LOMBOK, INDONESIA

Lombok Island is just off the coast of Bali, Indonesia. Sengiggi is one of there most popular towns. Its about an hour from the Lombok airport and close to the pier to have access to the Gili Islands.
We stayed in a gorgeous hotel by the name of  Villa Mantano in Senggigi. This hotel was by far the nicest place we stayed our whole vacation. We wanted to treat ourselves a bit & this place was defiantly the place to do so!
The hotel was newly renovated & they were still working on a few of the rooms while we were there. During our stay we had complimentary breakfast as well as snacks throughout the day! We got to enjoy a huge pool all to ourselves & soak up the sun from our own private sun bathing terrace. The room itself was outstanding! A large rainfall shower & a huge king bed! Our stay here cost us roughly $40 a night & included Wifi, A/C, TV, Breakfast + Snacks like I mentioned.
During our stay in Sengiggi we decided to rent a motorbike from our hotel for $4 a day and check out everything Lombok had to offer!
We saw the monkey forest, a few waterfalls, amazing beaches & of course went to the Gili Islands.

We also spent a full day with some locals at the beach. This day was by far one of our favorites. Although Indonesia is known for there Ultimate Frisbee the little island of Lombok is not to well known for it. While on the beach, Cameron and I noticed we were starting to have a crowd of children around us watching us play Frisbee. We tried a few times to get them involved but the children were far too shy. Soon some of the parents started to join in & ask what we were playing. We taught the parents how to play & they finally got some of the kids involved. After a few hours of tossing the Frisbee around we decided we wanted to continue on our adventure around the island so we gave our Frisbee to one of the families. The children were so excited & the parents were too!

We captured this picture of them playing right before we headed out. 

Below are a few more pictures of our time on Lombok. 

 

MY PERFECT BACKPACK & WHATS IN IT!

If I could have gone back in time and change what I decided to bring with me to South East Asia, I totally would!!
After backpacking for 2 and a half months now there is so much I wish I had done differently. Today I thought I would share my perfect backpacking and everything that's inside it!
As for the backpack itself... keep in mind you'll probably want to bring it as a carry on everywhere you go. It's way less of a hassle that way & you wont have to wait for baggage claim.
My backpack is made by Osprey and its 35 L & also has a rain cover. Most people would consider that a small bag for the length of time we are traveling but I love it! It's small and easy to carry around & surprisingly fits a ton!! 
Here's a quick break down of what I would have brought!

CLOTHING;
T-Shirt x 3
Tank Top - Loose fitting x2
Tank Top - Built in bra x1
Dresses x 2 or 3 (Up to you, I would have preferred to have 3!)
Leggings x 1
Elephant Pants x1 (Or loose fitting light weight track pants)
Shorts x 4 (One pair of jean shorts, the rest easy to wear light weight shorts)
Bathing Suits x 3
Underwear x 7
Bra x 1
Sports Bra x 1
Socks x 3
Hat x 1
Scarf x 1 (Great as a pillow, blanket & for covering up at temples)
Rain Coat x 1
Micro Fiber Towel x 1
Sandals x 1
Sneakers or Running shoes x 1

TOILETRIES:
Tooth Brush x2
Tooth Paste
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deodorant
Soap
Body Soap
Hair Brush

FIRST AID ITEMS & OTHER:
Band-Aids (Lots)
Pepto
Diarrhea Pills
Clove Oil (Great for tooth pains)
Halls
Advil
Bug Spray (Deet %30)
Eye Drops
Sunscreen (Lots)
Aloe
Kleenex (A few to go packs - super handy!! not all washrooms have toilet paper)  

COMFORT:
Neck Pillow
Eye Mask
Ear Plugs

PASS TIME ITEMS:
Cards
Books
Note Book & Pen

Keep everything simple! Its super easy to shop here & you'll definitely want to pick up some items while traveling so the less you bring from home the better!
As for doing laundry while traveling, that's simple! There are tons of places that do your laundry for you & its pretty cheap! However, if your like me and you want to save money, do your laundry yourself! Pick up a plastic bag & just add water and shampoo or body wash & mix it around! Let it hang to dry and your good to go!

Something you should also keep in mind - Showing off too much skin in SE Asia is frowned upon. Low cut tops & short shorts might not be the best idea. If you plan on seeing a lot of temples etc, make sure you do your research before & dress appropriately!

That's all for now! If I forgot anything, I will be sure to add it.
Comment below if I have forgotten anything important!
Safe travels!

10 THINGS TO DO IN KRABI, THAILAND

Krabi Thailand was by far the highlight of our trip thus far. The province has so much to offer and many of the top things to do here are absolutely FREE!
After arriving in Phuket, I looked back on our time in Krabi and thought I would throw together our 10 favorite things to do in Krabi Province!
Here is goes...

