Not Your Average Gal

Copywriter. Content Creator. Constant Sassypants.

Cambodia

Not Your Average Gal: Jen from Jen on a Jet Plane

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Not Your Average Gals are kickass, blazing-their-own-path, independent-minded, free-thinking, kind-hearted and all around wonderful humans beings. We learn a lot about ourselves from the people we choose to look to for inspiration or friendship. I'm excited to introduce you to some of them.

World, meet Jen of Jen on a Jet Plane. I became kindred spirits with Jen while living in South Florida and following her life back then of balancing being a full-time lawyer while also traveling the world.

She used to live on the west side of Florida and I’d often see her post about her east side road trips to my side of town. She gave me plenty of things to do even in my own city that I didn’t even know about.

But she doesn’t live in Florida anymore.

In fact, she’s not even practicing law full time anymore.

Get this.

She quit being a full-time lawyer, moved to Puerto Rico and (before COVID) travels for a living educating the masses about how they can work remotely and do the same.

She’s now a #1 Amazon best selling author, TedX speaker and TikTok extraordinaire.

I’m so incredibly grateful Jen is sharing her story with me. She’s most definitely a Not Your Average Gal you’ll enjoy learning from. Let’s go!

Jen Ruiz
Jen on a Jet Plane, Solo Female Traveler & Entrepreneur

What's your passion—the thing that makes you a Not Your Average Gal?

I love to travel the world solo and on a budget, and help others do the same.

When did you start this passion?

In 2017, I set out to take 12 trips in 12 months while employed full-time as an attorney before my 30th birthday. While I was professionally accomplished, I felt like I was lacking personally since I had failed to acquire a husband or start a family before the milestone birthday.

I’d tried countless dating apps and websites but the interactions all left me feeling depleted and devalued. So instead, I quit dating altogether and focused on making my travel goal a reality.

I ended up taking 20 trips in 12 months, finding deals that were too good to pass up, like a $38 flight to New Zealand and $16 flight to Ecuador. I wrote a book about finding cheap flights that become a #1 Amazon bestseller and 2018 Readers’ Favorite award winner. After that, I decided to quit practicing law and pursue my passion of traveling and writing. I’ve since given a TEDx talk about the power of flying solo, published a second book that cracked Amazon’s top 150 list overall, and have been feature by The Washington Post, Huffington Post and ABC News.

Do you make any income with your business?

My books provide me with a steady stream of passive income through Amazon royalties every month. I launched a companion course on affordable travel that did well and have also worked to monetize my blog by learning more about SEO best practices and increasing organic traffic to my site.

Do you have a “day job” that is different from your passion or business?

I quit my “day job” but I teach English online in the mornings to help pay the bills. It started out as a side gig and then became ideal when I transitioned to the digital nomad life as the pay is reliable and the hours are flexible. I can teach anywhere with decent WiFi. 

What lead you to your current path? (What was your previous job or background or experience that got you to where you are today?)

I used to work at a nonprofit law firm, and I enjoyed my job. I had great coworkers and a sense of purpose. However, I had to fight with people on a daily basis. Not a day would go by that I didn’t get stressed out or irrationally angry, and it didn’t seem sustainable. I practiced law for 5 years before I decided to make the switch. 

In pursuing something less than conventional, did you face any pushback from family, friends or even strangers? If so, how did you deal?

Surprisingly, my friends and family were very supportive. I even had a coworker buy me a book for Christmas about the business of being an author with the inscription, “Go ahead, be happy.” I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. 

What are 3 things that you've gained from doing what you love and perhaps going against the norms?

  1. I’ve learned to enjoy life in all its stages, instead of wishing I could fast forward to the next.
  2. I’ve learned to be happy for my friends instead of resentful or envious that everyone I know is getting married or having a baby except for me.
  3. Lastly, I’ve learned that the world is filled with experiences that can make you feel whole, and that kindness and a smile can surpass all language barriers. 

Tell us something about yourself people would be surprised to hear!

I’m left handed, I took Chinese for three years in high school but can’t speak a lick of it, and I was once invited on stage to be David Copperfield’s magician’s assistance. Hobby-wise, aside from traveling and writing I love to read and get lost in completely non-productive books like a YA series or romance novel. Karen Moning’s fever series got me through law school — it’s a guilty pleasure!

