Island
Growing up, I was lucky enough to spend all my summers by the seaside in France. It has become my happy place and I really miss it after a few months away from it. When we were travelling through Asia, Simon knew it would put a smile back on my face to see the ocean if I was feeling a bit down.
Sri Lanka is one of our favourite destinations. We love the people, the food, the landscapes. We spent close to 3 weeks there and had a blast. Discovering a new culture always comes with surprises and anecdotes that you remember for a long time. Here are some stories that punctuated our stay.
Kauai definitely has the paradise beaches you might be expecting in Hawaii. But the “garden island” has so much more to offer that it would be a shame not to make the most of it. After things to do in Oahu, here are ideas for Kauai.
During our long-term journey last year, Thailand was one of the destinations that we were looking forward to the most. After Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, we spent an entire month there in July and August, which is the rainy season. We never experienced really bad weather and were always able to do what we wanted.
We stayed in cities but we chose to spend most of our time in the Thai islands, which was still a great mix and allowed us to discover the culture of the country.
We spent most of our month in Thailand in the islands on the South-West coast of the country. After Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta offered a total change of scenery and atmosphere and it quickly became my favourite Thai place.
It had been a rather nice winter in Texas but I am now back in France for a few weeks and it has been all about winter coats and scarves again. I get very nostalgic when I think that exactly one year ago, we were in Hawaii, enjoying hikes and beach time on Oahu and Kauai islands.
We arrived in Sri Lanka without knowing much about the food there except for the idea that I should be ok as a vegetarian. Well, it is absolutely not difficult to be a vegetarian in Sri Lanka. Unlike in other countries, I didn’t have to spend time researching vegetarian restaurants in the areas we visited, if such restaurants even exist. I knew for sure there would be several meat-free options wherever we would go. The country is actually so vegetarian friendly that when we took a cooking class in Ella, we were surprised to see that all dishes were vegetarian by default.
Phuket is one of the paradise places we were lucky to visit. The week we spent there was filled with food discoveries, beach time and we loved the quiet Rawai area where we were staying. Although we did spend most of the time exploring the South of the island, we decided to take a day to drive up North a bit to visit Old Phuket town. You don’t need a lot of time to see the heart of the little town but the streets are all so cute that I was not disappointed.
When we were trying to come up with an itinerary for Thailand, we quickly decided we would spend most of our month there on some of the famous Thai islands. Phuket had always appeared to me as a dream destination and that’s where he headed after a few days in gloomy Bangkok and lovely Chiang Mai.
Koh Phi Phi is composed of several islands among which Koh Phi Phi Leh, a small uninhabited islet, home to Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous Beach. Touring Koh Phi Phi Leh has become a major attraction since the film was released in 2000. This island features paradise beaches, clear waters and a dreamy lagoon. Its beauty is simply breathtaking.
