of concentration to take a full belly breath and every tenth breath you finally felt like you got a good one. We took lots of photos, ate a snack, and waited for the other members of our group. Once the other members of our group caught up at the top of the pass, we started our descent. We put on our crampons and hiked down over the snow. As we went down, we noticed that it got easier to breathe. We hiked for about 4 to 3 more hours and we finally got to our tea house. 

I am totally exhausted and cold so I climb into my sleeping bag for a “Power Nap” that lasts an hour. After I woke up from my nap, we all got summoned to the tea house’s kitchen. Jagan is friends with all the tea house owners so he has the ability to give us special experiences. You can tell he is very well liked and respected in this community! That evening Jagan gave us the opportunity to watch them cook in the kitchen. It was a small kitchen with a small woodfired oven in the center, on top were about five pots and water kettles boiling for cooking. A lot of times they will prep for the night by boiling water and then pouring it into a huge thermos to make heating it up later go faster. They also had two gas stoves used to fry and cook on. The cooks made pizza by rolling out the dough, placing it on the iron top of the wood fired oven and flipping it several times. Then they put the toppings on and placed it in a steamer pot (Just like how I make my backcountry pizza while backpacking). It was a truly beautiful kitchen and what I found most impressive was their flow with each other and between making a million different dishes. it must’ve taken so long to find the flow and make it look so effortless and calm. They handed us our meals! Right in the middle of the kitchen! I felt so spoiled and honored to have the opportunity to be in their kitchen and witness their art cooking. After dinner I was EXHAUSTED from the LONG day, so I slept hard that night. 

Day 12: Today is our last day of hiking. Tomorrow we head to Pokhara and begin the end of our trip. We walked “ down down down to Chinatown” as Jagan says. We walked down from the mountains and into a fairytale forest. All of the trees were massive and covered in greenery and moss. I was in awe and couldn’t stop looking up at the trees. I had to actively remind myself to look down at my feet so I would stop tripping. I kept getting distracted by the numerous tree species and forest colors. The views were spectacular. At one point, Jagan told us to turn around. When we turned, we saw the tall mountains, the beautiful greenery and trees and the aqua blue glacier water. Jagan told us to savor the view because it was going to be our last perfect combo view on our trek. We spent a few minutes soaking in the view, took some pictures and were on our way. I felt like I was grieving the end of our trip all day. I’m ready to give myself a break and pamper myself, but I’m not ready to leave the snow capped mountains. I feel so incredibly thankful for the gift I gave myself. This has been an incredible experience, seeing the natural world and mountains too high to comprehend, and it has been amazing to have such deep conversations with this group of people. Through our conversations, I widened my worldview slightly and learned about how some people live, think, love, care, and exist in a lifestyle that is so different from my own. This last month has been a great start to my travels and I can’t wait to see what comes next and learn even more about life.

Thank you for reading about my trek! I’ll see you next time Manaslu!!

Today may have been one of my favorite days on my trip so far. Today is the final day of the Tihar festival (Nepali Diwali for Hinduism). The holiday is five days long and each day they worship something different. On the first day, they worship the crow; on the second day they worship dogs; on the third day cows; on the fourth day the ox; and on the fifth day they pray for their brothers and sisters. I am currently in Pokhara and it is just a few days after my NOLS course. My NOLS instructor, Jagan, is from Pokhara and all of his family lives here. Today I had the honor of being invited to Jagan’s family's house to celebrate the final day of Tihar. I had no idea what the day would look like and it turned out to be an absolutely amazing experience.

I arrived at Jagan’s house at 10 AM and met some of his family members. About an hour after I arrived most of his family was there which included his wife, his kids, his six sisters and all of the nieces and nephews. Everyone was dressed nicely and ready to celebrate! Before the celebration, they set up the space. They laid out bowls of colored powder, marigold garlands, water pitchers, and gourds. 