1. TIGER CAVE TEMPLE 

Like I mentioned in my last post, Tiger Cave Temple was amazing!! The views from the top were breathtaking and roaming around the grounds of the temple was so much fun! Not to mention it was all FREE!

2. AO NANG BEACH & TOWN 

We LOVED Ao Nang, sure it was pretty touristy and pretty busy but we love to people watch and this was by far the best place for that! We loved walking around the town and shopping at night. It was so fun to haggle with the locals and get some great items for super cheap! Ao Nang had a great beach as well, it wasnt the nicest beach we went to but it still had some great views!

3. RAILEY BEACH
Railey Beach was a beach we were thinking of skipping because we heard it was pretty busy and not worth it. However, after running into one of our old friends in Ao Nang she convinced us to head over. After arriving we found it was super busy and packed with tourists but we made our way to Princess Cave, a cave filled with.. well.. you can look in the picture.. in the thai culture this cave is great for praying to the gods if you are looking to get pregnant or having trouble conceiving. Right in front of the cave there was an awesome beach that took us into a really cool cave! Also on Railey there is a hidden lagoon!! If you follow the signs it will lead you to an amazing lookout with a gorgeous lagoon! The hike to get there was long, steep and muddy but totally worth it! If your into rock climbing, there were a ton of great spots to climb! The boat to get from Ao Nang to Railey was only 100 baht, so pretty affordable!

4. VOGUE SHOPPING MALL 
Vogue shopping mall was so much fun! Its located in the heart of Krabi town & is 3 stories. Each level was filled with tons of shops with great deals! On the main level there was a food court where Cameron and I decided to take a night off our fried rice diets and indulge in some pizza!!! The pizza was by far the best pizza we have had!

5. NIGHT MARKETS
Night Markets were & still are our favorite things to check out in each town we go to, We love trying all the local street food and shopping! You can get some great deals if you know how to bargin!

6. DRAGON CREST MOUNTAIN 

This was one place I wanted to see so badly but we unfortunately didn't have the time, we want to do this hike so badly that we might have to make a trip back to Krabi! Dragon Crest Mountain is the highest peak in all of Krabi province. It has some amazing look out points and even a little waterfall. From what we read the hike is pretty intense and takes a total of 4 hours but the view at the top is worth it since you can see all the way to Phuket & the surrounding islands. You must also be careful because we read of a few people running into King Cobra snakes.

7. VISIT KOH LANTA

Koh Lanta was our favorite place in all of Krabi! This little island has so much to offer and had the best beaches we have seen!! The people there were amazing, they were all so kind and welcoming! The food was awesome & there was so much to do!! We loved renting motor bikes and touring the whole island finding new lookouts each time! 

8. ISLAND TOURS
Island tours are pretty popular in Krabi since there are tons that surround the province. The 4 island tour is the most popular and the best place to buy a ticket is from Koh Lanta. It costs around 800 baht each. The tour will take you island hoping and snorkeling all day! A pretty great way to see a bunch of islands in one day

 

9. RENT A MOTOR BIKE & TOUR! 
Renting motor bikes is another one of our favorite things to do! It only costs 200 baht for the whole day!! Pretty great!! We would just jump on our motor bike with no plans and end up at some amazing lookouts! A pretty awesome way to see as much of Thailand as possible for $8 a day!

10. MUAY THAI!!  

Muay Thai... what an awesome experience!! It was a little pricey but totally worth it!! We watched 9 fights and had pretty much front row. Its a definite must see if ever in Thailand!!

TIGER CAVE TEMPLE - KRABI, THAILAND

The Tiger Cave Temple was one of my favorite things we have done so far in Thailand.
It's located in Krabi town about 10 minutes outside the heart of the city.
There was so much to do at this beautiful temple it was hard to decided what to accomplish first. You could see monkey's. see beautiful temples on the grounds surrounding the cave, you could go in the actual cave, see where the monks live & of course take the hike to the top of the mountain and see the breathtaking views of all of Krabi.

Cameron and I decided to do the hike first to get it out of the way. The hike is just stairs and there were a total of 2063 steps to the top. Now, it might seem like that's not too many & sure, it didn't take us too long but the steps are steep!!
The hike was a great workout and once at the top the views were amazing!!!

After reaching the top we headed back down and decided to see the sights around the grounds. We watched people feed the monkeys and even got to see a few cute baby monkeys! 

We saw numerous temples and many Buddhas around the grounds. We also stumbled upon a place called Wonderland, We followed the signs and wound up inside a cave! Inside this cave was where the monks lived. They had their own private sanctuary in the heart of the jungle. 

We wondered around and climbed in and out of the paths through the cave. 

We even found a stray cat!! She was so cute and of course loved us so much she followed us around for a while. 

After playing in the caves and seeing where the monks lived, we followed the path further into the jungle where we saw some more monkeys and some amazing parts of nature. The path lead us right back to where we started and we continued exploring the grounds. 

