One Year Anniversary

I left the United States one year ago today to embark on an epic trip. This picture above is the very first picture I snapped. It was in Barcelona. The sky was beautiful. I remember it well. Since this photo was taken, I have edited down my trip collection to just under 9,000 images which means I probably actually took triple that if you include all the images I have deleted since. Wow.

A year has gone by and I have seen so much, felt so much, and so much has changed. The world was my oyster and I was illuminated. Then life stepped in.

While we were in the Thai Islands I got word that my mother would be going through chemotherapy for lung cancer. I made the decision to go back to LA to be with her during the duration of the treatment. I left from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and consequently Rick and I decided to part ways. I thank you in advance for your understanding in this private matter as both of these decisions were made with a heavy heart.

So what does this mean?

I am currently in LA plotting my next nomadic adventure and hope to be back on the road in a few months when I take on Indonesia and Australia on my own. I will still maintain this blog with plenty of travel content so have no fear, I have a lot up my sleeve. Nomadic-Habit is entering a new phase and I am so excited for what’s to come!

And hey, if you are in LA, reach out. I’m available for photo work (and coffee).

Check out my photography site here and don't forget to follow me on instagram.

What a difference a year makes.

Life. You can’t even escape it when you are off escaping it.

I started this post with the first picture of the trip, and now for my last.

I guess it’s lights out.

To everyone that has supported me through this tough time, your love is invaluable. Thank you so very much.

Independence Palace | Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), also known as Reunification Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất), built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. Above text taken from Wikipedia

This isn't your typical palace. Some rooms are fancy, some are stark, some look like they are straight out of the 1960's, and the bunker is downright sparse. It's a hodgepodge of styles all mixed into one ominous building. It's much less opulent than the Thai Grand Palace. From the outside it appears less palatial and more generic. And now to the cavernous bunker...

And I guess a palace isn't a palace without a shooting gallery?

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

So Cambodia was equally amazing and emotionally exhausting. It was time to move on to Vietnam. We took another bus adventure from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. It was another one of those trips that took way longer than what they estimate for you. The border crossing is easy (as long as you have your visa) and you make a stop for lunch along the way. We stayed in the backpacker area—Pham Ngu Lao, located in District 1 where you'll find plenty of lodging and restaurants.

The area is dripping with color and life.

And the food... well, it's delicious. Pho real.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Cambodia

The Killing Fields were brutal, but the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum made me ill. Literally. While it was once a school, it was transformed into security Office 21 under the orders of Pol Pot on April 17, 1975.  Office 21, or S-21 for short was designed for detention, interrogation, torture and killing. The prisoner records of S-21 counts up to 10,519 prisoners from the years 1975-1978.

It is quite eerie to walk the halls of a once primary and high school knowing it housed over 10,000 prisoners in abhorrent conditions. The energy is rooted in the walls and it had my stomach turning.

Bodies of fourteen victims were discovered by the United Front for the National Salvation of Kampuchea (UFNSK) on January 7, 1979. The corpses were unidentifiable due to decomposition and were buried in front of the building. These were the last people to be tortured and killed by personal before they fled.

Below are a few of the rooms where the fourteen victims were found. Each room has a photo of what was initially discovered by the UFNSK. The images are graphic can be really tough to look at. This isn't your typical museum where replicas are in place to show you the conditions. You are in the actual room where these bodies were found and their beds and other objects are right there with you.

The first building is what made me feel ill. Absorbing all that took place in the actual place is exhausting to your soul. We move on to another building where classrooms were converted into several small brick cells. Stepping into one is claustrophobic and you wonder just who and how many people were crowded into these walls that were once full of children with educational aspirations.

Other rooms are filled with faces, faces, faces. Everyone is photographed and documented. A picture is worth a thousand words and these faces say it all. As a photographer I am feeling at odds. Some of these images are actually beautiful portraits, but for the ugliest of reasons and so I can't call these pictures art and yet I can't stop starring at them. What were they thinking? What are their stories? The sheer number of faces is overwhelming.

Click on the images below to view them larger...

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The woman below I was particularly mesmerized by because her eyes evoked such desperation.

If the eyes are the window to the soul, her soul is certainly screaming for help.

I cannot tell you how deeply impactful this experience was and how desperately sad it made me.

How and why as humans do we kill our own fellow man? And why is it still happening?

For more images of the prison, go here.

