Backpacking – Traveling Love Bug

Orangutan Trekking: Bukit Lawang, Indonesia

March 6, 2017March 7, 2017TravelingLoveBug

Besides being a nature lover’s paradise, Bukit Lawang is the most magical little town buried deep into the Sumatran jungle. Getting to Bukit Lawang is not easy, especially if you are prone to motion sickness (LIKE ME), but it is incredibly worth it you want to see orangutans in their natural habitat. You can only see orangutans in SEAsia in 2 different places: Borneo & Sumatra. After much research, we decided on Sumatra, the less popular choice, and for that we were rewarded with a more authentic experience.

TOP 30 ASIA TRAVEL BLOG AWARD

February 9, 2017February 9, 2017TravelingLoveBug

THE TRAVELING LOVE BUG HAS BEEN AWARDED NUMBER 26 on “TOP 30 ASIA TRAVEL BLOGS” by FEEDSPOT, a content reader that allows you to view all of your favorite websites at once, while saving time. This list was curated by using search and social metrics. All bloggers included on this list were ranked based off of: Read more →

Southeast Asia Travel Route; AKA the Great Hotel Round Up

January 29, 2017January 29, 2017TravelingLoveBug

3 months, 23 cities, and 29 hotels. What a whirlwind. A crazy, beautiful whirlwind. As I sit here taking it all in and enjoying the Florida sunshine with my pup back on my lap, I can’t help but get lost in my memories. Sean and I have gotten many questions specifically around our travel route and where we stayed in Southeast Asia. The biggest question we’ve gotten is: “Is it really that cheap?” and the answer is a lot of YES and a bit of NO. It depends on what you want to do, how safe you want to feel while doing it, and where you want to stay. I will dive into each country individually in future posts, but I figured I would start my virtual diary (in essence) explaining our travel route in hopes that it will inspire you to get out there, and step outside of your comfort zone! Although I had a preconceived notion of our timeline and cities we wanted to visit, we generally flew by the seat of our pants. The only accommodations we pre-booked were the flights into Singapore and our hotel upon arrival. This was the BEST decision we could have made, as our “plan” uncontrollably and drastically changed 5 days into our trip.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR2594. — Gili Air, Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016TravelingLoveBug

Hi Love Bugs! Wow, it feels good to be writing again. It has been way too long, and I am a few posts behind where I’d like to be. To be honest with you, my body has had an extremely tough time adjusting to Southeast Asia. Since leaving Singapore on the 8th, I have been very sick, sprained my toe, and been focusing on my health. I finally feel well enough to update you on our travels! I know you are all wondering what the heck happened to me, so for the sake of time and bearing you the gritty details, the enviornment here has taken me a long time to get use too. The cities in Malaysia are very hazy and polluted. I only expect this to get worse or stay stagnant as we make our way through Southeast Asia. I’ve noticed through traveling people are always sick (coughing & sneezing all over the place, close to food, and/or on public transit), so my immune system could not keep up, and my sinuses went horribly out of whack! As for the toe, the streets are very uneven here, and often have metal slabs sticking out of the cement. If I have learned one lesson, it is to constantly watch for your next step! I kid you not, yesterday [while in Kuah, Langkawi] Sean and I were walking home from dinner, and he almost stepped in a 1- foot hole, and 150 yards later, we saw a random 3-foot hole just chilling by the sidewalk ready to break someone’s leg. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way by stubbing my toe very hard into a metal casing sticking out of the sidewalk, and I went flying. Needless to say, I AM A-OKAY!

The famously beautiful Petronas Towers, aka Kuala Lumpur’s Twin Towers

Singapore, and my First Impressions.

September 5, 2016February 9, 2017TravelingLoveBug

Well we made it! We have officially spent our first few days in Southeast Asia frolicking amongst the locals of Singapore, or at least trying too! In order to obtain the honesty of this blog, I must report that we have fallen into TWO tourist traps in our first few days here!! LOL we came out unscathed, nonetheless! LOL just a few dollars shorter than we would have liked to spend on food/drinks!

Many times throughout these short 72 hours, I have stopped in my tracks and thought, “Am I really here? Am I actually this far from the people I love most (besides my sweet hubby standing next to me of course)? Well yes, YES I am, and GOD IT FEELS GOOD!! IT IS SURREAL. Let me rephrase, it does not feel good that I am far away from my family and friends ( I LOVE YOU GUYS VERY MUCH AND AM CONSTANTLY THINKING OF YOU), BUT MORE SO that I am dropped in the middle of the world 100s of 1000s of miles away doing what I love most, EXPLORING, diving into culture, tasting new food, reading about the history of a place I know NOTHING about. It feels really good sitting here writing this post and looking out my hotel window at the skyline of Singapore. This is what I love, this is what makes me happy, this is what I am meant to be doing.

South East Asia is CALLING…See you in 2 days! :)

September 1, 2016September 1, 2016TravelingLoveBug

The time has FINALLY come, and we could’t be more excited!! Sean and I have decided to, once again, pack up our stuff, put it in storage, and FOLLOW OUR DREAMS. This time our dreams are taking us across the Pacific to beautiful South East Asia!!! We will be traveling for four months, and upon our arrival back to the states, we will be relocating back to our hometown of Sunny South Florida!!!

We are so excited for a number of reasons:

1) We are following our hearts!!

2) We are exploring the world!!

3) We are reuniting with the best family and friends a young couple could ask for!!

Why are we leaving San Diego you ask?! It was a very tough decision, and something we struggled with for a long time. The truth is, we ABSOLUTELY LOVE San Diego. Let me put it to you this way, if San Diego was a city in Florida we would live there in a heart beat! However, it is not, and with that sad realization, comes the fact that we are thousands of miles away from our family, friends, and people we love most. This leaves a constant un-fillable hole in our hearts. San Diego, was however, the BEST decision Sean and I could have ever made for our relationship! We had 2 beautiful years in the height of our relationship as a newly engaged couple transitioning to newlyweds. We built a great foundation, and I am eternally grateful for that.

During our time abroad, we plan to visit:

SINGAPORE, VIETNAM, THAILAND, INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES, and HONG KONG!!! As of now, we do not have return flights scheduled, or a set itinerary, so all we can count on is strong wifi connection, each other, and our backpacks!! Don’t you worry though, you guys know I am a HUGE planner, and have a pretty good map of where we will be headed, in true Christina fashion.

I will try to post as much as I can while I am there, so you can follow our journey across one of the most gorgeous areas of the world.

See you on the other side.

XO,
Christina