Best Clothes For Backpacking?

What in the world do you pack if you're going on a backpacking adventure? Of course you have to think about toiletries, electronics, books, journals, money, identification, etc. But I'm here to talk about the basics - CLOTHING! So your mind starts analyzing...Is it going to be hot, cold, rainy, windy!? And how am I going to pack EVERYTHING in a backpack! How many pairs of shoes should I bring? Do I need a jacket, sweater, scarf, gloves?! AHHHH!

I actually have backpacking tips here based on my backpacking trip in Europe, and will be adding more tips soon from my backpacking experience in Asia. However, before you even start to think about travel tips, train, plane and bus tips, if you are just thinking of going backpacking and are curious to what type of clothes to bring, I have a great idea for you...lululemon!

Let me give you a little background. When I first knew I was going backpacking my first thought was OMG I HAVE TO GO TO REI!!! That place does rock and has all kinds of cool stuff! From canteens, to tents, to shoes, to water sterilizers, and batteries, they have a lot! And honestly I thought that was the best and ONLY place I should get things for "backpacking." I spent a lot of money at REI. I got lightweight/water resistant pants, shorts and a couple comfortable tops. I assumed REI was the best and only place to get stuff like this. Each item was between $50 and $100, and I paid it willingly because REI is the best travel store ever, right!

WELL, since I've returned from my travels I've started working at lululemon. You know, they sell yoga pants, right?! Well let me tell you that they have MANY other cool types of clothing, too. Most, if not all of their clothing is sweat wicking and breathable. That means when you are hot, and sweating, their clothes help you breathe and wick the sweat off of your body and clothes.  Hello Southeast Asia backpackers!!!!

They also have this "anti stink" technology in a line of their "swiftly" shirts that kill the bacteria on your skin that causes you to smell when you sweat! This particular line is AMAZING for traveling! It's very lightweight, and you can wear them multiple times before you should throw it in a wash. But because this line is lightweight, breathable and has four way stretch, these are great for travel and ease of care. You could easily dunk this in water or in a quick wash and it would dry overnight, if not before!

Since working here I no longer consider this a store just for yoga clothes. They have expanded their line to include menswear, and "and go" pieces that you can wear to and from the gym, AND out casually! If you know anyone who wears this brand, you know they wear their lululemon ALL THE TIME, not just to workout in.

  

   

If you've decided to go on a backpacking trip and are looking for an alternative place to buy some gear you should definitely check out lululemon!  A lot of their tanks, tops, jackets and pants are lightweight, great for layering and can easily fold up into a backpack!  The function of their clothes is perfect for a backpacker: thumb holes to keep you warm, removable hoods, hidden pockets, just to name a few!  You want your clothes to last, not smell and be durable, functional, and lightweight - lululemon has all that!  Check them out!

    

Tuesday Travel Tips

This is my first official "Tuesday Travel Tips" post! I thought it'd be nice to share some things I've learned first hand over my travels in Europe and Asia. I do have my Backpacking Tips page as well, so be sure to check that out, too!

My first tip, DO NOT BUY SOUVENIRS FROM CHILDREN!

I saw this child when I was visiting Sapa, Vietnam. It is very common in high tourist areas in South East Asia to use children as sympathy tokens to get money from tourists. This was a cool rainy night and as you see this child is tired, he is halfway asleep, hunched over sitting in a styrofoam box holding an umbrella sitting in front of his souvenirs. The moms are actually close by just watching, waiting to swoop in when tourists approach the child. This child should be sleeping comfortably, at home preparing himself for school the next day. The sad part is, he probably won't even go to school the next day, he'll be back in the street doing the same thing tomorrow. The only way to stop this is to stop buying souvenirs from children.

The Day Before Your Life Changes Feels Like Every Other Day

A couple months ago when I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand I met an American girl at our posh hostel. The day I arrived I went to check out the pool and I saw a "white girl" across on the deck. As soon as I heard her talking I knew she was from America! We said hello and shared where we were from. Turns out we both had connections back in my hometown! She was actually about to move there! We hung out a little the week I was there, hanging by the pool and at this awesome jazz bar down the street (like a 20 minute walk down the street). She was glowing from her recent yoga certification in Bali, and could not stop raving about it.

It was a fun week. We were actually staying in the same room, and with us both being named "Elizabeth" it made for some funny moments. She actually went by EB, thankfully, or "the first Elizabeth" because she was in the room before me. LOL. Soon enough we parted ways and kept in touch via FB, targeting to meet up in the coming months back home, too.