Here is a summary of the rituals I witnessed and my understanding of the traditions: the sisters first applied a Tika (a seven colored stripe made out of a white paste and colorful powders) on the skin of the gourds. Then the brothers sit down in an area at the beginning of the ceremony. The gourds with Tikas are set on a metal plate then the sisters rub the bottom of the metal plate on the top of their brothers’ head. The sisters then “throw” away the gourd (place it outside of the house). The gourd represents the brothers’ body and his impurities or negativity. Discarding the gourd is thought to cast off the impurities and negative influences. Then the sisters lineup from oldest to youngest and walk in a circle around the brothers while dripping water from a pitcher onto the ground. This is thought to make a protective circle around the brothers. Before applying the Tika, the brothers removed their shirts, and the sisters dipped some leaves in an oil, dripped the oil on the brother’s head and body, then rubbed the oil into his skin and hair. Now the sisters apply a Tika to their brother’s forehead. They use a banana leaf as a stencil and place it on the forehead and spread a white paste in the stencil’s stripe. Then they use their ring finger in the colored powder to add the seven colors to the stripe. After applying the Tika paste and powder, they remove the banana leaf to reveal the final Tika. Finally, the sister places a Marigold Garland on her brother’s neck. The sister makes a plate of food full of treats and fruit for her brother. The brothers then apply a Tika to their sisters’ forehead and then they exchange gifts. 

The symbolic story around this tradition is to emphasize the protection and deep bond between siblings. This stems from a story about a lion that is sent by the gods to take a man’s life; however, this man had a devoted sister who loved him and wanted to protect him. When the lion arrived to kill the brother, the sister used her wisdom to protect him by following the rituals I described. Influenced by the sister's respect for her brother, the lion decided to spare her brother’s life. The story symbolizes that the power of sibling love and protection can even overcome one’s death professed by the gods.

When I arrived at their house, everyone wore a big smile and gave me a warm welcome. When all of the cousins arrived, they all played with one another. They all live near Pokhara and come together for these holidays. They began the rituals and allowed me to take pictures and videos. They did the whole process I explained above and placed the marigold garland around their brother's neck. Then it was the sister's turn. They all sat down in the same spots and waited to receive their Tika. Suddenly, a few of Jagan’s sisters waved me over and pointed to a vacant spot next to the other sisters. Was I getting a Tika too? I asked, and they happily said yes! Going into this day, I thought I was just getting the chance to observe the rituals. I was not expecting to be included in their practices. Jagan told me that his son, Nischal, would be my brother for the day and would apply my Tika. After Jagan’s daughter, Nischita, got her Tika, then it was my turn (they apply them from the youngest sister to eldest sister). One of Jagan’s sisters held the banana leaf on my forehead while Nischal used his ring finger to apply the Tika. He did a great job and it looked beautiful. Finally he placed the marigold garland over my head and around my neck.

I felt so warm, welcomed, honored and happy that they included me in their celebration. They gave me the feeling of the familial love that was in the air. After we all ate some treats and Dal Bhat (a delicious Nepali dish made of rice, lentil soup, curry, and vegetables), all of the cousins wanted to talk and play with me. They tried teaching me some of the Nepali language. Now, I can say “Mero nama Madeleine ho” which means “My name is Madeleine”. It was so fun to learn new words and we all got excited when I remembered the word or pronounced something correctly.

Then came the dancing! Dancing and singing is a huge part of Nepali culture. They dance to celebrate, connect with one another, and have fun. There were two little girls that were REALLY GOOD at dancing. You could tell they practice together a lot and study the music dance videos to learn every move. The song that is super popular in Nepal right now is Rukum Maikot. It seems like everyone has learned the dance and I hear it playing everywhere. The little girls taught me a couple dance moves and performed for the family. A couple times, it turned into a dance party for everyone. I did my best - I’ll just say that.

Later on in the day, Jagan’s mother who is in her 80s showed up to the celebration. She was sitting on the back of a motorbike when she arrived! At first I couldn’t tell if she was happy or angry that I was there. After talking to one of her granddaughters I learned that she was actually SUPER happy and excited that I could celebrate with them. At one point, she pointed to her house up on the hill and then she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward her house. She held a strong grip on my hand so I just decided to follow her! She led me up a steep, narrow path that was mostly covered in vegetation. We went up some stairs that were entirely in the dark and finally made it to her patio. I was SO impressed with her strength, ability to get up to her house, and the fact that she still rides on a motorbike!!! It made me really happy that she enjoyed having me there. 

