Travel Guide {Edition I}

well here it is. some of you have asked specifically for it so this is my attempt at rating the places i have been thus far in my nineteen years of life. why edition one? well i figure there will be more added for each year i travel. enjoy and keep in mind that this is my opinion and i have talked with many others who would differ depending on their experiences. {also, i would like to note how incredibly hard this was to do because i like each place for different reasons and it is hard to say one is better than the other}.

COUNTRIES:

12. Burma {Myanmar}

It was definitely a very interesting and insightful experience but I would not want to go again. It is war-torn and extremely poor, but the countryside is beautiful. {see the post here}

11. Grand Cayman Islands

I went here as a part of a Caribbean cruise I went on. Pretty but since we spent most of our time at Sting Ray City I did not enjoy it too much. {i mean who wants hundreds of sting rays swarming them and rubbing all over their body? how do you think steve irwin died?!}

10. Canada

I haven't been to Canada in a while, but I do remember that is can be gorgeous, green, and great for people who like nature. Last time I was there we went to Niagara Falls, which is cold and wet and magnificent.  

 9. Ireland

Part of my time spent in Ireland was awesome and part of it not so awesome, but it was an adventure that's for sure. If you want to see the Ireland they show you in the movies you need to get far away from civilization and plan on getting lost because tourism information is not Ireland's forte. But once you get out into the green rolling countryside it really is breathtaking. 

{posts one, two, three, and four from ireland}

8. Mexico

Mexico is great for many reasons. First and most important of which being the food. Mexican food is a gift from God. REAL Mexican food...nothing is better. And now I am hungry. I have been to Mexico a couple of times I think, but more recently on a cruise where we stopped in Cozumel and Costa Maya. The snorkeling was the best I have had so far (comparing to Florida and Thailand), souvenirs are cheap, there are ancient ruins just waiting to be explored, and the people are generally nice and humble. 

7. Belize

Man, Belize was so much fun. It was also part of the cruise and while we were there we went cave tubing in the rainforest. Dream come true? Yes. At that point in life I was obsessed with rainforests so this was perfect. We saw a lot of wildlife and got to float down a river, in and out of caves, on an inner tube. So awesome. The people in Belize were also nice and we got some good food there too. 

6. Scotland

My trip to Scotland was perfect, but too short. We only got to go to Edinburgh for a day and a half but we did a lot in that time. Including hiking to the top of an inactive volcano for sunrise at 3:30 in the morning, where I got to be the highest person in Scotland for just long enough to have one of the more incredible experiences of my life. We went on a ghost tour at night and visited the cafe that J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series in. Bonus: Scotland is gorgeous. {posts one and two} 

5. Costa Rica

One word: amazing. Loved every moment of Costa Rica. I convinced my parents to do a trip here during my rainforest phase. We were there for two weeks in the town of Jaco {a major surfer destination} and stayed in an awesome hotel complete with a private beach, huge pools, and hammocks. Our days consisted of horseback riding to waterfalls, kayaking, zip-lining, rainforests, national parks, beaches, and lots of monkeys. Oh and really really good food. Plus I loved the people there, they even sang me happy birthday at one of the dinners. GO TO COSTA RICA. Can I emphasize it enough? They are also one of the countries that are preserving their surroundings instead of destroying precious and rare life, and by doing so they make all their money through tourism. 

{some of the pictures are in this flickr photo album}

4. England

Oh England, what can I say to some you up? Well I spent about two months in this country and I have my likes and dislikes, but mostly fond memories. Six of those weeks were spent in lovely London on my theatre study abroad through BYU, where I also went to Dover, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon. And the other two were spent in Harrogate with my sister and her family, enjoying the countryside, during which time we went to Bath on the way to France. England is simply beautiful. It looks just like it does in all the movies- green, rolling, and full of sheep. Combine their accents, their sophistication, their history, and their wonderful array of sporting events and you have a must-see. Plus the weather was quite enjoyable whilst I was there. Oh and it doesn't help that I am a Jane Austen addict either. {I am not about to link every post about England because there would be like a hundred but here are some of the posts on my side trips: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And if you want to read about London you will just have to dig through the archives or my facebook pictures}. 

3. Italy

Three cities, two days each, six days of jam-packed tourism. I loved Italy, and I think I would have loved it even more if I had gotten to take it slow and spend some time in the country too. Rome was perfect to us the first day, and the second day was a bit interesting hahaha. Florence was breathtaking and full of art {most of which I didn't get to see}. Venice was sunny complete with clear blue waters, fascinating architecture, and slow times riding bikes to the beach on a quaint little island. And the best part of Italy? Food, of course, but mostly GELATO. And it helps that there are lots of good looking men with great fashion taste and excellent glasses.

 {see the posts for all three cities here: one, two, three, four, five}. 

2. Thailand

Six weeks in Thailand, and it only took one day to fall in love. Riding elephants and ostriches, playing with adult and baby tigers, lighting thai floating lanterns, side trip to the beaches in the south, temples, and lots and lots of rain. However, my favorite aspect of this was the children we taught at the orphanage through HELP International. Northern Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, the skys are gorgeous, the hills are a perfect shade of green, and it is almost always sunny. The food is delicious, the markets have everything you could want and it is incredibly inexpensive, and the people are the most friendly of all. {again, to read more you'll need to search past posts because there are a lot of them}

1. France

Been there twice and it is still my favorite country so far. I love everything about French culture- the language, the food, the pastries, the lifestyle, the art, the architecture, and the countryside. What more is there to say? Paris, Loire Valley, and Normandy. C'est bon. 

{see the posts here: one, two, and three}

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

And now for some less detailed lists:

CITIES:

1. London

everything you could ever want at your fingertips: culture, music, theatre, art, food- and all in an incredibly quiet, clean, and efficient city of its size.

