The Thailand Trip

My favorite part of any vacation, the beach.

Hey, y'all! Remember that one time when I mentioned I was going to Thailand? Well, that happened. And since it's been nearly 1.5 months since I arrived home, I figured it was time to tell you about it.

First, the basics: I went with my friend Val, aka Mrs. Val, aka Mrs. World Traveler. She's lived abroad and been to six continents, so I felt very comfortable taking a trip like this with her. We flew out of San Francisco (because tickets were cheap; also she lives in Anchorage so it seemed like a good rendezvous point) and had layovers in China before arriving in Bangkok, Thailand. We stayed in Bangkok for three days, then flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia, for three days, back to Bangkok for an overnight layover, then down to Krabi, Thailand, (spending time in Ko Lanta and Railay) for five days, then back to Bangkok for the journey home. Essentially a two-week trip.

Highlights:

- English was fairly common in Thailand, and very common in Cambodia. That made getting around/ordering food/etc. easier than anticipated. Cambodia also uses American currency, which was convenient, though they won't accept old-school $20s, $50s or $100s (only the newer kind with the multi-colored ink).

- Everything is pretty affordable. We Couchsurfed in Bangkok, so we had free accommodations, and our host took us to a street food market where dinner was about $1.25 USD. Even at fancier places, I don't think I paid more than $10 for a meal the whole trip. Same for hotels; we didn't stay at the fanciest of places, but our most expensive room (two twin beds, private bath, free breakfast) was $37 USD. Not bad at all.

- Lots of restaurants have a whole vegetarian section on their menu, so finding food was easy. Curries and Indian food were prevalent, but everything I tried was tasty, so I have no complaints.

- Thai massages are magical. We went to the Asia Herb Association and had a great experience. We had tea, they washed our feet, then we changed into pajama/scrub-type outfits and they worked us out. My therapist bent and stretched my limbs, walked down my legs (to apply more pressure, I think? She was about half my size) and left me feeling totally tension-free. Total price was about $15 USD. You can get them for less (like $5) at smaller walk-in places (which we also did), but the AHA massage was better.

- Our hotel in Siem Reap was awesome. They picked us up from the airport, the staff was super friendly/helpful, and the room was clean and cute. And Pub Street and other attractions in town are 5-10 minutes away, walking.


Lessons learned:

- Pay to have your clothes cleaned. I decided I would wash mine in the hotel sink and let them hang dry, and that was stupid. They took days to dry and then smelled musty when they were finally wearable.

- Railay > Ko Lanta. We spent the majority of our beach time in Ko Lanta, where the beach was rocky and quite small, especially during high tide. The vibe there was laidback and fun, but Railay had gorgeous beaches with smooth sand and warm water. Definitely preferable.

- Try not to get food poisoning (not sure how easy that'll be, but definitely don't seek it out). Mrs. Val and I both got sick on the flight(s) home, and it was not pleasant. I literally grabbed the (unfortunately still sealed) airsickness bag and started to say "I think I'm gonna--" before projectile vomiting all over myself, my seat, the floor, and Val. She is a true gem for continuing to be my friend after this occurred.  Then we both spent the remainder of our 20-ish hour trip slogging back and forth to the bathroom. Yikes.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. I was apprehensive about traveling with just a backpack and taking so much time off from work, but it was absolutely worthwhile. I had what you might call a moment in Railay, when I was lazily floating in the ocean, soaking up the sunshine: everything just felt right. I think that experience kicked off my recent feelings of contentment, actually.

I'll leave with you some carefully curated (by that, I mean "semi-randomly chosen from my 400+ photos") pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

The greeter at the entrance to Wat Arun in Bangkok.

The detail on the temple was incredible, especially given its size (several stories).

The Istanbul floor at Terminal 21, a giant mall with an international theme in Bangkok.

Me with Mrs. Val, my delightful traveling companion.

The main drag in Siem Reap, home to many restaurants, bars, and $1 fruit shake stands.

Touring a temple at Angkor Wat.

Elephants. In case you didn't know.