Are there any words of advice you can offer readers who struggle creating their own path?

Focus on what you have instead of what you’re lacking. I didn’t have a boyfriend, husband, children or even dog, but that meant that I had no one to tie me down, no obligations and complete freedom to go wherever I wanted. There’s always an upside if you’re willing to find it. 

Any favorite mottos or quotes that you live by?

“The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.”
– Spencer Johnson, author of “Who Moved My Cheese?”

“The best adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
– Oprah

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

Be sure to follow all of Jen's adventures here:

Bolding throughout article is my own emphasis.

Oh, Yes We Did. How We Spent Two Weeks in Asia for Less than $650-including Flights in Business Class

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What’s the first thing your little fingers start typing when planning a trip? How to get there, where to stay and how freakin’ much is it gonna cost me? Well aren’t you lucky you landed here today.

I’m going to show you exactly how the hubster and I flew to Asia—in business class—and stayed in fancy-schmancy hotels—that often left us feeling a few tax brackets below the rest of the population—all for under $650. 2 weeks. 2 people. Less than $650.

Why do I care, Not Your Average Gal?

Because travel is more accessible than you believe and it’s something I wholeheartedly think changes your world perspective—for the better.

Ready to dive in? Let’s go!

I’ve organized this little lesson according to our itinerary, so you can see how it all adds up in the end.

Flying to Hong Kong

ORD-HKG
Cathay Pacific, Business Class
140,000 American miles
$11.20 taxes

Since we live in separate states, very often when we leave for international trips, we fly to connect in the same airport, enjoy some bubbly and then jet off to paradise. Did that sound obnoxious? Good.

We redeemed 140,000 American Airline miles to use on their partner, Cathay Pacific, for our long-haul flight to Hong Kong. It also included my flight to Chicago in First Class on American. I have some American Airline miles through credit card sign-up bonuses. Additionally, I transferred 51,000 SPG points to my American account, which gave me a 20% transfer bonus, for a total of 61,000 transferred points. SPG is Starwood Preferred Guest, the mothership company for hotels like Westin, the W and Sheraton.

Staying in Hong Kong

Intercontinental Hong Kong
2 nights
60,000 IHG points
1 Free Night Certificate

Intercontinental Hong Kong Habour View Room

The last time I stayed in Hong Kong, I spent 3 nights at the Intercontinental Hong Kong and knew I wanted to show the hubster what killer views it had of Victoria Habour. I redeemed one of my free night certificates I have by being an IHG Rewards Club Select credit card holder. The hubster used points from his 80,000 point sign-up bonus that he got when I encouraged him to apply for the IHG Rewards Club Select credit card last year, when we originally booked our flights for this trip.

Conrad Hong Kong
2 nights
132,000 Hilton Honors Points

Conrad Hong Kong Peak View

While I enjoyed staying on the Kowloon side, I knew I wanted to explore more of Hong Kong Island itself, so we booked 2 nights at the Conrad Hong Kong for 132,000 Hilton Honors points. I’ve built up quite a stash by primarily staying in Hilton brands, like on our trip to London last year, utilizing the sign-up bonus with the American Express Hilton card (formerly Citi Hilton) and making sure I book stays when bonuses are going on. For instance, I got double the points for our 4 night stay in London because I booked during a time when that promotion was going on. That helped with booking on points for this stay. What’s awesome about having the card is you’re automatically given Hilton Gold status which gains you access to the Executive Lounges in Asia. Free bubbly, wine, beer and good eats with a view!

Flying to Hanoi, Vietnam

HKG-HAN
Cathay Dragon, Economy
9,000 British Airways Avios
$65.18 taxes

747 Fan-girl Heaven

You don’t think it’s all bubbly and business class all the time, do you? We’re totally fine booking cheap flights in economy and traveling light so we don’t need to pay for checked luggage. I utilized British Airways amazing award travel chart for 4,500 Avios for flights that are less than 650 miles (excluding flights to/from North America). Because Cathay is a partner of British Airways, it was super easy to book through BA online. Wham. Bam. Thank ya’ British ma’am.

