Dueling Backpacks

Thinking back on our Thailand travels will evoke images of sandals, sunscreen, and sand. Most people might imagine themselves running away to a tropical island one day (or at least wishing they could) and we pretty much did just that for a whole month. There were never any important sites to see or museums to visit. There was only the beach and we spent days on end walking through the sand and swimming in the ocean. 

Day 279 (April 3, 2019) – Bangkok, Thailand We were back in Bangkok! Despite going seemingly everywhere on this around the world trip, we had yet to go anywhere we had already vacationed, until we landed in Bangkok. Bangkok was the starting point for our 2013/2014 Southeast Asia trip and unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Bangkok the first time around. I’m sad to say that the repeat visit didn’t change my mind.

Day 271 (March 26, 2019) - Koh Phangan, Thailand After spending ten days in Malaysia for our visa run, it was time to head back into Thailand. The plan was to first spend eight nights in Koh Phangan, an island known for two diametrically opposed things: full moon parties and its conscious community . 

Malaysia was a great destination for our Thailand visa run. In fact, it should have been on our radar all along. We saw beautiful beaches on Langkawi and ran around the vibrant city of George Town , snapping pictures of street art and eating as much food as we could.

Day 261 (March 16, 2019) – George Town, Penang, Malaysia George Town was such a pleasant surprise. We didn’t have many expectations going in, only knowing that the tour books recommended a visit, yet it ended up being one of my favorite cities of our trip. George Town, also called Penang (in reference to the state in which is resides, almost suggesting that the only reason one would go to Penang would be to go to George Town), is Malaysia’s second largest city and located off Malaysia’s northwest coast on Penang Island. The city is soaked in history, being the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. George Town became a critically important port city and a magnet for people and goods coming in from all over the region. This gave George Town a unique and eclectic clash of Colonial and Asian styles and a vibrant multiculturalism. Perhaps the greatest gift to come from the diverse mix of people and cultures is the food. We soon realized that our goal was to eat our way throug