So last week I confessed that yes — at twenty-five, I’m still totally obsessed with my birthday. In my defense, I’m equally obsessed with the birthdays of those around me on a scrapbook-making, banner-hanging, cake-baking, Leslie Knope level, so I actually feel totally okay about it. But anyway — I came back to Koh Tao to…

One of the most frequent requests to land in my inbox is for recommendation on where to stay in Koh Tao. (Which, by the way, along with most questions I get asked, is answered on my FAQ page! Did you know I have an FAQ page? If not, check it out!) Unfortunately, until now, I had…

Sai Nuan has long been my favorite beach on Koh Tao. Tucked into the southwest corner of the island and more or less unreachable by road — I’d certainly never drive that treacherous dirt path some might call a road — you have to either take a longtail or hike a pleasant twenty minutes through a…

Yesterday I said goodbye to Nicaragua. I wasn’t expecting to be so attached to this country in under a month, and I felt quite sad to leave! If it weren’t for some of my favorite humans in the world waiting just over the border in El Salvador, I don’t think I would have. I have a…

Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok again — I’d been all over Thailand in just a few weeks. It was time to go home. This pier always makes my heart swell. Photos by Heather Holt. Returning back to Koh Tao post-Yi Peng wasn’t in my original plan. But once I fell back…

In a life that sometimes feels like a never-ending parade of amazing experiences and beautiful moments, I’m the first to admit I’m grateful — and the first to admit I can get a little jaded. To shake me out of those occasional weary times, I need one of what I (and, granted, Oprah) call our “aha…