Asian Adventure Part 2: Vietnam and Cambodia

Our next big stop was Vietnam. I haven't really explored Asia much up until this point, but I loved it! It was green and there were fruits and veggies everywhere. One of my favorite things was just riding around on a motorbike running errands. I felt like I was in a video game!! We also did a boat tour on the delta. We stopped different places along the water and saw different cultural things...it was really fun!!

Seriously...it was so much fun!!

Our next stop was Cambodia. I really had no idea was I was getting into...but I absolutely loved it!! We went to Siem Reap, which is known for having really ancient Hindu Temples. We spent a day exploring them. Brittany thought I was ridiculous for taking more pictures of trees than of the temples. Yall, the desert is all one color...so seeing green and vegetation just gets me excited these days. It was beautiful. In the town of Siem Reap there are so many outdoor cafes and restaurants. I love being in places where people live their lives outside. I know that seems weird....but it's such a good change of pace from my normal(?) life.

I get a little crazy around so much grass

Seriously...look how pretty it is!!!

Ankor Wat....the most famous temple

seriously I took 29270485704 pics of this

We also visited a silk farm....did you know it was made from worms??

If you can believe it...there is still more vacay to see...the best is yet to come....man I really need to get back to Southeast Asia!!

Asian Adventure Part 1: Hong Hong, Macau, Singapore

This past November (yes I'm still blogging about 2014, but the catch up game is about to be won), I was able to go on quite the epic getaway. This life is weird and hard, but it has taken me to some of the best places in the world...and for that I will be forever thankful. I've also been blessed with some good buddies. I know I've said this before, but I have the best friends in the world...seriously...I'll enter them in any competition. Anyways, my go to travel buddy these days is Brittany. If you wanna watch two people have way too much fun....put us together. We have gotten pretty good at this take a vacation thing....really because Brittany does all the planning and I just run around acting like a 12 year old. It works people...and I'm convinced it could make a killer TV show.

Anyways, the Asian Adventure covered 6 countries....so clearly this is gonna need to be a series. I met up with Brittany in Hong Kong....and it was a sweet sweet reunion that consisted of a lot of laughter a couple Starbucks cups. Hong Kong has to be one of the quietest cities I have ever been to. No car honking, no yelling....I couldn't believe I was in a big city.

I loved the Hong Kong harbor and watching all the boats

I love the Olympics...that is all

We found really cool coffee mugs!!

While staying in Hong Kong, we decided to hop over to Macau. It is a 45min ferry boat ride from Hong Kong. It made for a busy day....but why not add another country to the list?? Macau is known as the Las Vegas of Asia...and it did have its fair share of casinos....but they also had pandas.

There was a slightly unfortunate restaurant incident. I ordered chicken and veggies...and that is exactly what I got (head and all)....I did my absolute best to keep a straight face and choke it down....lets just say I did not have a clean plate....and I got a Dairy Queen blizzard afterwards.

On our way to the next destination, we had a long layover in Singapore. I've got one word for you....malls. There is a lot of them. They are huge and themed and overwhelming...but there is also an Outback in one which was thoroughly enjoyed. Part of our layover meant spending the night in the airport...but as you can see....at least one of us (not me) is a professional at doing.

The rest of the adventure only gets better...so stay tuned!!

And then the Rents came!!

So back in September (yep I said that right...September...I'm a horrible blogger...can you say New Years Resolution), I got to see this beautiful sight walking towards me (no, it wasn't Mr. Darcy walking across a field in a long coat...even better)....

That's right....Simon and Eleyse made it to the desert....and it was so much fun to have them here. They were troopers and even endured long language days with me. For the girl who hates being alone, it was great to have my two buddies with me all the time. We laughed and ate and saw the sights, and they did their fair share of spoiling. I mean, I had to let them get it in while they had a chance, right? Mom even secretly brought my favorite birthday cake and a friend here kept in their freezer until the special day....I know I cried too!!

Anyways, if you know my parents at all.....you know we had a good time and I was well loved on. Thanks so much for coming.

This is pretty much how it is.....always.

He makes friends wherever he goes.

Love You!

Wait! The water is gonna make my hair do what?!?!

So thankfully, there is plenty of water in my part of the desert. I don't have to worry about rationing it, or waiting for a certain day to wash clothes (praise Him), but on the flip side....this water makes your hair fall out.

Yep...that's right...I said fall out! The tap water here is straight up from the ocean. Somehow the salt is taken out (blah blah science blah blah), but there is still a lot of minerals in the water that weigh down your hair and make it fall out....lovely. When I first heard about this horrible news, I thought....certainly I have super human hair that won't be affected....I was wrong. Let's be honest, I already have enough strikes going against me....I do not need to add baldness to the list, so here are a few ways to combat the thinning desert hair...

First of all, just about every popular shampoo brand here has a "anti fallout" version...so I stocked up on those. Not sure how it helps...but I'm telling myself there is some magic in that shampoo.

There is also hair oil. Basically you massage a handful of oil into your scalp to stimulate hair growth. I usually sleep overnight with the oil in my hair...which means an early morning shower get rid of all that grease. If you know me, you know I'm not very good friends with the morning, but I'll say hey to her every now and then if this oil stuff helps.

