Travel Adventures and Dreams: 3 For You and 3 For Me
With my adventures temporarily on hold as I train my adorable puppy, it’s time to break out the travel porn.
While I've traveled more than most, there are still many places I'd love to explore. I have a bit of a problem—I tend to return to the same places I've fallen in love with, rather than venturing to new destinations. But I'm making progress, and this year, I managed first time visits to Cape Town, Portugal, Holbox, Santa Teresa, and Mexico City.
During my travels, I have fallen in love with several places. Here are three places you should visit, although they aren't necessarily my top three picks (I've excluded Rio, which I covered in detail in a previous post).
Thailand
It's like an amusement park for travelers. You'll find everything you desire, from beautiful beaches to delicious food, elephants, jungles, and more. Plus, your money goes a long way here, and you can enjoy incredible experiences for pennies on the dollar. I've been to Thailand multiple times, and I constantly think about going back—it's that fantastic. The people there are incredibly friendly, earning Thailand its nickname, the "Land of Smiles."
Memorable Moment
West Railay Beach
Railay, Thailand may be my favorite place in the world. It’s a remote peninsula in Krabi Province, accessed by a ferry to a banana boat where you end up disembarking in shallow water and wading to shore.
At the time of my visits, it was still very undeveloped. An unpaved trail took you from one side of the peninsula to the other, with a dozen or so restaurants, bars and shops lined on either side. West Railay beach is stunning and you have likely seen photos in travel magazines or even computer backgrounds. My memory of my first visit, arriving at sunset and sitting on the beach on the other side of the world from my home stands with me and is something I take myself back to time and again to raise an immense feeling of happiness in myself.
A Song that Takes Me Back
“Snow” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. When I first arrived in Railay and was walking through the jungle down that one path, I came around a bend to where the bars and restaurants are located. Snow began playing outside one of the bars. Every time I hear that song it takes me back to my first big solo travel adventure.
Cape Town
I've only been to Cape Town once, in February 2023, but it left a lasting impression. It felt like an undiscovered Southern California with stunning coastlines, surrounded by beautiful mountains and even wine country. Your money stretches far here too, and it is a large enough city to have a good selection of restaurants and nightlife.
Memorable Moment
While I enjoyed surfing and even some shark cage diving, the standout memory was a trip to the local wine country. Franschhoek is about an hour's drive outside of the city. It’s beautiful and serene, with rolling hills and acres of vineyards in every direction. There is a tram that takes you from one vineyard to another. All we tried were delicious and very affordable.
A Song that Takes Me Back
Whitney Houston’s “Higher Love”. My last night in Cape Town I was at a bar with a friend I had made and this song came on. Shortly thereafter, a couple of locals walked up and challenged me to an arm wrestling competition. I had no idea what I was getting into but immediately accepted. Interestingly enough, I won, which makes me wonder why that fellow was going around challenging people. I listened to this song on repeat in my car for a couple of weeks after returning, still hyped from my amazing trip.
3. Vietnam
Hoi An
What a fantastic culture. I have never met such friendly people. Vietnam is not only on the other side of the world but also requires a Visa, which seems to further limit American tourism to this amazing country. As a solo American traveler, this meant that any and all Vietnamese who wanted to practice their English were approaching me to say hello. At restaurants, bars, and tourist destinations. I was even approached a couple of times by people who just wanted to get a photo with me.
Vietnam has wonderful food, beaches, jungle, and a fascinating history. I spent two weeks there and it was not nearly enough. I spent much of the trip sightseeing, visiting beaches, and even embarking on an overnight boat trip in Ha Long Bay. I loved Hanoi for its food and people and Hoi An is a magical place that feels like you are living in a post-impressionist painting.
Memorable Moment
I arrived in Hanoi late one night (well, like 7 p.m.) with plans to head on an overnight boat trip to Halong Bay early the next day. I checked into my four-star hotel and paid 40 dollars for the room for the night. The porter brought my backpack up with me, and the smallest bill I had to tip him was something equivalent to about 4 dollars, so I gave it to him and started getting settled. He knocked on my door a couple of minutes later and asked me if I would like to move to the suite.
I did and started getting ready for my early rise the next day. Outside my room, I started hearing a guitar play. At first, I had the “oh, great” thought that my night of sleep was about to be disrupted. But I went out onto my balcony and looked out to see a man and a woman playing music for a gathering of a dozen or so folks from the neighborhood, all sitting on buckets listening. They were playing Oasis and the Eagles, and they were playing and singing very well. I knew to roll with it, put on my shorts and a t-shirt, went downstairs, and grabbed a bucket next to the street food vendor. I ate dumplings, drank beers, and listened to them play for the neighborhood for a couple of hours into the night. What a glorious evening.
A Song That Takes Me Back
Taylor Swift’s “Delicate”. I guess that song had just come out around the time of my trip because it was played in damn near every coffee shop or bar I visited while I was in Vietnam.
3 For Me
You may notice a trend in my choices. There is something about going places where the dollar goes far that makes it a vacation within a vacation. Not only are you in a distant land, but you are living a different lifestyle. And it’s really relaxing not to be thinking about prices when you are wandering about, bouncing from restaurant to bar to excursion. It’s a vacation from your normal life in many ways.
This brings me to my list of three places I want to visit in the next year.
Bali: Land of surf, yoga, and meditation. It has my name all over it. I hear the people are incredibly friendly too. I just wish it wasn’t such a bitch to get to. I can get to Bangkok in 20-24 hours, but for some reason, my searches to Bali always show 30-40 hour travel times at twice the price.
Spain - Surprisingly, I've never been, despite living in France for a year and backpacking through Europe separately for a month. I've heard great things, and I'm particularly interested in Barcelona on the East Coast and the surfing opportunities in the North.
Nicaragua - Often compared to how Costa Rica was 20 years ago, it's a place I need to explore soon, especially for the surf and the digital nomad scene.
These destinations are my next adventures waiting to happen. Stay tuned for updates as Nappy and I knock them off our list.