DESTINATIONS | GRRRL TRAVELER

Surviving the overnight seater train to Laos

Filed under Laos, Laos tips & stays by Christine Ka'aloa on March 28, 2011 at 5:37 am {12 comments}

Taking the overland train from Bangkok to Nong Khai (to Laos)

Sometimes life throws you a condition that isn’t satisfactory or even palatable. Let’s say you’re crossing overland from Thailand to Laos (via Nong Khai), you got the last seat on an overnight train and it’s a seater! Should you be worried?…

Well, you show up as scheduled to find your train isn’t a luxury Thai sleeper train but is god-awful noisy, seats munchkin-sized passengers, it’s an 11 hour ride and the AC is sending you into hypothermia. This is the worst ride of your life! What do you do?

… Whatever you can.

I thought I could learn to live with temporarily uncomfortable situations– I thought wrong.

We all go through moments of personal horrors stories. Not every travel condition is ideal…

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A Night on a Thai Sleeper Train

Filed under Thailand, Thailand tips & stays by Christine Ka'aloa on March 26, 2011 at 8:54 pm {2 comments}

My rail host for the evening. A career for 3 years, he’s the youngest of 3 siblings in the line of work.

When it comes to hospitality and service, the Thai certainly know how to do it right!

There are many ways to travel Thailand, such I’ve made it my mission to move and shake it around Thailand in many ways I can. River boat, to scooter, motorbike taxi, Skytrain, metro…. I’ve enjoyed them all. But my favorite transport by far, is the Thai sleeper train.

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Photo Essay: Is Goa over its hype?

Filed under Mumbai / Goa, Photo Essays by Christine Ka'aloa on March 25, 2011 at 11:49 am {3 comments}

Just a sidenote: traveling and uploading pictures for my blog isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Sifting through the barrage of photos, resizing and uploading/linking can be a bit of a time consuming trick. Needless to say, I’m finding photos I’m looking for… after I post.

In my last post I touched briefly on the beaches in Goa and their um… tourist mania. As I explained, Baga Beach (& Calangute, it’s sister beach) can be a bit of a water sport carnival. Here are a few more pictures which may make you wonder- Is this still India? (more…)

Love Letter #9: Purpose & Panic in Goa

Filed under India, Love Letter Postcards by Christine Ka'aloa on March 22, 2011 at 11:15 am {5 comments}

: Mandrem Beach, Goa, India

Dear Love,

With all my rush to get here, I’ve forgotten why I came.

I’m in Goa, India, sitting in a Nepalese restaurant by the beach typing. Words are my anchor. Will they help me find myself? The beach is like a white canvas stretched out and striped with delicate skeleton of hand-made bridges, which take resort guests out to hotel-manned large beach umbrellas, lounge chairs and sun tanning stations. Much of what surrounds this is space.

I made no plans, plotted no route or destination. I assume I’d just Be, Experience, Live…and the path would magically create itself. What a fool.

Where shall I go next?

The question begs a deeper reflection and sharper query:

Why are you here?

Purpose.

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India: Solo Fears, Scooters and Goa Dreds

Filed under India, Interviews by Christine Ka'aloa on March 21, 2011 at 3:48 am {9 comments}

Looking at the sea out from Baga Beach, the sea is shining, teasing,… much like the vibe of the locals and beaches in Goa. As a female traveling who’s been nervous about traveling india alone, I feel surprisingly safe here. Waves tickling my feet, a pineapple lassi in hand, I look out at the beach. Even the cows are catching their daily dose of sand and rays.

“Goa is one of the friendliest spots in the India. ”

That’s why, Tara, a native from Kolkata, is back in Goa for a six-month stint of work at one of the many Baga beachside restaurants, Shining Star. I asked (more…)

7 Ways to See Bangkok (and love it!)

Filed under Bangkok, Thailand tips & stays by Christine Ka'aloa on March 19, 2011 at 5:15 pm {6 comments}

One of the biggest things I love about Bangkok? It’s never boring. Cheap massages and motorbike taxis to food and fruit vendors on the streets, each day presents a stunning visual array of sights and activities to keep your camera clicking and your wallets opening for budget vacation splurges .

From old world and dilapidated to freshly modern, you may be partially confused as to which way the city leans. The city juggles a persevering history of old wats, floating markets, a loving devotion to the king and a gateway into the future of modern convenience!

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Love Letter #8: Retreat

Filed under India, Love Letter Postcards by Christine Ka'aloa on March 18, 2011 at 11:15 am {2 comments}

Dear Love,

A big unknown looms before us.

Tides… come and go.

Aannaa. Jaannaa.

For now, let me withdraw, observe, breathe…

Let my breath sound with the sea.

GRRRL

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Photo Essay: Slumdogs of Mumbai

Filed under India, Mumbai / Goa by Christine Ka'aloa on March 16, 2011 at 6:37 am {2 comments}

Along Carter Road runs a promenade which Mumbainikers go to for a stroll, to walk their dog or to just hang out by the beach. One of the nice things about this boardwalk are their benches. Some have inscribed memorials to people, some have short sayings and some have stray dogs, a large problem in India. Here are just a few of those benches– with slumdog or without.

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Mumbai: A reformed Bombay?

Filed under India, Mumbai / Goa by Christine Ka'aloa on March 15, 2011 at 9:41 pm {6 comments}

Mumbai.

Action. Motion. Heat. Noise.

A cacophony of sound and moving drive-by sights accost my taxi window on the drive into the heart of this blazing city. Overwhelmed and excited, everything felt raw, jaw-dropping or new to me and the problem began– what to focus my attention upon first?

All is a soiled hotbed of moving, honking, hawking, digging, driving, walking and selling activity. Roadside stands line the streets in endless stream, selling everything from food, souvenirs, cellphones,… tires.