Staying in Hanoi, Vietnam

Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi
3 nights
30,000 Hilton Honors Points

Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi
View from our balcony

It was hard to pass up using our stash of Hilton Honors points for only 10,000 points a night. Basically, our entire stay in Hanoi wouldn’t even cover half the cost of one night of our stay in the Conrad Hong Kong. We had hoped with my Hilton Gold status we would have been upgraded to the suites, but there weren’t any available and we did have a nice balcony view that others didn’t. The hotel manager did provide a nice tip though, he said when booking at a Hilton Garden Inn online, make a note of your room preference because status isn’t necessarily recognized automatically at Hilton Garden Inns (since the rooms are typically the same).

Flying to Da Nang, Vietnam

JetStar, Economy
$133.12

It was a super quick and super cheap flight into Da Nang from Hanoi. Remember, these costs are for two people. So the individual ticket price is less than $67. This is when it makes much more sense to use cash than points. Discount carriers are plentiful in Asia (and Europe) and this flight fit perfectly in our itinerary. Plus, we played the middle seat game and scored by having no one book the seat between us in the front row.

Staying in Da Nang, Vietnam

Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa
3 nights
24,000 Ultimate Rewards points transferred to World of Hyatt points
1 Free Night Award

Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa: Da Nang Resort Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa: Da Nang Resort

Oh how I wished we could have stayed one more night in this glorious resort! I transferred 24,000 points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt for 2 nights of our stay and utilized a free night award at the Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa.

A majority of points earned are by using our Chase Sapphire and Chase Freedom cards. The points earned with Chase are Ultimate Rewards points and can be transferred 1:1 to many travel partners. We pay for nearly everything with these cards, utilizing their bonus categories. See my tips below on how to maximize. Then, because I have the Chase Hyatt credit card, I get 1 free night each year, which I utilized for this stay. It may not have been the best redemption because it costs “so few” points to stay here as compared to other Hyatt resorts. For instance, our regular stays at the the Hyatt Zilara Resort are 25,000 points/night. But, we don’t anticipate traveling a ton this year while I build my business, so I say, USE AWAY!

Flying to Siem Reap, Cambodia

DAD-HAN-REP
Vietnam Airlines, Economy
45,000 Delta SkyMiles
$62.40 taxes

The hubster and I have been “saving” our SkyMiles for quite a long time and honestly, they are getting impossible to redeem for a good value, as many travel hackers will tell you. The last time we redeemed SkyMiles was on our flight to Seoul, South Korea in the upper deck of their now retired 747. *Let’s pour one for the Queen of the Skies* We could have dropped close to $400 each to fly into Siem Reap, but we thought it was a good opportunity to use those SkyMiles. Plus, with my Delta Gold Medallion status, I get free lounge access on international flights, so we I did enjoy some bubbly.

Staying in Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Amazing Residence
2 nights
$76.80

The Amazing Residence Siem Reap Cambodia The Amazing Residence Siem Reap Cambodia

Our main goal was to see and explore Angkor Wat again, so we just were looking for a nice, clean place to lay our heads. We saw The Amazing Residence had a pool and were sold. You really can’t beat the rate and it was in a central part of town. Plus, their employees were so gosh dang friendly. It certainly made our stay.

Flying to the United States

REP-BKK
Bangkok Airways, Economy
$197.20

Siem Reap International Plaza Premium Lounge

If you do nothing in life except get the Citi Prestige Mastercard, you’ll be one happy camper when flying out of Siem Reap. With Citi Prestige, you are automatically given a Priority Pass Select membership which gives you lounge access in many airports. We really enjoyed Siem Reap International Airport’s Plaza Premium Lounge—it was easily my Top 5 of lounges I’ve been in.

We flew on Bangkok Airways, which is known as the “boutique airline” of Thailand. It was perfectly nice, except the flight attendant at check-in eye-balled my luggage that I was carrying-on and asked me to put it in the dreaded carry-on bag size tester on display. I knew it would fit because my bag not only fits domestic standards, but international as well. Meaning, I lose 1 inch of space each time I fly, just for moments like this when they want to test my travel prowess. I took my slim toiletries bag out of my luggage (which I keep in the front), put it in my backpack and watched that puppy slide right into the display. Passed with flying colors.

“Take that,” an immature world traveler thought to herself.

