Namaste, I’m leading a trek in Nepal in April 2019. If you’re coming with me, here’s a quick list of what you should bring and why. If you’re headed down up the trail alone, stay tuned for a more comprehensive Annapurna Circuit trekking guide to be released here this summer. You’d have more fun with me though, check out the details of my Meditation and Trekking in Nepal trip here.
PEOPLE! I’m officially a yoga teacher. What does that mean? Well, last night I registered and paid my dues with the Yoga Alliance. The Yoga Alliance is the largest nonprofit association representing the yoga teaching community. Basically registering with the Yoga Alliance gives one credibility because they review the certificate of completion from your yoga teacher training course work and all that other good stuff. It’s a seal of approval and something to make you sound super official when you prance into a studio looking for a job. I haven’t started that part of the process yet, even though if you recall, one of my New Years resolutions was to teach a class by the end of January. Lay off, I have one more week! 
With that mini hurdle (shelling out $105.00 for a figurative stamp of approval) out of the way, I’m feeling pretty official over here and I wanted to share my experience beginning to end with you just in case you’re contemplating a 200 hour course. First you have to ask yourself all those hard questions like, “Am I willing to put my body through mild forms of torture for 28 days?” “Am I that into yoga?” “Do I plan on teaching?” “Do I value my self practice enough to pay upwards of $2,000-$4,000 to improve it?” All these extremely valid questions that honestly, I did not ask myself until after I put down the $200 deposit with my school. I just went for it and then my mind threw all these questions at me immediately after I confirmed my payment method. That’s how I handle life altering decisions, you too? Continue reading
Need to transfer from Don Mueang Airport to Suvarnabhumi? No worries. The transfer is painless and free. There’s no need to make arrangements before hand, just show up at the ticket desk and you’ll be directed onto the next shuttle bus. While the transfer is reliable and easy, there isn’t a single sign to point you in the right direction. Let me do that for you.
If you’re picking up baggage :: get your stuff from the carousel, head out the main doors (there is only one set) and turn right.
If you didn’t check luggage :: take the escalators down into the baggage claim area and walk straight through the main doors (there is only one set) to leave the baggage area and turn right.
As you head down the corridor, you’ll see escalators heading up, walk to the right of them and keep going. Then you’ll pass a bunch of counters for cell SIM cards and you’ll see no signage for the bus. At this point, you’ll think you’re going in the wrong direction down a deserted hallway.
You’ll come to a wall and the only way is left. Once you turn the corner you may be overwhelmed by the amount of people. They’re all waiting for taxis, keep going, veer to the right and head out either door 7 (right by the bottom of the escalators ) or the next one to the right, door 6.
Once outside you’ll see a small bright blue counter and a long row of chairs. The counter says AOT (Airports of Thailand). You must get a stamp from this counter or you won’t be allowed on the shuttle. Show the worker your boarding pass or some confirmation number for your upcoming flight and he’ll give you a stamp. Since you probably won’t have a physical boarding pass or access to a printer, simply screenshot the flight and confirmation number from your email or airline app. I do this every time.
Shuttle buses leave from directly in front of the counter. If there isn’t one waiting already, you’ll know when it arrives as everyone with a stamped hand will board. Buses leave every 15 minutes or so. If you want a good seat and you have time to spare, wait for the next one.
Seats in the back row have an attractive amount of legroom, but do not sit there. Machinery under the rear of the bus makes those four seats overwhelmingly hot. You’ve been warned.
Beware that Bangkok traffic is insane and it could take you up to two hours to reach the airport as it’s quite far away. Think about rush hour, timing, days of the week and holiday madness while concocting your plan. That being said, most times it’s a quick 40 minutes.
It’s free
It’s reliable
It’s convenient with about four buses leaving every hour
It’s free 🙂
Good luck & safe travels!
Sawadeekah! You’re in Bangkok and it’s raining, no worries, there’s still tons to do. You can lounge it out all day in your hotel room or you can keep explorin’ – try one of these options and you’ll stay dry while having an awesome rainy day in Bangkok.