Killing Fields, Cambodia

Readers beware, the next two posts are going to be heavy as we dig into the genocidal history of Cambodia. While in Angkor Wat I saw Cambodia as this magical place with a rich and beautiful past. I wondered what the grounds must have looked like at its peak. While that was the rise of Cambodia, we are now delving into the fall of Cambodia, and the magic turns into terror. If you are not familiar with the Khmer Rouge or the genocide that took place in 1975-1979 led by Pol Pot that killed up to 3 million Cambodians, then here is a quick overview.

As a result, the country was filled with mass graves called killing fields. We visited the most well known one called Choeung Ek just outside of Phnom Penh. It's horrifying, unfathomable, and absolutely terrifying.

What troubled me most was the "killing tree" (seen below), where children were smashed and beaten against the tree to death. The other troubling aspect is that this took place in the 70's. It is not ancient history and the world did nothing. This is nothing short of infuriating.

The grounds include a memorial that house skulls that have been unearthed. Their violent deaths are visible on their skulls as many were killed in vicious, barbaric ways.

The earth is visibly scarred from the atrocities.

The land now with large dips where bodies were once piled also has not recovered.

Could it ever?

Then you ask yourself...

How did this happen?

BOAT-MAG

When I stumbled upon Boat-Magazine, it was love at first sight.

A beautiful travel magazine that dedicates an entire issue to a specific city? Yes Please.

It's like a nomadic magazine if you will, and I didn't want to miss the boat!

So get on board and check out the magazine and check out my interview!

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After the magic of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, we took a cramped minivan to Phnom Penh. This would serve as our base for visiting the killing fields and genocide museum. While it proved to be quite a heavy visit and before I get to posting about those two places, this is a look into Phnom Penh, which is quite colorful and ripe for picture taking.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia | Part 2

The second day of the tour is much like the first. Getting lost in ruins, stone passageways, and watching the trees slowly devour the towering walls.

The area is truly magical...

Top 10 Travel Destinations | Nomad-Chic

Check out my travel destination guide on Nomad-Chic!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia | Part 1

Now that we've explored Siem Reap, it's time to see what we really came here for... Angkor Wat! While Angkor Wat is the main temple that you think of when you think of Angkor, the area is filled with different ruins and the task of exploration takes two days. You can buy a 1 day ticket for $20, or a 2 or 3 day ticket for $40. It's best to explore the area by hiring a tuk tuk for the day which is exactly what we did. The drive is beautiful, lovely, and peaceful. Angkor Wat is well kept and impressive, but I particularly loved the more unruly temples and ruins that the earth appears to be claiming back, one tree root at a time. Trees devour the temples like an ancient stone meal and it looks as if Medusa's hearty locks are in the form of roots. The decay is terrifyingly beautiful, and it's apparent that earth's mouth is hungry for man's meal.

Don't these ruins look like such a delicious meal? Stay tuned for Part 2!

Siem Reap, Cambodia

After some New York pizza in Bangkok, we hopped an Air Asia flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia where we stayed at Angkor Orchid Central Hotel. It was a steal for around $15/night when we booked on Agoda.com. Airport tuk tuk pickup included! While Siem Reap is the jumping off point for Angkor Wat, I found the central town to be both charming and photogenic.

Don't you think?

Koh Tao to Bangkok | Thailand

After Phangan we hit Koh Tao and stayed in Sairee Beach. We stayed at Amonrada House which was simple and small but at least had A/C for under $30/night. It's a short walk from the beach and close to several restaurants. We hit some rain here so I was weary to bring my camera out and only got a few shots of a nearby patch of palm sprawl. This was our last island hop for Thailand and we made the treacherous  journey back to Bangkok which took around 10 hours. We took a ferry to Chumphon then caught a bus back to Bangkok. We made it back to Bangkok around 9pm. Another full day of transportation!

While we had stayed in the Khao San area of Bangkok last time, we opted to stay in Sukhumvit where we would have easy access to the sky train.

It has a more downtown, city feel, but we were missing the quaintness of the small Khao San streets.

While we love Thai food, I stumbled upon the perfect non Thai place for dinner one night. Ronny's New York Pizza. Two things I was missing at the moment: Pizza and New York. Done. Let's go. We finally find it among the fleshpot of Nana Plaza and go to town. It even feels and looks a bit New York-ish.

Big apple or Bangkok?

 So our Thailand adventure ended with New York spirit! Next up? Cambodia!