BKK-ICN-JFK
Asiana, Business Class
160,000 Ultimate Rewards Points transferred to United
$94.32 taxes

Business Class Asiana Airlines

From there, we had an 8-hour layover in Bangkok and had we not been so darn exhausted from hauling our butts around 3 countries, we would have left the airport to explore Bangkok again. But, instead we ate mango sticky rice and waited for check-in to open before we busted it to the lounge for bubbly. Are you sensing a trend?

We transferred 160,000 Ultimate Rewards points that we earned using our Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom cards to United. United is a partner of Asiana and you can book directly on United.com if you find availability. The transfer usually happens immediately, so you can book right when they hit your account. I always recommend Asiana Business Class, it may not be as fancy-schmancy as some redemptions, but the hard product and customer service are always consistent and friendly.

Bottom Line

To give you an idea of how much a trip like this would cost, I’ve placed the approximate retail costs of each flight and hotel next to what we actually paid. Since I didn’t look at the actual prices the day I booked, the retail costs are a general average based on a basic search and other travel bloggers findings. Your mileage may vary, but it gives you a pretty dang good idea.

Travel for 2 Persons Approximate Retail Cost Paid
Cathay Pacific Business Class $8,500.00 $11.20
Intercontinental Hong Kong $600.00 $0.00
Conrad Hong Kong $950.00 $0.00
Cathay Dragon Economy $65.18 $65.18
Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi $200.00 $0.00
JetStar Economy $133.12 $133.12
Hyatt Regency Da Nang Vietnam $675.00 $0.00
Vietnam Airlines, Economy $62.40 $62.40
The Amazing Residence, Siem Reap $76.80 $76.80
Bangkok Airways, Economy $197.20 $197.20
Asiana Business Class $6,000.00 $94.32
Total $17,459.70 $640.22

Not bad, eh?

Award Travel Tips

  • Pay for everything with your miles-points earning credit card. Every-thing. Then pay off your balance at the end of the month. (Duh.)
  • Don’t immediately scoff at how many points we redeemed for this trip as something you could never possible spend in order to earn the points. You will be shocked at how quickly you earn points, especially with bonus categories.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you 2X points on all travel and dining. Chase Freedom gives you 5x the points for different categories each quarter. This quarter is grocery stores. Score!  
  • Having a lot of credit cards does not decrease your credit score.  Not paying them on time and carrying high balances does!
  • Sign up for hotel credit cards. Very often, they give you status and Free Reward Night Certificates for a nominal annual fee.
  • Have a trip or travel focus in mind. For the hubster and me, we like long-haul flights where we can lay down and sleep on our way to Asia. So we know the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is our sweet spot. But if you’re into family vacations to Disney, you may concentrate your spending on an airline credit card that allows you to redeem points to fly the fam for free.
  • You can see my favorite Miles and Points Programs here. I will be doing an updated post soon to show you what has or hasn’t changed for how we utilize award travel.

Please note: As many of you know, the hubster and I live 1400 miles apart temporarily. This total does not include our positioning flights because most (sane) couples live in the same state. I felt it would misrepresent the costs for a majority of people if it were included. But, in full disclosure and for your nosey information: We paid $331.90 in total for all of our positioning flights.

Traveling and seeing the world is possible. It simply depends on whether or not you make it a priority. Do you need to fly business class or stay at fancy hotels? Heck no! But when you can do it for free, we see the value in it. Our preferences and priorities have certainly changed over time and yours may be totally different. However you want to roll, just know that traveling tens of thousands of miles is away is something you can (and should) do.

What do you think? How did we do?

More Miles & Points Posts:

My Favorite Programs for Earning Miles and Points

The Basics of Earning Miles and Points

Hotels: How I Stayed in Fancy Hotels for 10 Nights for Under $400

Total Costs: Travel to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong

Airfare: How I Flew in Business Class to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong for Under $100

Sneak Peek: Two Weeks, One Carry-on and a Full Itinerary

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I’m back from the other side of the world!

Real talk: My mind and body are still 12 hours ahead. *cue the espresso*

It’s incredible what 2 straight weeks with your long-distance significant other can do for your heart and sanity. It was the most amount of time we’ve spent together in nearly 2 years. Let that sink in for a bit. And we only argued once while hiking Dragon’s Back Mountain in Hong Kong. After a 3 hour hike turned into 5. After my old foot injury started acting up. After it was balls hot. After we hadn’t eaten in 5 hours. And WE SURVIVED.