After a long day at the Temple we headed back to our hotel and we couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had! 

If ever in Krabi the Tiger Cave Temple us a must see!!! It was gorgeous and it was free!! An entire day of exploring and all we had to pay was the taxi there and back! 

As a warning, stretch before you climb!! & bring lots of water!! The stairs really make you feel the burn the next morning. 

Here are a few more pictures from our day!  

A WEEK IN KOH LANTA, THAILAND

After a few nights in Ao Nang, Krabi, Cameron and I decided to head over to Koh Lanta.
We decided to spend a week here to really see the whole island. After getting off the fairy we took a tuk tuk to Long Beach. We had read great things about this little town and knew it was close to great beaches. Our first night we stayed in a private bungalow about a minute from the beach. Our bungalow was called Lantawade, we paid about $20 which was great! Super affordable!
The bungalow was cute and quite but wasn't exactly for us. 

The next day we took a walk & ended up finding a resort right next door called Raya Lanta Resort. The room was amazing!! It was huge and super clean! We even had air conditioning for the same price as the fan bungalow from the previous night. Not too mention free wifi in our room, something the bungalow also didn't have. We bargained with the owner of the resort and worked out a great price for the whole week. 

The first few days for us were beach days, we would wake up, have fruit for breakfast from a local vendor and then head right to the beach for a full day of soaking in the sun. After a full day in the sun, we would then head back to our resort and relax outside our room either playing cards, reading, or just chatting about life! We loved this relax lifestyle and fell in love with Long Beach and how easily accessible everything was. 

After a few days of pure relaxation we decided to rent a moped and tour the island! We toured the full island and found some amazing look out points and great restaurants! There was one restaurant that we loved so much we need to share! It's called the Panoramic. This place had the best food!! By far the best since we arrived in Thailand, everything was organic and the owner was fantastic!! Not to mention the view was phenomenal! 

We loved touring the island so much that we decided to do it a few more times that week, stopping at new beaches and view points each time. The moped was cheap too! It only cost us $9 CAD for the whole day! After a few days of scooting around the island, I ended up getting super sun burnt so our last few days ended up being relaxation days where we tried to stay out of the sun.

We were lucky to be in Koh Lanta when we were because they were having the Lanta Lanta festival! We went to the festival on our second last night and had a blast!! Tons of street food, clothing vendors and entertainment! We watched an awesome fire show & some great local Thai dancing. We even ran into and old friend, which was actually crazy because who runs into someone in the middle of a crazy festival on an island in Thailand! 
Overall out trip to Koh Lanta was fantastic!! We definitely recommend if you are ever in the area to make the trip to the beautiful island! Tons of great beaches and amazing scenery. If your budget can afford it, I would definitely recommend renting a moped and seeing the whole island! The island is small so only takes at most about an hour and a half to drive the whole thing. However! Make sure you stop at each viewpoint and make it a day trip! There is tons to see and some amazing views!Here are some more pictures of our time in Koh Lanta! 

TRAVELING THAILAND - PINE BUNGALOWS, KRABI

 After leaving Bangkok & being on a bus for 12 hours Cameron and I were very happy to arrive in Krabi! Krabi is a province in Thailand that is located on the south end near the islands.
In Krabi we found an amazing place called Pine Bungalows. Pine bungalows is situated on a very quite private beach that was about 15 minutes outside of Ao Nang. We LOVED Pine Bungalows.
We got our own private bungalow for about $15 Canadian.

We stayed a total of 3 nights here and loved every minute. We were roughly 50 steps to the private beach & also had a restaurant on site. The prices were a lot higher then other places we had been to but the food was fantastic and worth the money.
On one of our first nights we took a walk into the small town that was about a 5 minute walk from our small resort. The town had a cute little market where we picked up some fresh fruit and some essentials that we needed. On our walk back to our resort we saw a few signs and people setting up for some big festival, we asked one of the locals what was happening and he told us we were lucky to be in town. There was going to be a huge festival for the next 3 days where there would be a famous Thai band, dancing, food, and tons of shopping. We were so excited!!

After a good nights sleep we woke up and decided to make today a beach day! We had the water to ourselves and got an awesome spot on the beach with 2 hammocks side by side. After relaxing all day we decided to head down to the festival.
The festival was amazing!! So many great street foods and TONS of shopping! Cameron and I both got some new sunglasses at a combined price of $4 CAD.
As the night went on we decided to go watch the live entertainment and watch the bands play. We sat on the beach and got some drinks and enjoyed the music & entertainment for the rest of the night.

On our last day at Pine Bungalows we decided to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. We relaxed all day on the beach and couldn't have asked for more. After a busy few nights in Bangkok it was nice to unwind on the beach and just relax. We knew that after Pine Bungalows we wanted to stay in Krabi province and check out a few more great places, we did a little research that night and decided our next stop would be Ao Nang!