Hey all,

So I didn't get to write like I wanted to on my trip. I could rattle off some excuses but I won't. Instead I'll just give you the quick version.

So I flew into London and had a few days to myself. Unfortunately Big Ben was under construction and the London Eye wasn't running so instead I did some other less exciting tourist stuff. London was damn cold so I mostly enjoyed my Jacuzzi bathtub. I eventually met up with my tour group which turned out to be a super amazing experience. Although most of the people were younger than me, I made some really sweet friends and had a good time.

With them I crossed the English Channel, went up the Eiffel Tower, saw the Moulin Rouge show, went dancing, saw Notre Dame, drank so much sangria, walked a million miles to countless museums/art galleries/monuments, saw a Flamenco show in Barcelona, ate snails, crossed the love lock bridge, ate my weight in pastries and fruit, spent many hours in a bus, bought some french perfume, won money at the Monte Carlo Casino, had the best pesto pasta, went on a booze cruise to the island of Capri, stayed in one horrific hostel, saw the leaning tower of Piza, made my own pasta, and overall had a great time. The people in this group made everything special and exciting. So many different kinds of people with different backgrounds, different quirks, different strengths and weaknesses. They welcomed me in and accepted me for who I am and for that I'm incredibly grateful.

The group tour ended in Rome and from there I flew to an island in Greece. Turns out that island is DEAD outside of tourist season so I walked around the ghost town petting stray cats, watched lighting storms and recovered from going hard for 20 days straight. In Athens I literally ran away from a creepy Italian man in a dark park but I made it out just fine.

Singapore was STUNNING. The whole city looks like it was just built yesterday, it's all shiny and new and futuristic. The Gardens by the Bay was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The two glass domes house millions of plants and have the best views of the city.

Krabi Thailand was so hot but nice to dethaw from Europe. I took a boat tour of all the islands, went snorkeling, and got crazy sunburnt. I got a tattoo on the back of my arm of a Ginkgo leaf, a sak yant, and a circle. I met up with my uncle and ran around Bangkok for the day with him. I went into a cat cafe and was very disappointing because all the cats had squished faces like a pug. I saw a Thai theater show about the country and it's history. I managed to get very lost twice, once in an absolute maze of a street market, once in an enormous shopping mall. These people take shopping very seriously, I've never seen so many shopping centers in my life.

Then I flew into Hiroshima Japan! In Japan I started staying in hotels rather than hostels/capsules like I was doing in Thailand so it was VERY difficult to get out of the comfortable beds. But what motivated me was 7-11. Japanese 7-11 is the best thing that exists. I would get ramen, rice balls, mochi doughnuts, smoothies, hot coffee in a can, anything I could ever crave was there waiting. I also saw a Kabuki show in Japan. I participated in a traditional tea ceremony dressed in full Kimono. I hung out in the red light district of Shibuya. Ate honey toast which is maybe my new favorite dessert, if you don't know what it is look it up and thank me later. And finally took the 30 hour trip back to Washington *whew*

I know it isn't exactly what I promised but hopefully you enjoyed hearing about my adventure. Next up... moving across the country!

What's in my luggage?

After days and days of fiddling, adding things in, cutting things out and feeling bad about how much I was bringing because of watching so many traveler packing videos on youtube. I think I have my luggage all sorted for my trip. I'm determined to not have any checked luggage so everything is pretty minimal. That way, I'll have room for all the junk I'm going to bring back!

In my "personal bag" I have: neck pillow, wireless over ear headphones, wired in ear headphones, travel journal, colored pencils, multi port charging cord, battery bank, fan, lip balm, wall charger, selfie stick (que the symphony of groaning), tablet, phone, filtration water bottle, and my wallet. Over ear headphones are great for public spaces when you don't want to be bothered.

In my actual carry on luggage I have-

Electronics: wall charger converter, power strip, spare camera battery and charger, two spare SD cards, lens cleaner, Nikon wireless remote, mini flashlight, dog tags with allergies, and all my emergency information on this micro usb. I decided to cut out the headlamp in the end because it needed it's own special charger and hopefully my mini light will be enough. Not pictured are my two code locks and a handful of carabiners which I use to attach my stuff to chairs to keep it from getting stolen easily or to hang things off my backpack. 

Tops: Well loved over-sized tee, black fitted tee, and long sleeve shirt. Not pictured is one tank top. 

Bottoms: Dark-wash jeans, light-wash high waist distressed jeans, and sweat pants.

Dresses: One skirt, fitted dress, and a fluttery polka dot dress.

Bathing suits: one piece which can double as a top, and a two piece.

Shoes: shower shoes, heels, and leather boots.

Misc: Day bag, beenie, glove, and microfiber towel. Not included here are my two jackets, one pack-able down, one raincoat shell.

And finally toiletries: Mini straightener, stick makeup set, couple brushes, mascara and brow gel, makeup sponge and cleanser, lash curler, motion sickness bracelets, deodorant, q-tips, lotion, foundation, earplugs, eye drops, red lipstick, moisturizer, and a face treatment for the flight.

...and that's about it! 

Re-Introduction

Welcome all,

I assume you’re here because you’re interested in following my progress during my trip and beyond. I’ll be posting as often as I can find wifi, get myself to sit down and be competent enough string together a few words. In other words, who knows how often?

For a little backstory, this blog was created in 2011, I was fresh out of high school and getting ready for my first trip to Asia. I never expected for anybody other than my 3-4 friends and maybe my parents to read it. I’ve decided not to go back and delete or edit any of those posts. I think that they are a true reflection of who I was at 18 and wouldn’t want to erase that, no matter how embarrassing it is.