We did this trip a bit differently, not having each day planned out other than, “This sounds cool. Let’s do this.” But, man, it was pretty jam-packed from start to finish—and it was great!

Did I mention we paid less than $500 for hotels and flights and we flew business class there and back? Be patient, my little grasshoppers. I’ll show you in due time how we did it.

Here’s a small sneak peak of our itinerary to get your mouths watering before I blog about each city and country.

Flights

Business Class Asiana Airlines

On the way there, we flew Cathay Pacific from Chicago in business class on our 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. I had two 3-course meals, got to lay down to sleep and watched the Oscary-worthy, The Emjoji Movie. On our way home, we flew Asiana Airlines from Bangkok with a layover in Seoul, and then onto our 13 hour flight into New York. This time, I ate another two 3-course meals, laid down to sleep and watched real Oscar-worthy movies, The Darkest Hour and Dunkirk—which I highly recommend watching together in one night if you can.

Hong Kong

Intercontinental Hong Kong

We stayed 4 nights, splitting our stay between the Intercontinental Hong Kong and the Conrad Hong Kong. Both were spectacular. We explored Kowloon, ate enough Dim Sum to feed an army and, like I mentioned above, did a longer than expected hike of Dragon’s Back. Our last night we did a food tour with WithLocals and weaved our way in and out of local markets and restaurants. Oh yeah, this was after the hike too. I believe I had close to 30K steps that day. Feet, on fire!

Vietnam

Hanoi

Bahn Mi

We landed in Hanoi early in the morning after a quick flight from Hong Kong. We spent 3 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is only a 15 minute walk from the Old Quarter, where all the fun stuff happens. Hanoi is a game of frogger—don’t look, just cross the street and the scooters will adjust their path around you. It took me 2 days to accept that I wasn’t going to die. We did a historical tour with HanoiKids and a street food tour with Intrepid. Can we talk about my newfound love of Banh Mi and Vietnamese coffee? (Sorry Cuba, Vietnam stole my coffee-loving heart.) Don’t worry, I’ll be diving into this perfect sandwich and coffee in further blogs.

Da Nang

Hyatt Regency Resort Danang

After an hour-ish flight from Hanoi, we landed in Central Vietnam in a coastal city called Da Nang. It was the prefect respite for us from the wonderful chaos of Hanoi. We stayed for 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Resort Danang and honestly, we probably should have stayed another full night. It was glorious! Each day we’d take the shuttle into Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage city, to sample some local food (Cao Lau!) and get clothes made. YES! Hoi An is known for their tailoring. I bought 3 dresses and the hubster bought an entire new wardrobe. Keep your eyes peeled for an entire blog post dedicated to that experience.

Cambodia

Angkor Wat Siem Reap Cambodia

We booked our flight to Cambodia using whatever Delta SkyMiles we had left, which took us back through Hanoi and landed us in Siem Reap about an hour and a half later. It was great use of our miles and we barely lost any time to traveling. Cambodia will forever hold a special place in my heart because it was the first country we explored in Southeast Asia 4 years ago. We specifically came back to Siem Reap for 2 nights to further explore Angkor Wat, the largest religious complex in the world. We used the same thoughtful and generous tour guide, Tep Nat, who took us to quiet, off the beaten path temples that we would have never discovered on our own. If you want to feel like Indiana Jones, be sure to look for my next posts about exploring Angkor Wat.

Those 2 weeks were just what the doctor ordered. (Ha. Pun intended. Dr. Hubster.) I’m incredibly grateful to be able to travel the world and let little nooks of my heart and mind be forever changed by the cultures and people I meet.

What are you most excited to read about on Not Your Average Gal?

Canceling our Trip to Southeast Asia & How Things Will Get Better

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I’m not sure where to begin, so I’ll just dive into the vulnerability pool. It’s been a whirlwind 6 days of emotionally epic proportions. Life has a freakishly maddening way of reminding you that you aren’t in control of anything…even a trip you’ve been planning for 6 months.

angkorwat2013

It’s safe to say that medical school is tough; perhaps even the toughest educational path to partake in and complete. Do not take that word ‘tough’ lightly. Med students possess only a shred of the stamina and dedication I could ever muster up even in my happiest, “This is my passion!” kind of moments. (Side note: My “This is my passion!” moments usually involve sipping a Mai Tai on a beach.)