One of Jagan’s sisters, Ambika, also really liked having me around. She showed me her TikTok videos and she would point out all of her family members in each video. She only knew a couple words in English, but we found a few ways to communicate with one another. For example, I was trying to make conversation with her and told her the ring she was wearing was beautiful, then she pulled off the ring, put it on my finger and gave it to me. I checked with her daughter who spoke English to see if she was giving me the ring and I asked if it was okay. Ambika told me that the red stone in the ring was a carving of one of their gods - Ganesh. Later, she also gifted me a beautiful red drawstring bag that I can use as a wallet. At this moment I wish I had something to give her in return and I wish I spoke Nepali so I could communicate with her more, but our interactions were so sweet and made us both happy anyway. 

We had more Dal Bhat for dinner, danced some more, and then I headed back to my hotel. When I was getting into the taxi, they were all saying goodbye and that they would miss me. I felt so pleased and honored with everything they included me in, and I could seriously feel their love and kindness towards me. I deeply hope that they could see my love and appreciation for their kindness and hospitality. I left feeling so warm and happy and woke up the next day feeling the same way. It was a super special day that I will never forget! 

Hello again! 

We have escaped the flooding city of Chiang Mai and we went down to Bangkok! Bangkok is a VERY different vibe than Chiang Mai - it is a loud and busy city! We enjoyed our hostel a lot because it was tucked away into a little neighborhood and it was a more social hostel so we have made some new friends! We both liked the social environment since we could get a group of friends to go on adventures with us. The friends we made were from all over the world - Switzerland, Poland, Italy, South Africa, and someone from Chicago. The hostel itself was kind of funny because it seemed like they were trying to make it a big party hostel, but it was actually a very chill space to grab a beer and talk to people - which is way more up my alley! 

With our new group of friends we went on excursions to China Town, to watch live music, we went on a search for these huge lizards called Monitor Lizards, visited a temple called Wat Arun, played pool, and of course went out for excellent food! At Wat Arun, there was a temple with a reclining Buddha where he lays on his side while holding his head on top of his palm. It is a MASSIVE golden statue and was shockingly large! He was 150 ft long and took up the space of the entire building!! 

A highlight from Bangkok was a small family run restaurant called Ongsa Greens! They served organic Thai food that felt very clean and nourishing to eat, tasted incredible, and was cheap (it was 90 Baht, which is about $3, for one dish)!! Maddy and I loved this restaurant so much that we actually ate there three times! We fell in love with the food and the adorable family that ran it. The family consisted of two parents who made the food and their little boy who played around in the restaurant where his parents could watch him. The boy’s name was Arun, he was maybe 6 years old, FULL of energy, and he spoke only a few words of English, but we still found a way to play with him during our last time we ate there. He would show us magic tricks - putting a pencil behind his head like he was putting it through his ears or pretending to eat his fingers. Arun was the absolute cutest and I had so much fun interacting with him even when we couldn’t communicate well. 

Maddy and I took a short vacation from Bangkok to go to a nearby city called Ayutthaya which used to be the old capital of Thailand. We took an hour-long train ride to get there, and I thought it was a blast!! I sat by the window and got to look at the countryside just outside of Bangkok. There were a lot of beautiful trees and fields, but also many impoverished neighborhoods and cement factories that were way too close to people’s homes. We were in the train car with only fans and no AC, so all the windows were open to keep it cool. Then, a big rainstorm came down while we were on our way to Ayutthaya. Everyone rushed to close their windows but most of them were sticky from the paint, so a bunch of water came in through the windows! It was a funny experience and a good time. 

The attractions in Ayutthaya are the ruins that were built in the 1300s and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The ruins are scattered throughout the city and they were Thai Buddhist temples and stupas with hundreds of Buddha statues. However, in the 1700s Ayutthaya had a 14 month long siege with the Burmese and all of the sites were destroyed to some degree. Some stupas were still intact and you could walk inside them but most of the buildings were rubble on the ground or large pieces of stone Buddha statues. It was interesting to walk through the heritage site and imagine what it may have looked like before the siege. 