Koh Phangan | Thailand

We were hesitant to visit the nearby island Koh Phangan due to their full moon party reputation. We are talking about a Phi Phi crowd times 10! Google "full moon party haad rin" and you will find this. It's one part hoochie mamma and one part poser and together you get 100% debauchery. Our original dates we had planned landed right in the middle of full moon swing, so we delayed a day hoping the antics would be over. I also made a concerted effort to find us some lodging that was FAR from the scene of Haad Rin Beach. My efforts proved to be a success! While Haad Rin is at the south end of the island, we stayed at Thongtapan Resort on the north east side located on Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach. The 45 min drive to get there was well worth the rough roads. It was cozy, remote, and there was no full moon mayhem in sight.

Our garden bungalow was a short distance from the water and the beach was surrounded by lush, mountainous terrain.

Just south of Thong Nai Pan Noi is Thong Nai Pan Yai. I know. The verbiage gets confusing. It requires a decent walk and an uphill, sweaty battle around a hill to get there.

When we finally reach the beach, we understand why it's known as Thong Nai Pan Noi's less attractive sister. It's still quite beautiful but there is less wave action here which means the shore is dotted with anchored boats. It makes for glorious photos, but not so glorious swimming.

So while we initially shied away from the famed full moon island, we found a nook that felt nothing like a howling rave.

STAY: Thongtapan Resort

WHERE: Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach | Koh Phangan

PRICE: $21 (fan double standard bungalow) booked on Agoda.com

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KOH SAMUI | Thailand

After Khao Lak, we took a really long and unnecessary mini van + bus + ferry trip to Koh Samui. All tourist routes from Khao Lak had to go through Krabi which meant we were back tracking. The entire trip took 10+ hours.

So when we finally got to Koh Samui, we were hoping our accommodation choice, The Sundays Sanctuary, lived up to the name. While Chaweng Beach is the tourist hot spot in Samui, we opted to stay in Bophut which is known for Fisherman's Village. I was hoping for a local fisherman community, but it's actually a very manufactured area with higher end restaurants on the waterfront. The beach is lined with resorts and since we also hit some overcast weather and rain, we barely made it to the beach and instead enjoyed our lodging.

I don't usually review our accommodations because a backpacker budget has limitations, but I was loving that minimalist chic on a budget can actually exist! We booked through Agoda and opted for the mountain view room which set us back around $30/night. There are more expensive deluxe cottages that overlook the pool, but we found the mountain view rooms which are set back a bit were quite peaceful.

What did I love about this place? The pool, the balcony, and the minimalist concrete & wood design.

The only downside? There is only internet in the lobby.

The Sundays Sanctuary Resort & Spa

WHERE: Bophut Beach | Koh Samui, Thailand

PRICE: $30/night (inclusive of all taxes) | double mountain view room

BREAKFAST INCLUDED

*Prices reflect high season rates. Low season rates are considerably cheaper*

Fernweh/o/sophy | India Part II

Remember when Berlin based travel blog Fernweh/o/sophy featured my take on northern India?

Check out part II which features southern India!

Khao Lak + Similan Islands | Thailand

After Phuket, we headed north to Khao Lak with the purpose of heading to the nearby Similan Islands. I didn't have any expectations when it came to Khao Lak, but was surprised by how much I liked it. Khao Lak was the hardest hit in Thailand in the 2004 tsunami with an unofficial death count of around 10,000. While it is quite mountainous, it devastated the coastline.

The beaches are relatively quiet with patches of resorts and shacks.

We were most interested in the Similan Islands and booked a tour with Fantastic Similan Travel. The tour company is primarily employed by ladyboys and they really are fantastic. We made three stops and the water was clear and the views were amazing.

So the trip was 'fantastic' except that a jellyfish managed to attack both my legs and now I have the nasty scars to prove it.

Phuket, Thailand

We arrived in Phuket suffering from Koh Yao Yai blues after our very luxurious weekend. Back to reality. Phuket is where the Phi Phi crowd goes when they retire. It's well known that Phuket is overrun with tourists and the quiet beauty of the Yao Islands (though only 30 min away) seems like a world away.

I did not really snap any photos because I wasn't really inspired. The beach is packed with umbrellas and people with crispy sunburns. We stayed in Patong which is also known for Bangla Road (the sex industry strip). We went out one night to see what it was all about and found it all to be pretty depressing.

Phuket feels a bit theme park-ish, so we did what any good tourist would do.

We went to the bowling alley and arcade.