2. The cities of the Loire Valley in France {Amboise, Beaune, Blois, Chinon, Tours}

3. Florence

4. Venice

5. Rome

6. Paris

7. Chiang Mai, Thailand

8. The Normandy Region of France

9. Edinburgh

10. Jaco, Costa Rica

11. Harrogate, UK

12. Chiang Rai, Thailand

13. Phuket, Thailand

14. Tachileik, Myanmar

100,000,000. Dublin, Ireland

PEOPLE:

1. Thai

2. Costa Ricans

3. Italians

4. Scottish

5. British

6. Burmese

7. Irish

8. all the other ones i will not list because i have no opinion slash too much bias

BURMA {Myanmar}

The monday before I left Thailand I went up to Burma (Myanmar) for a day. By myself. With no cell phone. Probably not the safest thing for me to do ever but something I had to do. Especially since I was leaving on Wednesday and time was running out. I was supposed to go on Saturday but the tour guide that the group had been using was very hard to get a hold of. He is a Burmese man living in Thailand in a cave with monks and he rarely ever gets service. in a cave. with monks. So I finally got him to agree to meet me on Monday but I wasn't sure if he got my message about the time we were going to meet. But I took the bus 2 hours up to Mae Sai a northern border city that we go to a lot for the orphanage and DEPDC. And then I took a song tao to the border and waited near passport control on a bench for about 30 minutes. Then a man came up to me and asked if I was there for a tour with Saimoon. Yes I was. And so it began. Me and Saimoon on an adventure through Burma all day, as I rode on the back of a scooter with him. 

In front of the border of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Saimoon asked to take this picture for me, "good for remembrance," which was very nice of him and he continued to take pictures for me throughout the trip, without me even asking. 

it's monsoon season in southeast asia and it had been raining the two days previous to my visit so the market and surrounding streets were flooded, in some spots up to the knees. 

City of the Golden Trian

First stop: Buddhist nunnery. The ones in pink are Burmese and the ones in the light purple/white are Thai

They concentrate every body movement they make.

We visited a lot of small villages that day and all of them had a group of kids walking around or playing because it was a school holiday.

in Burma they wear cloth in the form of a skirt 

temple

okay, orange means it's a monk but my impression was and still is that this person is a woman. so i am still confused on the gender of this individual. either way this person saw was very cute and shy especially since i took a picture of them washing. haha probably should've asked but there are some things you must sacrifice for the sake of the picture.

starving and a mother. somehow my problems don't seem so bad.

western puppies

small monks playing with puppies? adorable. 

so much trash everywhere. it was so sad. for the most part we were out in the country where it was beautiful but when we were in the city it was extremely poor and extremely trashed. i didn't take very many pictures of that aspect of Burma especially since i was on a scooter but it's the saddest place i have ever been and even though burma is a dangerous war-torn country i never felt threatened. however i did have bad feelings while i was there. it was a very seedy place where everyone was desperate to the point where they do what they can to survive. 

we also went to a cemetery where saimoon told me some very interesting life stories complete with some choice cuss words. saimoon was a drunk who would often sleep on tombstones. but now he has reformed. thank goodness for monks in caves.

baby butt #1

saimoon led me through some very tricky/slippery areas and when we would get to the really muddy spots he would have me hold on his towel just in case. 

in burma they put this off-white cream/paint concoction on their faces to protect their skin form the sun

baby monks!

buddhist temple again

the clouds in southeast asia are amazing

he also took me to a woodworking shop...

where we were served all kinds of fruit (mango, pomelo) with the salt mixture by...

this man. apparently he is the wealthiest man in the village and built up his fortune through his business.

then we drove up to another temple up on the mountain with a gorgeous view. this temple was heavily funded and therefore it was gorgeous. 

you can't really tell but there are monks bathing in this picture.

food offerings

it was just going to be me in this picture but saimoon decided he wanted them in it too haha they were timid about being in it and tried to resist but saimoon won in the end. 

love her.

me infront of the temple

every time i tried to take a picture of them they would run away...

so i put the camera down and snapped it secretly. my method for most of these pictures i took, and some of them actually look presentable. 

baby butt #2

saimoon!

another temple with a amazing view

for one of the upcoming festivals

saimoon explained what all these meant but i don't quite remember now, but he did go on a rant about how people who eat animals will be burned i think

sleeping people/monks

those piles of sand have significance for the upcoming festival but i have forgotten what that is

big holy tree

we also went to a chinese buddhist temple

chinese pagoda

and then we drove up the mountain to get a bird's eye view but it took a lot of effort to get up there. which includes driving through tons of mud in which we got stuck so saimoon had me get of the bike while he rode up leaving me to walk through the slippery mud and get very dirty. fun times. 

saimoon talking to some locals to ask for directions down the mountain minus all the mud. and again the clouds are amazing. 

first floor flooded of most of the buildings. which meant that most of the market was closed but i still managed to buy 66 movies all for around a dollar each. i have an addiction for movies so it was hard stopping. i was going to buy some fake ray bans too but i didn't really have time. because the border closes at like 5:30ish and the last bus leaves at 6 for chiang rai. 

overall i am glad i went to Burma. it was eye-opening and a great experience. i have never seen anywhere like it, but i don't ever wish to go back. the whole time i was there i just kept thinking about how i wanted to be back in thailand. but i made it home safely and survived burma all by myself without a cell phone. when i came back through customs in detroit on the way home the man looking through my documents saw that i went to burma and then proceeded to lecture me on how i shouldn't have gone to such a dangerous place and then got more mad when he realized that i didn't really care all that much haha, whoops. 

so that's it for BURMA. now onto the rest of Thailand. which should only be like 1 or 2 more posts! YAY!