Japan

Tokyo

When visiting Japan, I highly recommend the J-rail pass! For a couple hundred dollars, you can take the bullet train for 7 days. During my week, I went from Tokyo to Nagano to Kyoto. It was efficient and FAST! The train stations were a little confusing in Tokyo, but other than that, it was a breeze to get around. While in Tokyo, we made our rounds to all the quirky cafes: Robot Cafe, Kawaii Monster Cafe, Hello Kitty Cafe, and the Owl Cafe. We stayed in Shibuya in the middle of everything and air bnb'ed our accommodations.   

Kyoto

Japan has a magic and romance to it. Even in the crowded urban areas, the air feels dreamy. We spent all day walking around the Fushimi Inari Torii gates. These red shrines are a network of 10,000 red arches that extend through the forrest behind the main buildings. Although fairly touristy, the higher you go, the less crowded it is. We then explored Higashiyama District, which is a really well preserved historic part of the city. There are tons of small shops, cafes and restaurants. We spent the evening  meandering through the quaint little alleyways and stopping for Hello Kitty pancakes ^__^

Nagano

No trip to Japan is complete without going north to the snow monkey park! I spent all day there and then at night, stayed in historic Shibu Onsen. I dressed up in the complimentary kimono at the ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) and made my rounds to the 9 onsens (bath houses) along the main road. The onsesn are nude and separated by men's and women's. If you are going there for a romantic get away, it's best to book a hotel with your own private onsen as opposed to the public ones that I did. The hotel included a traditional Japanese breakfast and dinner. You can't go wrong with this experience. I got a lot of my information from this site when deciding where to book: http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com/

Thailand // My SE Asia Adventure

Phuket

Going to Phang Nga Bay was the most typical touristy thing we did on the trip, but I was happy to do so. It gave us a chance to get out of the city's pollution and into clean air and nature. The entire boat ride were non stop views. We made a few stops at some of the islands including the famous "James Bond Island." Other stops included swimming, going into a cave and kayaking through the eroded cliffs. 

Bangkok

We spend just a couple days in Bangkok in a hostel on Khao San Road. The whole area is very vibrant and lively with many restaurants, bars and foot massage places. We took advantage of the $5.00 massages everywhere we went in SE Asia!  We spent a few hours at the temples of Wat Phra Kaew. Remember there is a dress code at most temples, so wear long pants and sleeves. In Cambodia, I bought some $3.00 pants and shirt that was airy. These types of clothes also help with mosquitoes. During our time in Thailand, we saw many mourners for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. There were hundreds of people dressed black holding framed photographs of him sitting in the temples mourning. Every government building had white and black memorial decorations. There were giant portraits and memorials at every traffic circle in the cities. The airports had kiosks where you could pay your condolances. It was incredible to see this level of mourning. 

Vietnam // My SE Asia Adventure

Sapa Village

I wanted to leave SE Asia with a bang, so we decided to do a trek through the mountains of Sapa in northern Vietnam. I got to see the villages and culture of the Hmong people that I grew up with in my rural hometown in Minnesota. I went to school K-12 with the children of Vietnam war refugees. These large group of Hmong were the only sign of diversity in our town of predominately German and Polish decent. Growing up, I had no knowledge of their culture, history, values, landscape, or anything. There was no effort made in the school curriculum to fill in the gaps of knowledge and mutual understanding. Thinking back, it's incredible that these families were able to adapt to living in Minnesota because Sapa Vietnam and the culture couldn't be anymore opposite. 

We arrived in Sapa in a sleeper bus. This was the first time being on one of these for me. The roads are narrow and windy for two of the 6 hour ride. There is a train option the is probably safer, but since there was no availability, we took the bus. I booked our trek and overnight homestay through Sapa O'Chau. They were extremely helpful and we loved our guide! The trek was an all day hike through the mountains, villages and rice fields. There was a stop for lunch and a snack. We arrived at the family's house for the one night homestay. They made a dinner for us on an open fire and we soaked in an herbal bath. Each homestay house is required to have a western toilet and shower (not heated water). However, on the trek you will make stops for lunch/snacks and the toilet may not be a western one.