We did take one day trip to the famed James Bond rock and unfortunately this was our worst day trip yet. It was labeled as a kayak trip, but what they fail to tell you is you don't actually get to kayak. Someone else takes you in the kayak and promptly asks for a tip. We went into caves and other areas that are visually quite impressive, however I would've liked to linger on the landscape instead of being rushed from one locale to the next.

So while the dramatic landscape just outside of Phuket is worth seeing, we were ready to leave.

THOUGHTS ON TURNING THIRTY

I’ve entered a new decade.

Does it feel decadent? Time to reflect.

Somehow as the number 2 grows an extra curve and morphs into a 3, I start to feel bottom heavy, like I’m sagging. Oh no, what else is starting to sag? What is this extra extension growing off my 2? Get off!

Reality sets in. My 2 is elongated. Can I just say I’m in my elongated twenties? Extended twenties? Oh forget it.

I’m in my thirties.

I don’t like the way that sounds and I also don’t know why a word or number should feel so daunting. Perhaps it’s because I, like many I presume, suffer from the ‘By The Time I’m 30’ syndrome. Ailments include the following expectations:

 - success (What does that even mean?)

- a solid career

- marriage to presumably the perfect person

- kids

- owning a home

- unbridled happiness

- peace of mind

- white picket fence

You get where I’m going. For some reason, in my twenties, I assumed that once I hit 30, all of these expectations would have already neatly shown up on my doorstep (to the house or apartment I don’t own). The irony is, some of these possibilities did show up, and I promptly walked away from them. I had somehow created all these ideals that for me, weren’t actually ideal.

Was I suffering from expecting expectations that I, in the end, didn’t even really want? Just striving for social constructs because it’s ‘what you are supposed to do?’

Oh I get it now. It was just my twenties. The decade of figuring yourself out. I was trying to swim upstream with everyone else, only to realize there are all these other side streams to explore. For me, the forks in the river proved to feed my appetite, a meal of my own making. Curiosity tastes good.

Now that I’m in my thirties and have none of those things on that list of mine, I can free myself from all those ambivalent wants that I didn’t seem to really want in my twenties. Phew. Suddenly that 3 doesn’t feel so heavy. Here’s to unburdening myself! Now that’s a birthday gift.

And besides, I am seeing the world, living life, and choosing my own destiny. Sounds pretty fantastic to me! I am elongating my 2 on a remote island in Thailand and cannot think of a better way to send my twenties out to sea.

Koh Yao Yai | Thailand

So Koh Yao Noi was a little slice of heaven and we didn't really want to leave except for the fact that we had a booking at Yao Yai Village on neighboring island Koh Yao Yai to celebrate my 30th birthday in style. Koh Yao Yai is bigger than Koh Yao Noi and most of it looks untouched. We took the short (few minutes) speedboat ride over to Yao Yai and our welcome drink at Yao Yai Village was waiting for us. Yao Yai Village is comprised of several private bungalows set among the jungle and hillside where cicadas and other insects hum into the night. Each bungalow is unique but each has an impressive balcony or terrace. Our bungalow was nestled among the trees with perfect privacy. We even had our own private driveway! (For when you want a lift from the hotel golf cart.) Goodbye backpacker life for the weekend! Hello luxury. Our terrace is bigger than most apartments I've lived in and boasts some amazing decor... This is probably the most comfortable bed since the trip began and the bathroom with outdoor shower (amazing!) is larger than many rooms we've stayed in. I could literally move into the bathroom and be happy. On my actually birthday (March 2nd), housekeeping had left a present on the bed... Did I mention they have an infinity pool? Or that there are two of them? We were loving life. The beach is not so much a swimming beach and the tide recedes quite a bit which makes for some dramatic landscape. We didn't really leave the premises for 3 nights. We enjoyed all of the amenities and wished we could move into our bungalow. On my birthday Rick treated me to some spa services where I received a sixty minute massage and sixty minute facial. Thirty doesn't feel so bad. We were sad to part and return to the realities of backpacking. The good news was there was one last surprise! We arranged for a speedboat transfer to Phuket and on that particular day, no one else had booked a transfer so we had our own private boat! The ride was not long enough (30 minutes) but it was the perfect ending to an epic birthday weekend. We arrived in Phuket to our room that was much smaller than our previous bathroom, reeked of cigarettes, and was pitch dark. We were suffering from post Yao Yai Village blues. Back to backpacking.

Sigh.