There are certain sacrifices you make as a med student spouse that go completely unnoticed by nearly everyone. Silent rearrangements of plans. A casual protector for why he isn’t there or hasn’t called back. Living with the constant unknown of where the next year or two or four will take you. Pulling out your best motivational speeches even when you’re looking for some yourself. Wearing your game face in an atmosphere of constant underlying stress. Juggling multiple life goals, career paths and dreams while still trying still to find time to change the damn toilet roll. Lonely nights. Lonely weeks. Lonely holidays. Master ninja glasses taker-offer when he’s fallen asleep.

Med school tests your willingness to make sacrifices nearly every day.

Our trip will just have to be one of them. It’s just as simple and as sad as that.

Stress has a tendency to sneak up on you and remind you it was always simmering slowly anyway. Even if this trip had been in the works for about 6 months, you never know just how you’ll feel prior to departure. Without going into details, the rigors of med school essentially reared it’s ugly head. I found out last weekend just how much.

Balance is key. Hell, I think I’m funny as all get-out, (I mean, c’mon, I named my boobs Ginger and Spice in high school for God’s sake) but sometimes there isn’t as much of a need for humor in a situation like this as there is for a good ol’ regular schedule. While I’m pretty good at taking care of myself so I can be the best version of me possible, the pressure of med school is unyielding; often making it tough to be able to take necessary, healthy, healing breaks. The appropriate decision was to cancel the trip to encourage this regularly while studying, in a routine that wouldn’t be possible while traveling.

The hubster’s health, happiness and sanity matter more to me than any trip. Sure he’s my best and favorite travel partner. But sometimes you have to take off your (adorable) travel partner hat and be the life partner he needs.

Like I’ve mentioned here, planning this trip has been my refuge from stress. (I’ve cried in my work bathroom more times than I care to admit, so I don’t do it at home.) Perhaps excitingly planning this trip was my sanity check and kept me at a safe distance from the stress of witnessing the hardship of med school? Perhaps that was the only purpose it needed to serve? And, quite frankly, it served it well.

I’m slowly going through the process of canceling flights, hotels and tours and returning things to stores that we now won’t need. (I didn’t want those matronly looking white capri pants anyway…) There are frustrating rebooking fees associated with redepositing airline miles and points, not to mention the non-refundable things already paid for. I’ve become an expert at asking for a portion of the fees to be taken off, Delta for instance, was awesome. We had 5 flights booked, 3 of which were on award tickets. We won’t be reimbursed for the 2 we paid in cash, but the redeposit fees for our award tickets were significantly lower after a nice Silver Medallion Delta rep took the reigns to see what she could do. I’m currently investigating travel cancellation insurance we have, but we’ll see what, if anything, is covered.

But guess what? It’s just money. That’s it. Just money.

It’s not all sunshine and unicorns farting rainbows. I didn’t have this perspective immediately. I’ve had my moments in this whole deal. I actually said this week when we were talking about med school, “You know this isn’t easy for me either?!” I stomped my feet just like you’re imagining, too.

In the throes of seeing my husband dealing with more than I can imagine and knowing our trip was going to need to be canceled, I started making a mental list of the pros and cons of this present situation. Call it a coping mechanism or relics from therapists of the past - it works.

Pros

  • I have a ton of unused PTO now
  • I’ve been putting off going to the dermatologist, now I can go sooner
  • Teen Mom 2 starts next week!
  • I can focus getting more blogs written ahead of time
  • We may be able to go on a shorter vacation
  • I could do a solo travel trip before the end of the year that both excites and scares the living shit out of me
  • I can practice and play with our new GoPro more
  • I have an ungodly amount of unused miles and points now
  • When we do end up going back to Southeast Asia (even years from now), I know exactly what to plan
  • I lost 3 pounds from stress this past weekend. (I’ll take it. It’s a judgement-free zone here, folks.)