If you have never ventured to Bangkok, you probably have a few ideas of what it is like from movies like The Hangover Part II, Dangerous Bangkok, and Into The Sun (plus a trillion other action movies); if you have been fortunate enough to miss those thrillers, picture bright lights, speedy taxis, street food and lots and lots of people. Bangkok is one of those cities that takes you in, spins you around and spits you out. Thankfully there are lovely Thai beaches just a bus ride away and after a week in BKK one needs a nap, a really long nap.
As a traveler, cities aren’t high on my list. I try to stick to small towns and natural attractions; I tend to search for those hidden gems and slices of everyday living, but because I spent the better part of a year in Thailand, I learned to love and embrace Bangkok, a city with more than 7 million inhabitants. I had the opportunity to explore Bangkok multiple times for various reasons like typical tourism, friends’ birthdays, English teaching orientation, family visits and weekend-long shopping sprees. Each time I ventured into the city, I felt more and more comfortable and willing to explore new places and enjoy old hangouts. Bangkok was no longer an enormous scary city (ok, it’s still pretty huge), but rather a transit hub and pit stop that I visited every month while living in Thailand. I began to recognize neighborhoods, streets, parks, particular statues, elevated walkways, and even specific vendors and food carts, it became a city of smaller neighborhoods and much more manageable to wrap my head around. Continue reading
Are you guys listening to podcasts? If so, I hope you followed-up on some of Sarah’s suggestions. She listed SO MANY good ones. Seriously.
A variety of the major podcast producers have joined together this month with an initiative they’re calling #trypod. They’re encouraging podcast listeners to tell friends about their favorite podcasts, and if necessary, show a novice how easy it is to subscribe and listen to podcasts. Also, Sarah’s a little peeved that #trypod stole her idea, she’s been trying to get you guys to listen to podcasts since 2015 (she even had a special Earth Day Edition!).
I’ve been a podcast listener since way back (I’m pretty sure I discovered Josh and Chuck), and love the convenience of having a good show available at any time of day. It’s virtually impossible to listen while taking care of the boys, but these days I find myself always putting on a podcast after they go to bed and again turning to podcasts whenever I have some free DIY time (nothing goes better together than painting some furniture while listening to YHL). It’s not a lot of hours, but it’s enough to listen to a few of my favorite shows each week.
My current top five, in no particular order…
Stuff You Should Know : I referenced this show’s hosts, Josh and Chuck, above, and once you start listening, you’ll see how quickly you start talking to your friends about what J & C taught you. You’ll probably grow to love their friendly banter, you’ll start to assume they’re your friends, and you’ll start to miss them if you don’t listen for a while. They cover every and any topic under the sun. I always learn something cool, crazy, or gross while listening. Last week I was learning all about hookworm. Did you know that hookworms enter your body through your feet, move through your bloodstream to your lungs, and then you’ll hack them up with a dry cough and swallow them so that they enter your gut, which is where they really want to be? YUCK! Check out that gross and cool fact.
Young House Love : Ahhh, our favorite blogging couple that took a break and then came back with an entertaining design podcast. I love John and Sherry, and while I found some of their blog posts to be a little wordy (I admit, some days I was just there for the pretty before and after photos!), their podcast is great. They cover a variety of design, renovation, and house maintenance topics. They play some games, and often have any number of guests that you’ll know if you pay any attention to the design and design blog worlds. Lots of fun to hear these conversations when you’re used to reading the blogs.
The Dinner Party Download : This may be my favorite podcast of the moment. I wish I had a weekly dinner party with Rico and Brendan. They describe the show as “a fast and funny hour of culture, food and conversation”, and I really couldn’t say it any better. Each episode includes a joke or two (usually a groaner, which are my fave), then there’s a cocktail recipe inspired by history, some obscure current events, some great music (the soundtrack to your dinner party), and generally just a good time. I can’t get enough.
How I Built This : Confession : This is a show that I didn’t think I would like, because I don’t want to hear about how you, you, and (yes) you became millionaires. I especially don’t want to hear about how that guy in the corner made his billions. But, guess what, I subscribed to this podcast, and it just happens to automatically start playing while I’m washing the dishes, and I’ve really enjoyed every single episode so far. The stories of how different businesses and products are developed turns out to be pretty fascinating and a lot less pretentious than I expected. If you want a place to start, listen to the 5 Hour Energy episode (March 13, 2017).
