TRAVEL
UNDER THE
RADAR

Last year, I took a 6 week trip between Thanksgiving and New Years. I was able to combine working remotely with visiting our company's office in India in order to approve my long trip. It was an adventure.

​From losing my ATM card to having my phone stolen, from cancelled flights to almost not being let back into Cambodia, it wouldn't be traveling without the mishaps. I was able to reconnect with old friends, family, old coworkers and students, meet new coworkers, make new friends, eat incredible food, and learn about three very different places.

Follow through a photo journey of my time in Cambodia, India and Japan. The greatest advice I can give someone thinking about taking an extended trip is: book your flight and the rest has to follow.

Week 1 was spent on pure holiday in Cambodia. I lived and worked in Siem Reap for 11 months in 2011-2012 at a school called The Global Child. I made incredible friends there, some Khmer and some expats from Europe. I'd been back to Cambodia for a month in 2013, and was looking forward to going back to a place I once called home.

I surprised my old students, coworkers and caught up with friends still in town. It was the water festival holiday that week too, so we spent a few days in Siem Reap and then escaped down to the islands for a couple of days. I did in fact lose my credit card the night before I left for India, the ATM ate it. Good times.

With the water festival holiday in full celebration, we flew down from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville (45 min flights). In all the months I'd spent traveling around Cambodia prior to this trip, I'd only gone by bus. This felt like luxury. We had one night in Sihanoukville, which isn't a place I'd recommend for more than a stopover, because we then went to the incredibly gorgeous and untouched, Koh Rong Sanloem island.

To get there, we took a ferry - which was fine on the way there - but incredibly rough and everyone got seasick on the way back. Reminder! Keep all important belongings on your body. Elaine had some money stolen that she'd hid in her bag, which then went under the boat. Koh Rong Sanloem is so untouched that there is no market, no general store, and only one ATM. But, the beauty is undeniable.

I departed Cambodia and flew to New Delhi with a layover in Bangkok. The flights were fine, and I was graciously picked up in New Delhi by an old family friend who I'd never met in person. We went for dinner and talked about the booming economy of India.

Checked into a hotel, went to bed, and at around 3am, my brother, Justin arrived from NYC. We were in New Delhi for the week to work out of our India office and meet our team there.

After the week in New Delhi, our parents came through to meet us and the Bhushan family (incredibly old family friends of my parents). I didn't stay much longer as I had flights to Japan booked, but I was able to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, sites in Jaipur such as the Amer Fort, Hawa Mahal, and did a day trip to Bagru to see the textile production.

My thoughts on India were that, I didn't see enough or spend enough time to make any real conclusions. As a woman, I did feel very happy to have my brother with me the entire time, but I never felt threatened. The food was great! I was apprehensive about not liking the food, while it took a few days to adjust, I looked forward to the meals by the end.

One of the greatest things travel can teach you is how to be patient. Especially during times where everything is out of your control. What should have been a 12 or so hour travel day from New Delhi to Osaka, with a 1 hour train ride to Kyoto turned into 30 hours... I learned how to exert as little energy as possible, and I learned to love the Hong Kong airport. But the trip was worth it because Japan was an incredible experience.

I spent the first 11 days in Kyoto, staying at Simon and Voni's house. Simon and I work together, so we were able to work for that time together, while still being able to eat all the katsu, ramen, and dumplings in Kyoto. I then rode the bullet train (AMAZING) to Tokyo. Tokyo is hands down the coolest, craziest, weirdest, most fun city I've ever explored.

To me, Kyoto and Tokyo represented 2 very different Japans: Kyoto being the respectful, quiet, beautiful Japan and Tokyo being the hi-tech, animated, efficient Japan. Both were fantastic. What I appreciated endlessly was the food culture -- every restaurant (unless Izakaya, which is like pub style aka small plates) only serves one type of food. So if you want ramen, you go to a ramen place, and all they serve is ramen. And it's going to be good every time because that's all the serve.

Another thing I loved were the convenient stores. If you live in Japan, you can file your taxes there, pick up your mail or packages... it is... for convenience.

So after 11 days of eating and working in Kyoto, it was back to holidays in Tokyo. I took the bullet train, which was quiet and efficient, got super lost trying to find my hotel, and spent 5 days in the company of 3 American men who were down to explore the city by foot and get into some ruckus as well.

I had the greatest Omakase dinner of my life (Sushi chef's choice). The sake and Japanese whisky were delicious. And the department store food courts were out of this world.

A few recommendations:

-Maisen Katsu: They have multiple locations, so good. So good. Go every day.

-Hashigo Ramen: In Ginza, recommended by a local.

-Kyubey Sushi in Keoi Plaza Hotel: See shrimp picture for more detail.

-Bar High Five: In Ginza, rated best bartender in the world.

-New York Bar: The famous Lost in Translation Bar, located in Park Hyatt. It was expensive but cool, great views, and you can go early and waive the cover charge.

-Harataka: For great sushi, not super fancy.

-Robot Restaurant: See robot playing flute for more detail.

I booked roundtrip out of Siem Reap, so I spent my last week back in Cambodia. I almost didn't get there because my passport was out of blank pages (you need a full page for a Cambodia visa). Luckily, I was able to use my EU passport instead. If you're going on a long trip with multiple visas, make sure you have plenty of pages and check visa requirements!

It was a more relaxing week than the previous days in Tokyo, and I was able to chill, do yoga, have better face time with my old students and coworkers, and read books. I even went to the Angkor Thom temple complex twice! Finally catching a sunrise at Angkor Wat. Funny enough, two groups of friends were traveling and came through Siem Reap during the same time, so I was able to play tour guide for them. And of course, no travel is complete without a final mishap - which was getting my phone stolen out of my bag on New Years Eve (when I had to fly back to NYC at 8am on the 1st).

Pro Tip: If you need to wake up for a flight and the hotel concierge forgets to call you, you can set up an alarm clock on your computer and set computer to be awake all night.

The six week trip came and went in a blink. I'd bought my flights 6 months in advance and planned on doing a lot of it solo. But it worked out that my family joined me in India, and random groups of friends from America were traveling to the same places I was. The time spent alone was in transit and a few days in Siem Reap.

Traveling is exhausting. But the entire trip was a good mix of relaxing, exploring, walking, resting, eating, drinking, and connecting with new and old friends. If you need a break during a trip, take it, it's important to listen to your body (and wallet) on extended travel, because it's a different than just a week holiday.

Thanks for traveling through with me!