About a month ago EB was in a bad diving accident and she is paralyzed from the chest down. Even with insurance the cost of continuing care, rehab, and home modifications are expensive. I just wanted to share in case anyone wanted to help.  Click here to read about and donate to her cause.

https://m.helphopelive.org/campaign/5473?3.8.753


It's crazy that life can change in the blink of an eye. Love. Listen. Laugh. Clap. Travel. Love more. Love harder. Never let your passions die, let them take over your soul and body. LIVE OUT LOUD!

And SMILE, it's contagious.

Adjusting Back Home?

It's been almost a month that I've been home from my travel adventures in Asia. I was only gone two and a half months, but I'm amazed by how much my perspective has shifted, and continues to shift....

At first thought, two and a half months doesn't sound like a lot of time. Especially if you're staying in the same city doing what you do, day in and day out. But, two and a half months of traveling, leaving everything you knew and loved back home, being in multiple foreign countries, being stretched emotionally, physically, and spiritually, is A LOT to take on. From airlines to buses to trains to new curry dishes to new horizons, my world has exploded in color and new perspectives. I can feel the weight of this new vision on my shoulders ready to be digested. I'm processing it slowly, every moment of every day. I've had a few reflections where I find myself challenging some things I thought I knew and wanted. I'm finding some old things I dreamt of unattractive an undesirable and new things coming to the forefront of my interests that weren't there before. I've completely changed the direction of my life from just a few months ago, and I could not be more excited for what this unknown will turn into!

I thought I would be gone two years or more, not two months! It's crazy how life shifts you. But I feel I am right where I need to be. I came home early for a reason. There's a reason why I changed careers. And it's all starting to make more sense. I'm listening to myself and pushing my boundaries. I'm testing my limits, and I'm growing, further, deeper. You have to create space for change and growth, and we all have space for it, only some of us choose to see it and push our limits to receive it.

I'm excited to see how I feel as each week passes. Slowly letting my travel adventures unfold me into my new days. What's even more exciting is I feel even more excitement is on the horizon. Shaking your life up is actually fun. I feel more creative, more ballsy, more FREE. And that is just what I wanted!

HollerAtAPlayerWhenYouSeeMeInTheStreetz

✌️

Choosing to Stop Traveling (For Now)

This year I made a BIG decision. I decided to give up my successful 10 year career in banking to go travel the world. I was lucky, I found two other girls willing to do the same, willing to give up everything to go on this journey together. This type opportunity was once in a lifetime, and was one I could NOT refuse.

So off we go. Thailand for a month. Vietnam for three weeks. Cambodia for a few days. Bali for a month. My life is just SO awesome, right?! I just have it so good, right? I am just SOOOO lucky!!

Don't be so quick to judge. It's quite easy to assume other's situations are amazing, great, terrible, etc. But looking from the outside in, it's merely your illusion of how you assume their life is based on your reality. Just because someone is traveling the world doesn't mean they're the happiest person in the world and have it the best, and just because someone is poor and has dirty clothes doesn't mean they're unhappy or have it the worst, either.  I think studies have been done that have proven those with less are actually, happier.

Don't get me wrong, I am very blessed, and am very lucky to have traveled to all the places I have traveled to. But as of now, I think I'm over it. For the longest time I think I was searching. For what I didn't know exactly, but I just knew going to these exotic places would help round out, or fill in rather, all the gaps I was feeling inside, right?  That these places had the answer!  Little did I know these places helped ME find the answer.

The answer is not anywhere "out there."  I had to learn that I had the power, for everything.  For success, happiness, for love, strength, courage, all of this lies within me, within you, too.  Sometimes you have to get to a point of total confusion and delusion to realize that YOU are the only one who has the power to change your life.  

If you are unhappy about something, change it, or change your perspective on it. If something or someone stresses you out, stop doing it or stop hanging around them. If you hate your job, stop complaining about it and get anther one, or change your perspective on it.

Changing your perspective, challenging yourself, and stepping outside your box breaks down barriers allowing new energies to form and grow.  And that's what changes your life!  

We all have this capability within us, and the answer is not far, not in a far away land or in a new designer purse or new pair of boots.  The answer is not even a foot away, the answer is YOU.