Cons

  • Not spending quality time exploring with the hubster. To put it into perspective, I probably won’t be able to travel with him for longer than a weekend until at least July of 2016.
  • Not seeing the temples of Bagan, Myanmar. I had dreams about quietly exploring that part of the world that hasn’t been totally ruined by tourism yet. By the time we go, it just may be.
  • No lie-flat first class experience for us
  • No delicious curries
  • Being unable to shoot the videos I had pictured in my head. I even had a song chosen for the montage.
  • Being immersed in totally different cultures and reveling in it.
  • I still have to unpack because, of course, I already packed.

Traveling is an integral part of who I am; it feeds my soul. I will get a chance to feed that, it will just be at a later date and not the trip I had been planning. It may be a solo trip. It may be a long weekend with the hubster. It may be another girls trip to Europe. It may be 3-4 days on an island nearby named Cuba. Who knows? It just won’t be happening right at this very instance.

Life sometimes just won’t allow for it to be planned out 6 months ahead of time and that’s okay. Things will get better. This will eventually be a blip in the radar of life. Years from now, I’m sure we’ll look back at the end of the 3rd year of medical school and admire how we got through it. Smile at how close it brought us. Laugh at how trivial wanting a damn good dish of curry could be.

notevenourtroubles

Now for a special shout-out to you guys, my readers. I know your life doesn’t revolve around our now canceled trip, but I know you would have enjoyed the posts and for that I’m sorry. I promise to continue to update my arsenal of posts from past travels and life anecdotes that I haven’t told you about yet.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a Mai Tai and a beach.

Preparation and Excitement

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They say preparing and anticipating for a trip is as exciting as the trip itself. I’m pretty sure TripAdvisor has some legitimate concerns about how often I’ve been logged in. Is there a TripAdvisor Intervention team?

“Dear Caroline, Your addiction to TripAdvisor has affected my life negatively in the following ways…”

These last few months have been incredibly stressful in our household; the culmination being this month with important exams occurring. I’m not sure how to describe medical school to everyone else other than saying it’s a slow form of torture. It’s tough to watch and very often, tough to be a part of.

Perhaps planning has been my outlet? The med school hubster doesn’t have time to help, so it’s been my responsibility and a way to “check out” from the stress. Either way, I think it’s safe to say we are both very happy to see this trip happen at the beginning of July.

Preparation:

– All of our visas for Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia have been approved online and are ready to be stamped once we arrive (pending an in-person approval)
– Extra passport photos printed:

IMG_8303
– Obnoxious To-Do list made

IMG_8312
– Make sure all of my travel docs are printed
-Buy all the last-minute travel size items (P.S.- Have I ever told you my love for travel-size items?!)
– Learn how to use my new GoPro!
– Plan out posts here while I’m gone

 

Excitement:

I very often walk a fine line of having just the right amount planned and not leaving enough time to explore or, you know, relax like normal humans.

I held myself back a couple times while preparing for this trip to not make reservations for every food or walking tour in site. I fully believe they are beneficial to immersing yourself and learning more about cultures. But, while I may struggle with it, I want to be a bit more spontaneous. Some of my favorite memories from Thailand or Cambodia were when we had nothing planned and just explored.

FOMO be dammed, I’m trying to be okay knowing we may not hit every single thing Trip Advisor…advises.

That said, there are some things that needed to be reserved prior to arrival and few things I’m just really looking forward to:

The Flights

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To Hanoi, Vietnam:
We’ll be flying in the Prestige Class of Korean Airlines in their lie-flat beds and they. have. a. bar.

To the U.S.:
We’ll be flying home in First Class on Delta’s upper deck. I’ve always wanted to fly in the upper deck of a 747 and since most are going out of commission, I’m happy I’ll be able to. Plus, lie-flat beds!

 

Vietnam

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HanoiKids
This student-run organization provides tours around Hanoi and adjusts the half-day or full-day tour depending on what you want to see. The tours are free and used as a way for students to practice their English. How cool, right? I can’t wait for them to tell us the best place to get egg coffee.

Courtesy of Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ha_Long_Bay.jpg
Courtesy of Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ha_Long_Bay.jpg

 

Halong Bay
Not only am I so excited to check this beautiful place off my travel list, but we decided to splurge and reserve a suite on a eco-friendly junk boat overnight. (That’s the local term for the boats.) I’m excited to explore the bay, kayak and take beautiful pictures. Everything I’ve read says you get what you pay for, so I’m hoping that’s true.

