1 Year of Travel Selfies: May & June

May and June were busy and exciting–something new all the time! I explored Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

*Note: For full stories about many of the regions, hikes, and activities featured in these selfies, you can click this link to view the complete list of Asia Travel Entries.

**Final note: I decided it was too much scrolling to post 365 selfies on a single page, so you can access other months at the links below:

May 1

Ubud: spent my last day in Ubud doing some much needed planning and saw a Legong Dance performance

May 2

Gili Air: traveled via car, van, and ferry to the island of Gili Air and enjoyed the sunset

May 3

Gili Air: spent the day reading at the beach and snorkeling

May 4

Gili Air: found a good snorkeling spot and finally found Gili Air’s famous turtles

May 5

Gili Air: spent a day planning (which happens frequently when you don’t plan more than 2 days in advance!) and enjoyed my last Gili Air sunset 🙁

May 6

Seminyak: returned to Bali and found a different beach (but Gili Air was better)

May 7

Seminyak: went shopping, walking, and spent time at the pool, but I also did all the non-glamorous things I do everyday, like brush my teeth using my water bottle in a shared bathroom where the floor is always wet

May 8

Uluwatu: took an evening trip to Uluwatu temple for the sunset and fire dance

May 9

Labuan Bajo: traveled to Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores and explored the cute town and night market

May 10

Komodo National Park: started my 3-day boat trip in Komodo National Park with hiking, snorkeling, and a sunset

May 11

Komodo National Park: the highlight of the park: climbed Padar Island for sunrise, trekked on Komodo Island to see 7 Komodo Dragons, and snorkeled to see a manta ray and amazing fish

May 12

Komodo National Park: snorkeled for the last time in the national park and got left behind by my group, but thankfully a team of divers rescued me by driving me back to our big boat (the crew still hadn’t noticed I was missing)

May 13

Bali: spent a much needed night in a private room in a nice hotel and then jumped on a 7-hour bus to East Java

May 14

Mount Ijen: got out of bed yesterday (at 11:45pm) to climb Mount Ijen, see blue fire, and watch the sunrise

May 15

Banyuwangi – Malang: I spent this day traveling from Banyuwangi to Malang, but didn’t manage to get a photo, so here’s another photo of Mount Bromo (the 16th)

May 16

Mount Bromo: got up at 2am to watch the sunrise over Mount Bromo and then climb half an hour to the crater

May 17

Tumpak Sewu: visited “100 waterfalls” and got to climb up some of the falls

May 18

Yogyakarta: traveled to Yogyakarta via train and explored the city

May 19

Yogyakarta: visited UNESCO site Borobudur, the largest Buddha temple compound in the world, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries (and people wanted to take more pictures with me than I did of the temple!)

May 20

Singapore: traveled to Singapore, ate at hawker centers, and reunited with Georgena!

May 21

Singapore: visited the highlights: merlion, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Chinatown, the Muslim Quarter, Raffles Hotel, and saw both light shows

May 22

Chiang Mai: arrived in Chiang Mai late at night without Georgena (she lost her passport and it’s a Singapore holiday so the embassy is closed. Georgena stayed in Singapore to visit the embassy tomorrow and I continued on)

May 23

Chiang Mai: did a cooking class and walked the Chiang Mai old town

May 24

Chiang Rai: visited the white temple, blue temple, and the night market where we got inundated with rain

May 25

Chiang Mai: got a songthaew to Doi Suthep Temple and ate amazing food at the night market

May 26

Doi Inthanon National Park: did a day trip to the national park for trekking, a coffee tasting, and the King and Queen Pagodas on Thailand’s highest peak

May 27

Pon Elephant Sanctuary: spent the day with elephants, including a mud bath

May 28

Pon Elephant Sanctuary: had our own private elephant experience from wake-up to feeding to river time

May 29

Sukhothai: took a bus to Sukhothai, once the capital of Siam, and visited the night market for dinner

May 30

Sukhothai: biked around Sukhothai UNESCO Park to see temple ruins from the 13th-15th centuries

May 31

Bangkok: visited the Grand Palace, traveled on the river, saw a dance performance, and toured Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha

June 1

Bangkok: visited floating markets and more temples before Georgena went home

June 2

Ayutthaya: took a day trip to the ancient temple ruins of the second Siamese capital (1351-1767)

June 3

Bangkok: fixed the tech issues with my blog (finally) and went for a final walk around Bangkok

June 4

Bangkok: settled on the plane, all set to fly to Vietnam!

June 5

Hanoi: walked and walked and got lost in the Old Quarter and walked more

June 6

Hanoi: took a Vietnamese Cooking Class

June 7

Hanoi: visited other areas of Hanoi besides the Old Quarter, saw a downed B-52 in a pond, and met some sweet Vietnamese kids who I played with for an hour

June 8

Hanoi: went to train street and then back to the park to visit my little Vietnamese friends (Tuong An, Khoai, Song Nhi, Ha Vy) and have dinner at their home

June 9

Sapa: took a bus to Sapa in the north and explored the city

June 10

Sapa: hiked through rice fields and Hmong villages to a home stay

June 11

Sapa: followed my Hmong guide and hiked a steep, muddy mountain to a viewpoint over Sapa

June 12

Sapa: read, wrote, and planned the next parts of my journey

June 13

Ha Giang: took a windy bus ride to Ha Giang

June 14

Ha Giang Loop: on Day One of the Ha Giang Loop, I started out stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes!

June 15

Ha Giang Loop: on the morning of Day Two, I hiked up to a fortress above town and then enjoyed the mind-boggling mountain scenery

June 16

Ha Giang Loop: the last day was bitter sweet because we finally got good enough to kick the shuttlecock back and forth and had to say goodbye

June 17

Cat Ba: took a sleeper bus to Cat Ba Island

June 18

Lan Ha Bay: took a boat trip out into Lan Ha and Ha Long Bays and kayaked through caves

June 19

Cat Ba National Park: hiked up to a viewpoint and it was so hot and humid I had to squeeze out my socks like dishrags

June 20

Ninh Binh: biked around the region, did a boat ride at Trang An, and hiked the Hang Mua viewpoint

June 21

Ninh Binh: pool and relax day (plus mangos eaten with a spoon) and then a night bus to Hue

June 22

Hue: explored the market, the historic citadel, and tried a lot of street food–it was so hot that I also joined the Asian mamas in using an umbrella for shade (ps. I also had a scary allergic reaction to one of the new foods and thought I was going to die)

June 23

Hue to Hoi An: did an easy rider motorbike trip with stops to swim at waterfalls and pretty viewpoints, and lots of rain!

June 24

Hoi An: walked and walked and walked around the heritage town of Hoi An, and ate good food, of course

June 25

Hoi An: biked through rice fields to scultpor villages and temples

June 26

Hoi An: visited My Son Sanctuary and returned to Hoi An for a lantern making class

June 27

Hoi An: took a coconut boat ride through the bamboo, caught crabs, and did another cooking class

June 28

Hoi An: took another bike ride out to the beach and past water buffalo fields, and ate mango cakes in the market

June 29

Da Lat: took another sleeper bus and arrived in Da Lat to explore the city and the Crazy House

June 30

Da Lat: teamed up with two girls to visit three waterfalls around Da Lat (when we got hungry, our driver gave us roasted sweet potatoes to snack on–delicious)