After my jungle adventure in Bukit Lawang, I headed to Berastagi next, a town in the highlands further south in Sumatra. Berastagi is known as a stop-over town on the way to Lake Toba (a more popular site in Sumatra). It’s often skipped over by tourists, but since I had the time, I figured I … More Indonesia days 7-9: Berastagi highlands + sunrise hike at Sibayak Volcano
I’m back from my 2-day trekking adventure in the jungle! This is a popular activity as tourists come from all over to see orangutans in the wild. Sumatra is one of the only places in the world where organutans live (the other is in Borneo, also in Indonesia). A Sumatra jungle trek has been on … More Indonesia days 4-6: overnight camping & spotting wild orangutans in Sumatra’s jungle
And so begins the second chapter of my gap year travels. My first few days were filled with looong travel days and reaching a jungle village on Sumatra Island. I decided to spend my entire month in Sumatra because of its reputation for being an adventure-lover’s paradise and being more off-the-beaten-path. So far, I’ve been … More Indonesia days 1-3: beginnings in jungle village Bukit Lawang, Sumatra
Having spent 4 months in Asia this year, the number one question I get about my travels is: “How do you plan such a long trip?” For those curious, I thought it would be interesting to share how I do this. To sum up my method: I do plenty of research before the trip, but … More How I plan my backpacking trips
This past weekend, we did something new…RV camping! We rented an RV and headed down to a nice campsite in the coastal town of Carmel (2.5 hours south of SF), where we spent 2 nights. I had never gone RV camping before and was excited to try it out. The main purpose of this trip … More RV camping weekend in Carmel, CA
After a fun-packed start to our Colorado trip last weekend, Joe and I stayed in Crested Butte for one more week. This past week was more low-key as Joe was “working from the mountain” on weekdays, while I hiked on my own and relaxed during the day. After work, we fully took advantage of our … More Hiking and summer mountain vibes in Crested Butte, Colorado
Hello hello! I’m blogging from Crested Butte, Colorado, where Joe and I are visiting for a week. Our first weekend here was packed with fun as it was centered around a wedding as well as spending time with Joe’s family. Get ready for a lot of photos. 🙂 Friday: travel to Crested Butte + pre-wedding … More Outdoorsy weekend in Crested Butte, Colorado + mountaintop wedding
We are back from a long weekend in Maui, Hawaii! This trip was centered around the wedding of our friends, Matt & Matilda. I met Matilda (aka Princess from past posts) 5 years ago through Anna shortly after moving to San Francisco, and since then we’ve grown to be good friends. It’s been so sweet … More Wedding weekend in Maui, featuring goat yoga, surfing, and Filipino parties
Final India post! I can’t believe my 6 weeks in India are over. I have a recap of my final days in Manali as well as my usual post-country reflection below. 🙂 One activity I wanted to do before leaving Manali was to visit Jogini Waterfall, a popular attraction for visitors. A small group from … More India days 34-39: final days in Manali + Jogini waterfall + Hadimba Goddess festival + trip reflection
After a few weeks of volunteering at a hostel in Manali, I wanted to share what a “day in the life” looks like here. As I shared previously, I found this volunteer opportunity by meeting people in Manali, so this whole gig started off very informally. However in these last weeks, I was able to … More A day in the life volunteering at a hostel in Manali, India
I Run Like A Girl 