Southeast Asia Odyssey

Atticus and I reunited in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, after long 2-day journeys. We were warmly welcomed into the home of my sister-in-law's parents who have treated us like one of their own. They worked for the embassy and lived here for 5 years from 2013-2017 and are back again for 3 more years. Their son, Antonio, was home from college for winter break, so he was here too! They live in the center of the city and gave us the best possible welcome to Thailand. It feels so good to have family in this part of the world throughout this journey. I feel so grateful for them and their hospitality. Rosanna, Carlos, and Antonio: you rock!  We spent 3 nights and 2.5 days with them and will be back again at the end of the month before we move on to Cambodia. Our first full day was a slow, recovery day. We slept in late... Poor Atticus had pretty much gone 2 nights without sleep since he had an 8-hour layover in Turkey and stayed at the airport. After we got moving, Antonio took us to ...

I cannot speak more highly of the time I spent in this beautiful place. When I was searching for flights to Thailand, the one with a 22-hour layover in Saudi Arabia caught my eye because I've always wanted to visit the Middle East. Unfortunately, this region is highly misunderstood and I was met with a lot of fear and concern when I mentioned my stop in this country. I am happy to report that there is absolutely no need to fear a visit to this country.  Saudi Arabia is home to about 37 million people, is the second largest producer of oil in the world, and is the birthplace of Islam.  2 to 3 million Muslims visit the country every year to visit Islam's holiest site: Mecca, where Islam's most important mosque, Masjid al-Haram, is located. This journey is known as "Hajj" and is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims at least once in their lifetime. Non-Muslims are not allowed to visit Mecca and attempting to do so could result in serious consequences. When d...

On January 11th, I embarked on a trip I've been dreaming of for 7 years: a 3-month Southeast Asia backpacking trip. My journey began with a 22-hour layover in Saudi Arabia on my way to my first major destination: Bangkok, Thailand. From here, I'll go to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and India.  My travel bug first sparked when I spent 5 months in India in 2015-2016 during a gap year between high school and college. During this trip, I experienced an entirely different culture that felt otherworldly at times. I quickly became hooked to the way the whole experience made me feel and began dreaming of a life filled with travel. In 2018-2019, I backpacked throughout Thailand for 3 weeks and fell in love with the backpacker lifestyle. It's spontaneous, minimalistic, cheap (especially in this part of the world), and every day is an adventure. After that trip, I knew I wanted to spend at least 3 months backpacking through most of the Southeast Asia region at some point. The time is fina...