Watching the sun set from a hilltop in Angkor Wat.

The beach in Railay, AKA one of the coolest beaches I've ever been to.
The cliffs right next to the water made it pretty stunning.

Sunset at said cool beach. Pretty much perfect.

The Return of Five on Friday

It has been a minute since I linked up for one of these, but I've been loving lots of things recently (and blogging more than once a month, for a change), so I figured I'd join in. Here are some highlights from my week:

1) I got a call at work the other day from the receptionist, telling me my lunch was here. Since I didn't order lunch, I was a tad perplexed, but headed out to the lobby to find my boyfriend holding a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup (which I had mentioned I was craving a few days back). It was totally unexpected and a very sweet surprise.

Image found here

2) Speaking of the boyfriend, he and I started binge-watching Friday Night Lights, since the weather lately has made me want to hibernate. I'm totally obsessed, even though I've already been through the series once. Connie Britton is flawless, they say "y'all" all the time, and it has football, so even dudes will watch it! It's just SO GOOD.

3) Due to bad weather and an unfortunate mix-up with the postal service, I'm still getting cards and attending birthday celebrations two weeks after the fact.  I'm really not mad about it.

I have to group them by color/flavor, which gets tricky with those red,
pink and orange ones in the middle. Or maybe I'm just colorblind ...

4) It's March and that means it's time for Easter candy! I love me some jelly beans. The Starburst and Jolly Rancher kinds are my favorite.

5) This weekend's forecast shows highs in the upper 40s and no sign of snow, thank the dear sweet lord. That means there's a chance I will leave my house!

Have a great weekend, y'all! Linking up with the lovely ladies below.

What Makes a Relationship a Success?

Maybe this is just my hippie-dippy side talking, but I sometimes feel like the universe tells me things. Not literally, of course, but I think certain things are put in my path to send a message.

Lately, that message has been about relationships. My divorce really went as well as any divorce could go, with very little arguing or hard feelings. And knowing that we're both happily walking down divergent paths now makes me feel like it was a valid choice. But the fact that it remained amicable makes me feel guilty sometimes, like I gave up. Maybe I could've tried harder, or stayed longer, and we'd still be together. If I were truly a good wife/person, I would've made it work.

But the universe has reassured me that the ability to make it work isn't necessarily what makes a relationship a success. "Forever" doesn't have to be the ultimate goal. Not that I'm knocking it, but I don't think it has to be the sole measure. I present Exhibit A*, from Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast, on the occasion of his 20th anniversary:

"Longevity is not the only criteria of relationship success. We throw that around; we congratulate people on their 20th anniversaries ... and that's good, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that a relationship doesn't have to be long-term to be healthy, it doesn't have to be everlasting, to be something you can be proud of. That people can have short-term relationships that are wonderful and fulfilling, that they can look back on fondly; that they should be congratulated for. That relationships don't have to end with one person being lowered into the ground to be counted as success. That you can be with somebody for an evening, a weekend, for six months, for a year, for twenty years, and part. And that can be something that is also congratulations-worthy; how you conducted yourself in that relationship, how you treated each other, whether you parted and it's amicable ...You can have a successful STR, just as you can have a successful LTR. And if your STRs have been loving, joyful, life-affirming, and healthy, you deserve as much congratulations on your STRs as Terry and I do on our LTR."

Maybe we could have made it work. But the fact that we didn't doesn't mean that we failed, or that we wasted our time. We enjoyed each other's company when we were together, and I learned a lot from the relationship.

Outside of the divorce/breakup situation, I think this applies to relationships with known end dates, e.g., you're going off to college next year, or one of you is taking a new job across the country, or you know you're not the marrying kind. None of that means you shouldn't enjoy the time you do have with another person. Embrace the love while it lasts, and don't discount the experience once you go your separate ways. So sayeth the universe.

*Other examples that I've come across recently: Amy Poehler discussing her divorce in Yes Please, Jane and Stephen in The Theory of Everything (possibly fictionalized, but still powerful), and even freakin' Hilary Duff .