We headed back to Bangkok for a couple days before our flight to Nepal and to stay at the hostel we enjoyed before. Most of the people at the hostel were different from the folks who were there before we went to Ayutthaya - except for one person, our friend Max, who is staying at the hostel for a whole month. It is fun to meet more people and make new friends, but it’s also pretty wild to meet people for the first time, go adventure around in a foreign city with them, exchange numbers, and wonder if your travel paths will ever cross again. I hope to eventually find other travelers to grow close to and maybe travel with over the next 7 months! An activity Maddy and I decided to do so we can try to remember all the people we meet is: ask each person what song they associate with a happy memory in their life. We are making a playlist of their songs and writing down the happy stories they share. 

- Madeleine

Ps. If you are willing and interested, please write in the comments a song you associate with a good memory and share the story if you’d like! Even though the folks reading this are scattered around the world, I’d love for you to contribute to my adventure in creative ways!! 

Ready? Set! Go!! 

On October 1st, I flew from Bend, Oregon to Chiang Mai, Thailand. My travel buddy, Maddy Tevonian, and I met up in the San Francisco airport and waited in the airport yoga rooms while we updated each other on the big events from our last year. I graduated a year earlier than Maddy, so we had a whole year of not seeing each other everyday. There was a lot to talk about. Just after midnight, we boarded our 13.5 hour flight to Taiwan. I totally lucked out on the flight! I had the window seat and the middle seat next to me was empty. So I stretched out and slept 9 hours! Thank you Benadryl! 

On our first day, we landed in Chiang Mai around 10:00 in the morning. We tried to stay busy all day so we could work on getting on the time change. We walked around Old Town Chiang Mai to a Thai Buddhist temple called Wat Chedi Luang. It is in the center of Old Town, and when we visited on Wednesday evening, the monks were doing their prayer and chanting. It made beautiful overtone sounds that rang through the hall. I love seeing the young monks!! They are young boys about 8 to 12 years old who are training to be monks. They walk into the temple in their robes, fidget with their sleeve, and read the lyrics to the chant. I learned that oftentimes parents will send their sons to monasteries in order to get a quality education. These kids will live in the monastery, attend classes, and will follow normal Thai Buddhist monk practices. Often times, Buddhist temples surround stupas, which are shrines that hold the remains of monks or Buddhist relics. Usually stupas are very tall, pointy, and symmetrical. The Stupa at Wat Chedi Luang isn’t your normal looking stupa because it has crumbled with age. However, I loved the contrast of the peach colored brick with the dark rain clouds above it. 

The following day, we went on a hike to Wat Doi Suthep. The hike is one of my highlights from the trip so far! The hike starts at the base of a LARGE hill. The hike is on a sacred hill that leads you to some Thai Buddhist temples in the jungle and the trail is decorated with golden banners with elephants on them. When I say it was a jungle - I mean over 100% humidity, the only color surrounding us was green, and there were all these new sounds I’ve never heard before. The main sound we heard was an insect that made a super high-pitched, shrill, whistling sound. It was beautiful and irritating at the same time. Maddy and I saw many cool insects - like a massive beetle with a rhinoceros-like horn that was about the size of my hand and so many beautiful dancing butterflies!! After about 2 miles of hiking, Maddy and I were drenched in our own sweat - I’ve never felt humidity like this before! Then out of nowhere the first temple was in the middle of the jungle. There was a platform for meditating, a small waterfall, gorgeous temples, and a view of the city. Maddy and I meditated for a few minutes, cooled off and continued to explore. We were in Wat Pha Lat, which is halfway up the mountain towards Wat Doi Suthep. There were a couple of beautiful temples (housing Thai Buddhist statues and kittens) surrounding a gorgeous stupa, covered in moss and greenery. Wat Doi Suthep is a beautiful huge temple covered in gold and surrounded with countless Buddha statues. 

