Welcome

Loi Krathong in Bangkok, Thailand 2014
It's a bit silly that I'm writing this section when I'm less than two months from the first leg of my travels wrapping up. Apparently it takes me six months to get a functional blog up and running successfully.
Nommin' that watermelon, Myanmar
I've wanted to do some sort of long travel trip since I was a teenager, but because of things like time, education, or money I was always otherwise occupied. When I took my job after I graduated from university, I knew it wasn't my dream job, but it was a chance to move to a new town, meet new people, save money and see if the real world is all its cracked up to be.
Homestay in Sapa, Vietnam with May.
I love the friends I made in Arizona and the awesome adventures that we were having, but when I finally met my savings goals I was also pretty freaking excited to finally be following through on such a big dream. I bought a one way ticket to Bangkok in October 2014 and returned to the USA in May for a summer of fun with family and friends. I made it through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal in that time. Then, I left for South America mid-November with a one way ticket to Santiago, Chile. I plan to work my way north through the continent in the next few months.
There's bound to be some selfies in here too. San Pedro de Atacama Desert, Chile
In this blog I can promise a few things:
  • Really bad puns (because I love them)
  • Photos of fluffy animals, farm animals and scenery
  • Stories of my adventures
  • An occasional personal reflection or history/science lesson
My time abroad so far has taught me so much about myself and people around me. The strength and goodness of people around the continent has continued to surprise me. From both travelers and locals. I've continued to surprise myself from my ability to go days without a proper shower to my ability to keep my blog going to my endless love of people watching!
Summit of Gokyo Ri with new Chinese friends, Nepal April 2014
If you have specific questions about something I gloss over like logistics or costs, don't be shy. I'd love to hear what anyone and everyone thinks of my stories!

Enjoy,
-Laurel

Volunteering at an English school near Siem Reap, Cambodia