AJ's Adventures!: Peace Out and Love, SE Asia

In my 6 weeks in SE Asia, I had quite the busy itinerary...

5 days in China

2 weeks in Vietnam

4 days in Cambodia

2 weeks in Thailand

1 week in Myanmar

When I was trying to think of the best way to recap it all, I decided that I would make a short-ish list to try to recap some of the highs and the lows of this portion of my trip. Here are some of the things I've done:

-Tried something new or did something outside of my comfort zone everyday

-Doubled the # of countries I've been to - and drank the local beer in all of them - surprisingly, Myanmar had the best!!

-Sweated more than ever in my entire life, but used the heat as an excuse for a minimum of 2 fruit smoothies everyday :)

-Put on zero makeup

-Completely changed my semi-paleo eating habits to essentially no protein and 110% white rice and noodles all day everyday while simultaneously re-learning the skill I had back in the days of high school swimming - to eat my body weight of anything free / at a buffet!

-Had only ~7 dinners alone

-Used public transport as much as possible

-Spent more money than I had anticipated

-Was quite busy and on the move - I don't think I slept past 8 for the entirety of SE Asia!!

-Figured out rather quickly that the Asia idea of free size - aka one size fits all - is still not big enough for me

-Always checked the bathroom I was using for roaches before entering :(

-Fell in love with the strong flavors of Thai cuisine and generally ate as much street food as possible regardless of where I was. I only ate Western food once (a burger at an airport!)

-Meanwhile, I had immense cravings for wine, chocolate, popcorn and cheese - all staples of the sorority life of floor 4!

-Maximized time in places that are more off the beaten path (thanks, Corey, for showing me the article for inspiration...

-Had some interesting challenges with my stomach, and have therefore depleted a lot of my mobile pharmacy

-Got a glimpse at why America can have a bad reputation internationally; nevertheless, I appreciate everything we have so much more (there were times when I was quite aware that the belongings on my body / in my backpack were worth more than many locals would make in many months...)

-Realized the organized chaos is just the norm - so don't plan too much and go with the flow :)

Now I'm off to conquer the lovely Australia with a friend from NYC, Courtney Bannerot, and I couldn't be more excited to see a familiar face and be in a country where I can use the toilets and drink the water :) Here is a sneak peek from our first few days in Sydney...