Will I ever travel again?  Damn right!  But my intention will be different.  Sharing life with my family and friends is what I've learned brings value and happiness to me in my life.  And traveling with them will only be the icing on the cake!  :)

Thailand Waterfalls - Erawan National Park

This week I had the amazing opportunity to visit Erawan National Park in Thailand.  This park is located in western Thailand about 3 hours from Bangkok.  It's known for it's 7 tiers of waterfalls!

We were staying in Kanchanaburi (awesome party town close to the waterfalls) over the weekend so we took a day trip to check it out!  Buses run from Kanchanaburi to the falls about every hour.  

The above picture was one of the first waterfalls I encountered, and that one did not even count as #1!  The park was so vast and so serene, even with the plentiful amount of tourists the place was still breathtaking.

The park is also known for it's "pedicure" type fish.  You can sit on the edge with your feet in the water and the fish will come up and suck on your feet, toes and ankles!  Their suction is quite strong it feels like a pinch at first!

Look how clear the water is!  Amazing!

We asked a tour guide if we needed sneakers to get to the falls, and she said no that flip flops were fine.  HOWEVER - I will say now I do recommend tennis shoes.  These falls are not at the end of a driveway.  I would say it was about 2 miles from our car to peak #7 - each way.  And not a straight road either - I'm talking trekking!!!  

This was the half mile walk to the start of the trek.  

Do you see the lizard/iguana in the above picture?!  Those are the dense type woods that surround you, or jungle may I say.  

This is my friend Cassie on our hike up some stairs.

Falls #5 was my favorite.  The plentiful smooth covered rocks surrounded by dense green trees and dainty butterflies soothed my soul like no medicine could.

Being on a group tour really limited our time to enjoy more of the falls.  Our it could have been our determination to reach #7 while not realizing I could have been relaxing at my favorite fall #5 the whole time.  Oh well.  I sure hope I can come back and visit soon.  You should definitely add this to your list of places to see!  I really enjoyed it!

Ohhhh Airports...

How many people do you know just ABSOLUTELY LOVE FLYING?!?!?!? Besides a 6 year old? I mean seriously. The only reason I do it is because it's the only way I can get across the world to see other countries. Even if Christoper Columbus was around I would most likely still choose flying. Anyway, now I'm sitting at London Heathrow waiting on my connection to Bangkok. My first flight was 3 hours delayed forcing me to miss my connection on Singapore Airlines, putting me on British Airways to London, then to Bangkok. Man I'm mad I missed my first experience on Singapore Air. I've heard amazing things about that airline. Anyway, man were my emotions ranging. As if they weren't already with the magnitude of what I'm doing, leaving my friends and family for months so I can frolic around third world countries - but the uncertainty of not knowing if or when I would finally be on this journey was driving me crazy! But I talked myself down, I mean, I'm basically vacationing permanently so I just need to relax - I'll get there eventually!  It's not like I have to be back anytime soon - well October.

Anyway, airports have such an eerily similarity to the DMV, don't they? The employees know you are trapped with no where to go. You are forced to pay for the overpriced fake cheeseburger, and wait on the delayed planes. It really feels like you are in prison, being punished, until you feel the G forces of your plane taking off from this hell hole.

There are never enough plugs in the terminal either.  I'm sitting patiently waiting like a hawk to jump on the first available outlet - just as I'm sure everyone else is.  

Since my connection time is so far away they don't even have my gate number on the boards yet.  So I'm just hanging out like I know where I'm going in this airport but honestly I have no clue!  I have time, so in an hour or so I'll re check the boards.

Anyway, I am venting here.  I am bored with maybe 20 minutes of my free wi-fi left.  My back is scraped red from putting my large backpack off and on through all the gates, planes, checkpoints, bathroom breaks, etc.  Maybe I'll go have a drink.  Actually that sounds like a great idea.

I Will Miss Them!!

In three days I will be flying out to Southeast Asia for four months. This was my last weekend in town so I decided to spend some quality time with friends and family.  

My friends are so awesome and I will miss them dearly. Special thanks and shout out to my BFF of 15 years for throwing me an awesome party and cookout! I had a blast!!!!

Getting out on and in the water was also a must. Water makes me happy.

There are so many things that I am going to miss. My goddaughter saying more amazing words and sentences. My nephew will soon start talking more as well. There are also so many friends that live out of town that I didn't get a chance to see.  I really hope my moms dog doesn't pass while I am gone. But rather than focusing on the negative I like to focus on the positive....