 The whole "do everything you can so your hair doesn't fall out" thing isn't all bad. There is actually some pampering involved. In a salon around here you can get aloe treatments. It involves someone literally breaking open an aloe leaf/branch(?) and rubbing it all over your head. Supposedly, multiple treatments cause hair growth. Your head feels really cool and tingly during the process, and you get a head massage afterwards. Clearly, from the pictures I'm having fun with this one.

The last way I try to combat this problem is by rinsing my hair with bottled water. People say that if you rinse your hair with bottled water, it will get rid of all those heavy minerals that weigh down your hair. Needless to say, my shower looks like this now...

Now hopefully you will never have to take all of these measures to keep your locks, but here's a reference if you ever do. In the meantime, let's all hope all of my hair doesn't fall out. But seriously, let's all pray and fast about this one for a bit.

Summer Catch-Up Part 3

The last stop on the summer tour was Greece...I know...not a bad way to go out. I found another place I could live in Greece. There are so many sleepy little beach towns, it's so beautiful, and the people are so nice! I loved everything about it. I didn't get to explore any of the famous islands. That will be for another trip (Santorini and Mykonos.....I'm coming for ya). I really enjoyed what I did get to see of the country.

I think the coolest part of Athens is that the famous ruins are right in the middle of the city. You can be walking alongside some shops and a Starbucks and you look up and there's the Acropolis. It was really cool to see everything together like that. I'm not a very good describer.....just go see it for yourself.

Hands down, my favorite part of Athens was Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34). It is a great view of the city as well as the Acropolis. It was humbling to stand where Paul once stood and spoke truth to those religious men. I hope that view continues to pop in my head when I read story.

Standing on Mars Hill. Acropolis to the right....city to the left

 

Summer Catch-up Part 2

Well every new place has new food to try. I've grown to really loving trying out local food and Turkey did not disappoint...so here is your food tour of Turkey:

This my friends is the shwarma.... yes...it is a big ole hunk of meat on a stick...but when they shave off some of it and put it in a sandwich....its unbelievable.

This is some taffy like candy being melted and then shaped on a stick when you order it

This is a Turkish waffle!! Move over Belgium....this thing has ice cream on top. Dream come true.

This block of chocolate was brought to our table one night after dinner....you just break off as much as you want...why haven't I thought of this before?!?

This is a famous dish here...so sorry I can't remember the name. It's paste-like and you wrap it in lettuce..not a favorite of mine but anyways.

They put lots of interesting things on a baked potato...including pickles and carrots...but somehow...it all works out.

This was by far the best and most life changing...sure...it just looks like grilled chicken, rice, and veggies, but let me let you in on a little secret...there's magic inside!!

Summer Catch-Up Part 1

Soooo since summer is officially over...sorry about that....I thought it was about time to let you in on what I actually did. Yeah sorry, the blogging hiatus has been a little too long....my bad to the 4 people that rely on this for reading material....I'm back and better than ever. I've had an awesome summer including a couple big trips that I decided to break down into a series I'm calling Summer Catch-Up (seriously...I'm acting like a blogging big shot with the whole series thing...believe me I know my place). Anyways, lets talk about stop #1: Turkey:

I spent some time in Izmir first and then moved onto Istanbul. Let me tell you....Turkey is awesome. It didn't make top travel destination lists for nothing. I loved both cities. Probably my favorite thing about each is that so many things are happening outside. In the desert, especially this time of year, nothing happens outside because it's so hot, but I loved walking around in Turkey and seeing so many people living life outside....and not to mention the water. I am such a happy girl when I can walk beside some water. I don't know if it's the consistency of the waves, or seeing how small I actually am, or just those deep grown Eastern NC roots....but I'm so so happy looking out over some water.

Well any good trip starts with the friends you take with you....and you know from previous blogs that I have the most amazing friends ever. I met Brittany in Izmir and it was an amazing reunion....after we actually found it each other (which took a little while). It had been about a year since seeing her and we just had fun....lots of it. She's a great travel buddy....I recommend her.

We started off in Izmir, which is a really cool city right by the water. Brittany had a friend there who showed us around and gave us the best spots to visit. We also got to visit 2 biblical cities: Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) and Ephesus (Ephesians, Rev.2:1-7). I'm gonna be real honest with you....I do not get that excited over ancient ruins. I pretty much have the attitude of "if you've seen one, you've seen them all." I know, I know, history buffs all over are turning tables (actually, I doubt many history buffs read this blog). All that said, I loved walking around Ephesus. It is well preserved and it's really hard to describe being in a place like that..with so much history and where so many faithful people have walked.

View from Smyrna

Me and BB in Ephesus

The library in Ephesus

Along the boardwalk in Izmir

 After a couple days in Izmir, we flew to Istanbul....I love that place. We stayed on the Asia side, so just about every day we took a ferry over to the European side (you know...continent hopping...no big deal). The ferry was one of my favorite parts...I love me some public transportation. We had a great time sight seeing and hanging out. Its a beautiful city...everyone should visit!!

On our almost daily ferry ride

The famous Blue Mosque

View of the mosque from the ferry

One of my favorite places was the Grand Bazaar...I could shop in here for days

There was amazing tile work everywhere!!

 All in all it was a great few days with great people. I would love to visit again and explore some more.!!