 

Myanmar

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Bagan Temples
I just want to hop on an eBike, strap my GoPro on and explore, explore, explore. I’m hoping I don’t have my expectations set too high because this is really what I’m thinking the highlight may be.

 

Cambodia

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New Hope Cambodia
This NGO provides education, training, housing and health programs for impoverished youth and families. Many of the families cannot afford public school fees, clothes or food and are at-risk for human traffickers. I read about the training restaurant that has lunch and dinner for patrons cooked by students in training. I emailed to inquire more and it looks like we’ll be doing a tour, eating lunch as well as talking to the medical team. Med school hubster is very happy.  (Psst. I am too.) Read more here.

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Tour with Nat
The last time we visited Cambodia, we did a tour of Angkor Wat with a tour guide named Nat. We had such a crazy-fun time that I emailed him recently to see if he’d take us around again, and it looks like he’s available!

 

South Korea

I have zero planned here. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But we only have about 48 hours and to be honest, I just want a video of me dancing to Gangnam Style to send to my dad while we’re staying at the Intercontinental COEX in Gangnam. It’s a favorite song of his. This is a judgement-free zone.

 

So I’d say that aside from some last-minute purchases and fitting everything into a carry-on (imagine me doing the sign of the cross right now and I’m not even Catholic), we’re well on our way to taking off in 3-ish weeks. What do you think of our plans?

 

I Left my Heart in Cambodia

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From the moment we landed, I thought it was a mistake choosing Cambodia and Thailand for our honeymoon.

It was a 14 hour plane ride to Tokyo. Then 7 hours to Bangkok. A quick evening layover at the airport hotel and the next morning a 1.5 hour plane ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Siem Reap Cambodia Airport

After a haphazard visa experience in the airport where you shove 25 US dollars in the general direction of border patrol agents and they yell out your last name to collect your newly-minted passport with a Cambodian visa, I walked outside to see a gentleman holding a sign for PETERSON. He had the largest grin I had ever seen and gestured proudly to his tuk tuk while offering us water from a small knock-off Igloo cooler.

Siem Reap Cambodia tuk tuk Siem Reap Cambodia tuk tuk

I sat in the first of many bumpy, dusty, tuk-tuk rides on the way to our guesthouse. It had a kind sign letting us know that our driver didn’t speak much English and it was in that collective, jet-lagged, exhausted, heart-pounding, eye-opening moment that I wondered if we should have chosen Europe for our honeymoon.

I was in complete and utter culture shock.

It took a day or two to adjust to the new sights and smells. Oh the smells. I never, ever thought I’d get used to the smells. It didn’t take long, but I did. The distinct smells of pure delicious street food could be taken over by a quick waft of sewage. By the second day, I didn’t even flinch.

Siem Reap Cambodia

Siem Reap Cambodia

It’s funny there’s a route I take while running here in Florida that goes over a small bridge that has a sewer drain and every once and a while on a hot, humid day (every day) you can get a whiff of something not so spectacular. Ironically, I immediately think, “Awww, Cambodia.” And I write that sincerely without condescension.

They say smell is your strongest sense for evoking memories and I have some amazing memories from Cambodia.

Cambodia has forever changed me in such a wonderful way.

It slapped me in the face for my preconceived notions of a third world country and enthusiastically questioned my version of a good life.

There are undoubtedly issues pertaining to living conditions and education that shouldn’t be glazed over when speaking of Cambodia.

Joseph Mussomeli, former US Ambassador to Cambodia, once said, “Be careful because Cambodia is the most dangerous country you will ever visit. You will fall in love with it and eventually it will break your heart.”

The truth is, I was left with so much more in my heart given to me by the people we met.

Golden Butterfly Villa
The Golden Butterfly Villa sent us this picture after our stay.

Such as, Nary, an employee at a guesthouse where we were staying, who pointed out the Detroit Tigers hat the hubster was wearing and asked him if he was American while winking at him.

Siem Reap Cambodia

Or Nat. Oh, Nat, our tour guide that took us around Angkor Wat, who spoke with such an enthusiasm for his people and culture one minute and the next, openly spoke of the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia in the late 70’s. He told us so many times he was happy we were here and we needed to tell all of our friends back at home about Cambodia.

So I am.

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I can’t wait to share more with you about our experiences.

Have you ever had a city or country forever change your perspective?