It's pretty amazing what you can accomplish on your own, if you can take just one step outside the box, or one leap of faith, you'd be surprised what you find yourself getting into. :) This journey is just another chapter in my amazing book. I'm so thankful for all of my friends and loved ones who have been able to touch others' hearts. It is through kindness, friendship and giving that truly radiates positive waves, slowly changing this planet into a happier place. 

Backpacking in three days OMG!!!!!!  :)

Sensory Overload

Over the past couple of months that I've been preparing for my backpacking adventure, I've noticed all my senses have been heightened. The same walk to work over the past four+ years has suddenly become more alarming, sensory wise. 

I'm noticing every sound, site and smell around me. All of the sudden the same sounds I was use became overbearing. It's actually been a beautiful experience, but also very jolting. I've almost found myself ducking and dodging all the chaos around me. Cars whizzing past slamming on their horns, loud truck and bus exhaust, police sirens....were suddenly more abrasive. 

It's amazing that I've become so in tune with myself and things around me.  Really, how beautiful is that?!  How could I have all of the sudden noticed so many different things on the same path I've taken for almost five years?  I am opening up.  I have cracked my soul open to the universe.  I have requested it's guidance and assistance to help me on this journey - and I think it's doing its job. I am receiving new feelings to help place me in the direction I need to be going.

Fast forward to today - I'm in NYC for work.  Talk about sensory overload. 

As if what I was experiencing in my day to day walks at home wasn't alarming enough, I can barely keep my head on straight here.  SO many people walking in EVERY direction bumping into you, smells, sights, sounds, construction.... UGH.  I've been to NYC before - but as my senses are much more sensitive these days - I'm really able to conclude how ready I am for this next chapter of my life.  It really solidifies my thoughts and feelings on the direction I want to go, and the surroundings my soul is craving - which is more like the below.  I took this picture when I was in Thailand in 2011.  :) 

 

It's amazing the new things you can discover when you think you aren't making progress.  Really, we are slowly evolving in the direction we need to be going.  Sometimes these realizations take time, and can abruptly be realized, but they've really been in progress for quite some time. 

Listen to yourself, to that little voice inside you.  Maybe you've been at the same job for 10 years - do you feel the same as you did when you started?  We are all evolving and it is part of our own responsibility to listen to our hearts - and take charge of our lives. 

I will not suffer anymore.  I will follow my heart, that little birdy singing inside me.  It's sure as hell risky but I will no longer sit at my desk and wonder "what will I eventually do with my life?"  I am now taking charge, risk and all, and regardless of the outcome I know it will be worth it!

Are you happy?  Don't let money or bills take over your power.  You can downsize your home, reduce your expenses.  It can be done based off where YOU place the importance.  ;)

Namaste.
 

Saying BYE to my kitty JJ : (

Sometimes there are just no words, or more so too many words..

 

 

This weekend I will be taking my baby, my cat JJ of 10 years to his new home. Since I've decided to go backpacking I needed to find a good place for him to go. Luckily my brother's amazing girlfriend's parents said they would keep him. I am so thrilled that I know he is going to loving happy people that will appreciate JJ for everything that he is.

 

 

I've actually had to leave JJ before, only once. After college I moved to Atlanta and one of my best friends let me stay with her for the first month so I could get on my feet. She already had a cat so I didn't want to bring JJ and we all be on top of each other. So I left him at my moms. When I came back to my moms 4 to 6 weeks later, I was so excited and envisioning the moment and I could embrace JJ once again. I remember going up the stairs, calling his name and waiting for his head to pop around a corner. When I finally saw him and picked him up, he actually looked right past me! I was so sad! I just thought he would stare at me in my eyes and meow or smile or something! LOL. Geez a need a boyfriend fast! 

 

Anyway, I felt so extremely guilty for leaving him for those weeks. But luckily my mom had another cat and a dog so I'm sure he was entertained! This time around however I'll be gone for a lot longer. And I don't think there are any other animals where he is going. But the good thing is, I know what happy and loving people these folks are, and I know he's going to a safe place.

 

As if I don't have enough pictures under my MEOW tab above, I'm going to add more here. This man has been in my life for 10 years and seen some VERY interesting things, and has been there to support me through all of that, even a bite or two every now and then. They say a pet might only be here for a part of your life, but to them, you are their whole life.