That’s it. Listening to those four and sometimes TED Radio Hour (TED talks curated into a show!) is about all I have time for in a week.
Sarah here! I’m butting my way into this conversation since TRYPOD was totally MY idea. My favorites are mostly the same as before. I love Invisibilia, Snap Judgment, Radio Lab and Mortified, but I also have a new favorite! It’s called Guys We F*cked, BTW it’s not as radical or provocative as it sounds so if you’re a bit shy, give it a listen anyway. It’s an anti slut shaming podcast and basically a space to have open sex-positive discussions. Even more than that, the co-hosts (who are also great comedians) interview a wide variety of subjects, male and female, pertaining to issues about sex, gender, relationships and reproductive health. I think it’s a really liberating podcast and especially important for young people who want to know a thing or two about sexual health, but do not know who to ask. Sex isn’t wrong or shameful or something to be whispered about and I’m really proud of these ladies for stepping it up even when platforms like iTunes were trying to silence them. Okay, back to Kate!
What about you? Have any favorite podcasts that I should add to my queue?
~
Wait, are you brand new to podcasts? If you listen to NPR, then you can think of podcasts as having a similar format to an NPR show without the breaks for news (some of them even are NPR shows without the news – surprise!).
You can go to the webpages above to listen to many of the shows, or even easier, you can use a podcast app on your smartphone and subscribe to your favorite podcasts. The app will take care of updating your queue with the newest episodes and it’ll delete an episode after you’ve listened. Easy peasy.
Images : #trypod
Does the thought of eating bugs creep you out? It still does for me, even though I just ate several varieties as recently as last night. I’m not sure what it is, maybe their creepy crawly ways or knowing insects themselves are usually found in dirty spaces eating icky things or maybe the way they’re portrayed on shows like Fear Factor and Survivor, but bugs tend to creep me out. Continue reading
Learning to ride a motorbike abroad will open up a world of possibilities. You are able to travel at any time of day or night, explore secret corners of each city as well as deep interiors of islands without much planning. Once you’re confident on a motorbike, a newfound freedom will have you scooting the days away in search of adventure that is available to only those with the skills to get them there.
Personally, I had a horrible first day. I was confused, anxious, scared, and feeling quite incapable. I ended up letting my best friend drive me around for the next year and while I was quite happy with the situation, I had no idea what I was missing until five years later when I was forced to try again. Cut to five days after that and I was zipping through rush hour traffic in Chiang Mai like a little pro. Force yourself out of your comfort zone and the world will expand in front of you. Learning to confidently ride a motorbike was quite possibly my biggest accomplishment of 2016, and something I can only improve upon for the rest of my life. Here’s how to start:
Katie here : Sarah’s in Thailand! What a lucky bum! But really, I’m so excited for her and can’t wait to hear about the adventures as she travels. During her first stint in Thailand, she kept a lengthy journal on her Tumblr account and it was amazing – all of our friends and family were anxious waiting for each new post. If you’re interested in that experience, those posts are still accessible – just scroll down to November 2011 through April 2012 in her archive. Today she’s checking in with a timely post on packing and staying calm when your luggage takes a different plane ;-).
Once upon a time, packing was a completely daunting task. I remember I would call my friend Kandy and we would pack together, which really meant wandering around our respective rooms talking about random things and placing an item or two in a bag every twenty minutes or so. Fast forward ten years and packing is a breeze. I have an easy foolproof method that I stick to and my packing gets completed in no time. Today I wanted to share a sample packing list for spending one month in Thailand and how I go about packing in general. Continue reading
I guess it was about a year ago, when Alex was just turning three, that we started to pay more attention to letters. It began with singing the alphabet and spelling his name, and then we started to help him identify the letters all around him : pointing out letters that we saw on daily adventures, spelling words on packages and in store windows, and it’s snowballed from there.
Early on, we realized that we could minimize a lot of letter confusion if we just stuck to one case, and for now our focus is on uppercase letters. They’re everywhere! 😉
And in this post I wanted to share a few of the fun ways that we’ve increased the letter play in our house. Continue reading