Christina Marie's Travel Blog
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Until recently, I found it hard to believe that I managed to take a 21-hour flight to Vietnam and have yet never managed at least a five-hour drive north of NYC (that didn’t include New York). So for my first trip of 2011, three of my closest girlfriends and I headed up to Stowe, Vermont for a weekend filled of skiing, hot chocolate by the fireplace and the most important - relaxation! Also, I wanted to hit the slopes for the first time in my life and continue on my path to doing things I’ve never done before.
We got a great deal to stay at the Stowe Mountain Lodge through Jetsetter. Our stay at this luxurious lodge was nearly half off what it would normally be and our room was pricing at about $2,300 if we booked last minute. The price we paid to stay here, which included the room for three days, two nights and lift tickets, was only about $250 per person!
The interiors of the lodge were beautiful and everyone was very accommodating. It must be a prerequisite for the staff to be gorgeous because there was eye candy everywhere. The best part of our lodging was the room because it was equipped with a full kitchen and fireplace.
When it was time to hit the slopes, my one girlfriend and I decided to take lessons since it was our first time. We headed to the practice area where we shared mini slopes with five-year olds.
Later that night, we headed to the outdoor hot tub. It was an incredibly relaxing atmosphere having the mountains in the background, snow falling on your head and being submerged in hot water.
Overall, the trip was amazing and I highly recommend everyone to take a trip to Stowe, Vermont. If you had time, make sure to stop by the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory on your way out.
To view the rest of my photos from Vermont, visit my Flickr photostream by clicking here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbrodzky/sets/72157625997665045/.
I’m ecstatic to announce that I’ve just recently accepted a new job, where I will not only be doing what I enjoy doing, but will also require me to visit my client in Chicago frequently! Here’s a photo from my last visit to Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). This photo is almost symbolic of how I’m feeling: A little nervous to take that first step, but doing it anyway and being a rock star (and I hope this photo speaks volumes considering I’m TERRIFIED of heights).
To view the rest of my photos from Chicago, visit my Flickr photostream by clicking here.
My goodness how time flies by! Tomorrow marks one year since I headed off halfway around the world to Vietnam. I’m amazed how I got the courage to leave my job, sublease my apartment, say goodbye to all my friends and family, and hop on a 22-hour flight in order to do something like I’ve never done before.
Here’s a picture of me with my favorite class. To this day I receive emails from students telling me how much they miss and love me. They were worth leaving everything behind.
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Notes from Vietnam
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This is why I love my students…
The relationship between teachers and students in Vietnam
If there was one destination in all of Southeast Asia that I could revisit, hands down, it would be Bali. Even though the island is small, there are so many different types of landscapes and activities so there’s something for everyone. Once I got off the plane, picked up my luggage and went outside, I remembered to try to catch a cab from outside the airport gates. By doing this, I eliminated the airport tax!
The airport in theory is only a 15-minute drive from Kuta, a town known for shopping, bars and surfing; however, because of all the traffic, it took at least 40 minutes to get to where a few guesthouses were located. I’m lucky I came during low season (May) because everything was cheaper than normal.
Kuta usually attracts students from Australia and New Zealand during Spring Break. Although I was enjoying my solo traveling experience, Kuta would have been a good place to travel with at least one other person. It wasn’t the easiest place for me to meet people and I didn’t want to be one of those creepers sitting at the bar alone. The best part during my trip to Kuta was the most amazing hour-long massage I got for only $10USD (after tip)!
Instead of staying there longer than two days, I headed more inland to Ubud, which is where Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love lived. I easily met two other foreigners on the van ride over who let me tag along. They found in their Lonely Planet that locals in Ubud curse the book because of the influx of tourist that flock to their small town.
Ubud was an amazing place to visit and I wish I could have stayed there longer. It was so quaint and I was in good company. Two attractions that we enjoyed included the Sacred Monkey Forest and watching a traditional Balinese dance performance.
In summary, Bali is worth visiting and I highly encourage people to take a trip if their able to. To view photos from my time in Bali, please visit my Flickr photosteam by clicking here.
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Video: Traditional Balinese Dance
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As part of religious expression among Balinese people, they perform these very ancient traditional dances. Take note as her eyes open really wide and she shakes her shoulders every few dance steps.
One of the last destinations on my five week backpacking adventure was Jakarta, the capital and largest city in Indonesia. Before I arrived, I learned that Jakarta was dubbed ‘The Big Durian,’ which for those who are familiar with this type of fruit, know that it smells like swamp ass; however, to many people, it has a sweet, delicious taste.
When my friend and I arrived at the airport and picked up our luggage, we were overwhelmed by number of taxi drivers trying to win our business. (Tourist Tip: we were forewarned by a few friends to not take any of the taxis inside the airport gate, but to rather walk outside and hail one there. By doing this, you avoid the any airport tax and save money.)
After arriving to a friend’s house to drop our stuff off, it was time to tour the city. There were a couple destinations we enjoyed visiting, but overall, Jakarta doesn’t have many attractions or get a large influx of tourists, and apparently has been the target of numerous terrorist attacks.
On the other hand, almost all the people I’ve met from Indonesia in general, turned out to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever encountered. If any of you should decide to visit Indonesia and check out Jakarta, you wouldn’t need more than a day.
Here are a few images from our trip:
To view the rest of my photos from Jakarta, please visit my Flickr photostream by clicking here.
I’ve been getting some amazing feedback from people regarding my Vietnam photo/video montage. Don’t forget to check it out!
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Top 20 Things I’ll Miss From Vietnam
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With the Jewlidays wrapping up this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to display one of my favorite photos taken from Israel: The Baha’i Gardens in Haifa.
To view the rest of my photos from Israel, please visit my Flickr photostream by clicking here.
On next week’s Top Chef, they’re leaving D.C. and hitting up Singapore, one of my favorite countries! I was completely obsessed with the architecture, the cleanliness, and their top notch bus and train system. I wanted to share one of my favorite photos from the area: a picture of me with the popular Merlion statue. I’m so adorable it hurts!
To view the rest of my photos from Singapore, visit my Flickr photostream by clicking here.
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Architecture in Singapore
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This might be a strange blog post, but I want to share images of the clouds I came to see while in Malaysia. They were always so big and fluffy looking. Call me crazy, but aren’t these amazing?