The tentative plan is as follows:

London – Paris – Bordeaux – San Sebastian – Barcelona – Nice – Cinque Terre -  Florence – Sorrento – Capri – Rome – Milos – Singapore – Kuala Lumpur – Krabi – Phuket – Bangkok – Pattaya – Hiroshima – Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo – Seattle

The majority of this trip is completely solo, unplanned, and experimental. I’ve done this against my natural instinct to plan everything to death in an attempt to challenge myself. My goals are to make new friends, appreciate beautiful places, take thousands of photos, eat all the pastry I can get my hands on, redevelop confidence in myself, and get WAY out of my comfort zone. Oh. . . and not run out of cash along the way.

So welcome again, I look forward to seeing comments of any suggested destination cities, shows, restaurants, or events I should try to see, things I should pack but may forget, things I think I’ll need but won’t end up leaving my suitcase for two months, or how to spot a pickpocket, let me know! Also if you have friends or family in any of my destinations who’d be willing to be a guide for a day or let me stay with them, please put let me know! Networking is critical when traveling solo. 

Nicole M. Bixby

12/20/2018

Here I Go Again

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted in 2011. I don't think I could even give you a summary if I wanted to so let's just start with today, a warm day in July, sitting on my shaded back patio with my dog laying at my feet and my cat lounging in the grass.

Today I'm trying to sell the house I bought with Cyle. I've sold nearly all my possessions in the past weeks in preparation for what is about to become my new reality. Travel.

Travel is hard. Travel isn't always fun. Sometimes it's scary and uncomfortable and sometimes it's boring. But just thinking about what you can gain from traveling makes my hands shake while I type. Exhilaration, confidence, experience, understanding, and the ability to look at any place, anyone, anything with new eyes. When you travel nothing is a given. You drive on the opposite side of the road, your shower is a part of your toilet, your toilet is a porcelain hole in the ground, you have to haggle with sellers and cabbies, your idea of good manners is totally wrong. But this type of on-your-toes living makes you feel comfortable with being wrong, with being corrected, and with asking for help.

Even with all that to say about travel, a desire I've never stopped thinking about, I still have doubts about my new path. I'm walking away from my stable job, my comfortable salary, my nice house, my car, my friends and my family. Sometimes I worry that by walking away from these things it means that I'm being ungrateful or not appreciating my life.

But if not now, then when?

Australia

Best 4 days ever. Australia was a totally last minute decision but I am so glad I got the chance to go there. I took a plane early from Bangkok to Melbourne Australia. I arrived at around 9pm local time. Luckily I had a friend in town named Slav so he picked me up and drove me to my host family's house. My host family was a couple named Amber and Aaron. Anyway, they were allowing me to stay in their home for free for a few days. Unfortunately their hot water heater broke right before I arrived so I actually ended staying with a friend of Slav's named Katie who was good enough to allow me to sleep on her couch and use her hot water. Katie had a roommate named Nikki who was from Brooklyn.
On my first night there Slav, a few of his friends, and I went to a few clubs which were very dressy and had very overpriced drinks. We also went to an English pub which was much more my style. Over the next few days Slav showed me Melbourne. We went shopping, to the theater, and to the tallest building in Australia called the Eureka Tower. Amber took me to the beach in St Kilda on a perfect sunny day and all the cute Australian boys were out in their ridiculous shorty shorts.
The city has the feel of Seattle. There are a lot of older brick building with trees lining the streets and the ocean nearby. Normally I don't like cities at all, they are busy and crowded and people overlook each other. But this city was very relaxed and kind. People were always good to me. I really hope to go back sometime soon.
I am now back in Bangkok and itching to get back to the USA. I feel like my time here has been well spent and Ive enjoyed it. But there is nothing like home. I cannot wait for my bed, my shower, and my truck that I'll drive to get a huge Dusty's burger and a Costco pizza. Can't wait!
Please comment and tell me your thoughts!

CAMBODIA

Cambodia was great! On Sept 28 I took a plane to Phnom Penh and was greeted warmly by a friend of my grandpas and her adorable daughter Mia who is 7. They even got us flower lais! We stayed at a lovely hotel but it had a insect problem. Bug bites galore. We also went to a great little place called the riverside bistro that had a live band. Also for the first time I left the hotel by myself! I got a tuk tuk, the main source of transportation, and went for a ride along the river and got something to eat. This may seem easy but it is hard to go out on your own in a place you aren't familiar with where you don't speak the language.
Mia liked to swim so we went swimming often. Her smaller cousin Pizza also came with us. It was poolside where I had my first mixed drink! Sex on the beach was the only drink in English so I blindly chose that.
One of my favorite parts about Cambodia is all the temples we went to. In the temples were monks who would bless you and grant prayers. It was a very strange ritual but also interesting.
On October 3 we took a short flight to Siem Reap in order to see the Ankor Wat. This is a park with a collection of very old crumbling Wats. It was more of a hike than anything but the views were amazing.

When we got back to Thailand much of it was flooded so Ai and I went to a shelter and helped move water, fold, sort and distribute clothing and a few other things. The shelter was a school and the entire gym was filled with homeless people trying to sleep. It was very sad but there were lots of young people there volunteering their time to help out.
FINALLY we are done recapping! Currently I am taking a break from packing a small suitcase to go to Australia tomorrow at 5am! WHOO! I won't get there until 9pm so I have a long day ahead of me. Alright, thanks for reading!

Airport Blues

I am currently sitting in the Bangkok Airways lounge. It isn't too bad actually. Some snacks, OJ, a couch, that's all I really need to be happy :) Anyway, I am on my way to Cambodia where I will spend 15 days with my grandpa in a hotel! A hotel!! I don't think Ive ever been so excited to have a nice bed, my own shower and yes... have somebody other than me clean. It is going to be glorious. I had to wake up at 4:30 to get a taxi to the airport. Luckily no problems with getting through to the plane :) I'll update again about Cambodia soon!