Our original plan for our trip was to travel north to Pai and do some backpacking, but it got canceled because of their monsoon. It was a good thing that we did not go because flooding and landslides were occurring throughout the Pai region. There was also flooding in Chiang Mai and our time in Chiang Mai was cut short because we did not want to get stuck and miss our flight to Nepal. Maddy and I were running an errand to the train station when we found out there was flooding in Chiang Mai. We were riding on a Tuk Tuk (a three to four wheel golf cart-like open air taxi) and when we drove by the river, the water was overflowing on the riverbank! We made a turn then we saw the whole street was flooded. People were rushing to put sandbags on their storefront. People were standing in the water taking videos with their jaws dropped. On our way back from the train station, we could see that the flooding got way worse just in the short amount of time it took for us to run our errand. The flooding was starting to go all the way into Old Town. Luckily, we talked to locals and they said we were staying in an area that was not at risk of getting flooded. 

A day later, the water in the whole city of Chiang Mai shut off due to the flooding. Our hostel host said that they predicted the water was going to be shut off for at least three days. At this point we are realizing that we gotta get out of the city! The train station was inaccessible at this point, and we were worried that the city's power would go out next and flights would be unavailable. We quickly booked a flight to Bangkok for the next day.

It has been a bit of a rocky start in Thailand, but we were great at pivoting and changing our plans on the spot. That’s travel!! We have moved on to Bangkok and plan to take a short trip to a nearby city to see more temples. Stay tuned for the next post to hear about Bangkok! 

- Madeleine

Welcome to my blog and thank you for showing interest in following me and my upcoming adventures! For those of you who are wondering why I am embarking on this massive journey, here is a little background information about me! 

I grew up in Bend, Oregon and I went to college in Appleton, Wisconsin at Lawrence University. I studied Psychology and Religious studies and I am interested in pursuing a career in the mental health industry, but I am still unsure on what I want to specialize in. I graduated from undergrad in June 2023, and would like to take a few gap years to travel the world and have time to think about what I want my future to look like. 

I became an adventure-seeker because of my first NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) course that I took in 2020. I took the classic Wyoming Wind River Range backpacking course, and it completely changed my life!! My experience helped me understand myself as a person, I learned that being in the outdoors makes me incredibly happy, and I made lifetime friends along the way. Since then, I can’t seem to get enough of the outdoors and I can’t express how excited I am to meet people and make new friends around the world. 

So here is the current plan: I am traveling abroad from October 1, 2024 until mid-April 2025. In mid-October, I am taking an alumni course with NOLS in Nepal on the Manaslu circuit trek. I will travel around South East Asia and anywhere else I am drawn to (I have the flexibility to figure it out along the way). Then in mid-May, I will go up to Alaska to take a month long kayaking and backpacking course with NOLS. During the first few months of my journey, I am traveling with one of my close friends from college, Maddy Tevonian, who has experience living in India and Nepal and we are traveling together until mid-December. From there, I will be flying solo! Many people have asked me: “Aren’t you scared?” Of course I am! I think it would be a problem if I wasn’t a little scared. But I am also thrilled to have new experiences and gain a confidence I never realized I had. 

So a little about my travel buddy!! Maddy is a year younger than me and we actually met when she was a prospective student at Lawrence - she slept on my dorm room floor! Not realizing she actually ended up coming to Lawrence, we met again a year later at an event I put on with the Outdoor Recreation Club at school. From there, we hit it off, liked each others company, and she joined clubs I was also involved with. Such as: ultimate frisbee, outdoor recreation club, and recess club. We became a part of the same friend group, and eventually we became close friends who fantasized about traveling together some day! We are extremely excited that we are actually doing it and are here now!! 

Alright, so buckle up for this blog! I am a very honest person, so get ready to hear about the great, good, bad, and ugly! That’s life! This is going to be a life changing experience and I look forward to documenting my memories and sharing my experiences with you all! Also, this is my first time doing a blog and I am not particularly tech savvy, so please let me know if the format and website is working alright! 

Until next time! 

Madeleine