coffywoman

My dad took my best friend and I to Borocay to kick off our year of fieldwork in the Philippines. We had pan de sal and coffee on our porches waiting for us every morning, and the weather was warm enough that we didn’t need hot water for our baths!

We were able to hire a driver to take us through the middle of the island—where residents live and where there were no tourists. It was wonderful to see the countryside!!!

It’s a beautiful place to relax and unwind, but if you want to hike or do something other than lounge on the beach, your options will be severely limited…!

We traveled to Sagada by bumpy non-air-con bus to escape the heat and smog of Manila and we were definitely rewarded for our efforts!

To date, this is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in my lifetime!! The rice terraces were beautiful, the people were friendly and the weather was idyllic…!

...I’d never have found myself here…! Downtown is a block long, but at least, there’s a coffee house and a place to get vegetarian food.

I fell in love with Chicago both times I visited…but, of course, it was summer! I’ve since heard tales of winters I know I couldn’t survive, so I’m glad I decided not to live there. Still, I think it’s a great place to visit.

I ate mango with sticky rice everyday! Chiang Mai is a good homebase for exploring the hill tribe areas and visiting the National Parks up north!

Bangkok is definitely worth visiting, but I preferred seeing the older temples in Ayutthaya and Sukhothai…!

Ayutthaya and Sukothai were definitely the high points of our trip to Thailand….

The temples are amazing…! And so is the food…

...Acapulco is a fun place. I tried bungy jumping and parasailing and had a blast, but it was still a little too urban for me…not enough hiking away from loud noise and crowds and there is way too much traffic. It is a busy city and I’m not much one for cities…!

The rice terraces in Banaue and Sagada are especially worth seeing…!