Love That Dirty Water

The first hints of spring and autumn always make me miss New England. Since 2007 I've spent a few summers in Massachusetts, but I effectively moved away when I was eighteen. While Michigan does have beautiful landscapes and Chicago has a lakefront, these seasons make me wish I was back on the beach in Ipswich, debating between fried clams or fish and chips for lunch. It's one of the many reasons I hesitate when answering the question "Where are you from?" when it comes up overseas. "Well, I live in Chicago, but I grew up outside Boston..."

A Dunkin Donuts ad? I must be in Boston.

With that, I give you the top five reasons I will pretty much always identify as a New Englander:

Vacationing on the Water, Part I: The Gili Islands

It is cold in Chicago.  It has been cold the entire time I've been here.  Every night, I curl up on my couch under my Red Sox fleece blanket and imagine being somewhere warm.  To indulge my fantasy, let me recommend some of the best tropical/seaside locations I've visited in the past few years.  Maybe you can escape to one of them soon.

Longboats on the beach

The Gili Islands, Indonesia

My favorite part of these three islands near Bali is that there are no cars or motorbikes.  People get around on bicycles or horse-drawn carts.  Though there is the risk of getting trampled by a pony, I loved not having motorbikes sneak up behind me.  Maybe because of this, the water seemed extra blue and the beaches extra clean.  Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three islands, is still small enough that you can walk around the entire coastline in an afternoon.  The main road is lined with hotels, guest houses, restaurants and snorkeling companies.  Eric and I spent six nights on Gili Trawangan, and I could have happily spent another few days.  

Budget Traveling in Beautiful Places: An Update from Indonesia

When Eric and I first got to Indonesia, I felt mislead.  I had heard stories about how cheap it was to travel through Indonesia.  Other travelers had spent weeks and months going through Java and Sumatra.  At something like 9400 rupiah to the dollar, it seemed that we would live well on our backpacker budget.  However, we struggled to find any hostel that fell within our $20 per day limit, even on the outskirts of towns in Bali.  As we counted up our daily expenses, I grumbled that Indonesia was the most expensive country we'd been to yet. 

A pleasant homestay that cost us $27 per night and had hot showers.

When we got to the Gili Islands, we found rooms within our budget, but without hot showers.  We started to look at other guest houses and homestays that had warm water, and I began to realize that while Bali and the Gili Islands are too expensive for our limited budget, you can find amazing accommodation and food for much less than what you'd pay in the US or Europe. 

From KL to the Beach

June flew by before I even noticed.  Looking back, I realized that my last couple posts have been on general topics rather than what we've actually been getting up to.  Here's what's been going on for the past few weeks!

After sixteen days in the Cameron Highlands, Eric and I started moving again.  We spent three quick nights in Kuala Lumpur.  Due to illness and the heat, we didn't explore the city much.  A few highlights were the delicious street noodles and satay, great nights with some new friends, and winning at beer pong and flip cup at the rooftop bar of our hostel.

I ate this dish at least three times in the three days we were in Kuala Lumpur.

Budget Traveling in Beautiful Places

In the past week, Thailand has proven to me that its beaches are not over-hyped.  From Krabi, Eric and I took a day trip to Railay Beach before spending three nights on Koh Phi Phi. 

Images of Summer

Every year in the dark of winter I huddle under my down blanket, Red Sox fleece, and other sheets with my hot cocoa and my cozy sheep and I think, "Man, I can't wait for the warm weather of summer. It's going to be so wonderful." And I sigh.

When I imagine summers, I get a few very specific pictures in mind.

First: Sipping lemonade while sitting in a flourishing garden

I have never actually read Anne of Green Gables, but my mom's best friend growing up and her family used to drive up to their house on Prince Edward Island every summer. My mom went a few times when she was younger, and when I was little I also got the chance to visit PEI. During my first visit, I toured the Anne of Green Gables house and gardens, and that summer I also checked out an Anne of Green Gables cookbook from my local library. The only recipe I tried was for homemade lemonade. I learned quickly that real lemon juice is not sugary. Because of the mix of PEI, happy vacations, nice weather, lemonade and a classic book that I still haven't read, my common idea of summer looks like this or this, plus a white adirondack chair and the aforementioned lemonade.

Beverages sold separately.

Second: Beaches in Massachusetts

On the great Bay State's north shore, Gloucester, Rockport, Ipswich and other towns right on the coast are gorgeous and have beautiful beaches. They also have histories as fishing ports, and as I walk along the water I often wish I lived in a lighthouse. In the past several years I've gone to the north shore for days at the beach, fried clams, and other relaxing summer activities. (In fact, one summer day at a beach in Ipswich, some of my friends tried to use lemon juice to lighten their hair, so lemons fit in here, too!) Being near the ocean is something I've always associated with summer.

Blue ocean, blue sky, salty smell in the air...

My lighthouse would also have a dragon.

Third: Piles of Books

When I was growing up, I never went to sleep away camp and only tried day camp for one week in elementary school. I spent my summers reading, writing, going to my brother's baseball games, and otherwise entertaining myself. I would go to the local library and bring home stacks of books. When I got to college and found that I had little time to read for fun, the idea of books during summer became even more clear in my mind. Summer was for fiction, for mysteries that have puns for titles and recipes in the back, and for telling myself I would read some of the more serious classics.

Part of this summer's pile

These images all mix in my head to create an ideal picture of summer. Then, when I am mentally preparing for my relaxation in the beautiful outdoors, summer arrives. I find myself wanting a shower after walking five blocks. I start grumbling about the heat and sunburns. I remember that I can never find shorts that fit quite right and I get annoyed by all those Back to School commercials that start in July. Construction projects are easier when there's no snow on the ground, so even if I wanted to sleep in, the screeching equipment that is undoubtedly nearby will wake me up by 8:00 am. By mid-July, I am eager to see the leaves change colors so I can drink apple cider, go to football games and feel that first cool, crisp fall breeze on my face.

And then I get to November...