travel Archives • Page 10 of 11 • The Bliss Movement

Packing with Mesh Bags/Clothing Organizers, Yes or No?

Packing a backpack is an art. It takes skill and practice before you figure out how you like your stuff. As it is a backpack that you’re lugging around on your back, packing light is essential. Ditch the cardigan that has been sitting in the back of your closet for a year. Bring only the essential jewelry for a night out, maybe a nice pair of earrings. And honestly, you don’t need six pairs of shoes. Distributing the weight inside your backpack is important. A lot of people think that heavy things should be at the bottom, but that can wreak havoc on your back[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

Traveling Without A Cell Phone

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. -- Kahlil Gibran My generation has become accustomed to being constantly connected to technology. Cell phones, apps, iPod, iPhones, iEverything. This world is becoming an iWorld. Constantly connected to the rest of civilization. Everybody’s thoughts and relationship statuses at the tip of our fingers. We see our lives through the screens of our cell phones and we have immediate distraction right there in front of us whenever we are bored. We’ve become unac[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

2 Things You Need To Get In Order Before You Leave For Your Trip

Preparing for a trip can be as much work as the traveling itself. I think that there are generally two types of people. First, there are the ones who seem to always have everything figured out without even trying, who finish packing in no time at all because they just know exactly what they need. Their bags contain only the essentials. These people don’t forget things and if they do, they don’t go back for it. They just shrug it off. I sincerely wish I was one of these people. Then, there are people like me. I don’t mean to stress, I actually enjoy packing[...]

England

Dreaming of London: A London Photo Gallery

I first stepped foot in this city when I was fourteen years old. It was a family trip to visit our relatives in England and I immediately fell in love. To my horror we were only there for a day and we did the tourist thing. A bus tour, walking around to see famous sites like Big Ben. I was young, invigorated and in love with a city I had barely known. Since that day I have been there a few more times and the more I visit, the harder I fall. It is still my dream to someday live in this city and to be lucky enough to call it home.[...]

Personal Development, Self-Care, Thailand, Travel

5 Life Lessons We Can Learn From Elephants

I think that people are subtly trying to let me know that they’ve had enough of my elephant talk. A few weeks ago my cousin, not so subtly, told me that he was getting tired of seeing so much elephant stuff coming from my Facebook. Just a few days ago I was trying to get my brother to watch the saddest but very educational video about elephant training in circuses, to which he refused and asked why. Well, to raise his awareness, of course. “Look who I live with. I think I have enough elephant awareness,” was his reply. Nevertheless, I don’t think there’s[...]

Asia, Mood and Mindset, Self-Care, Thailand, Travel

Life Lessons from a Monk.

I went to a psychic for the first time when I was sixteen. At the end of the session she gave me her Mary Kay Cosmetics card and I couldn’t believe I had fallen for such a stupid idea. However, that didn’t stop me from going to another and another and to this day I still like going to talk to psychics. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the idea of psychics. Are they real? Are they frauds? I believe some of them know what they’re talking about and I believe others are total scams. My dad thinks it's all a load of B.S and a waste of money. I think it's[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

Solid Shampoos and Conditioners, Do They Live Up To The Hype?

If you know me you will know that I am terrible at packing light. It’s not the clothes that cause the issue it’s all of the hair and body products. I end up thinking that all of them are absolutely crucial. As I don’t usually bring a heat tool to curl or straighten my hair, I’ve usually got two to three products for scrunching along with a hairspray and a nice smoothing serum. On top of that I’ve got my big bottles of shampoo and conditioner to lug around. I’ve even succumbed to bringing a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner to save space which ends up leaving[...]

Asia, Thailand, Travel

The Fire Performers of Thailand

When I am in Thailand, one of my favorite things to do is to sit back on a soft cushion on the beach with a cold Chang in my hand and watch the fire performers. Fire performers show off their talents all over the islands of Thailand, performing for the tourists in front of beach bars as the sun goes down. According to a Chiang Mai tattoo artist and fire performer, it takes a very long time to excel at the art of fire performing. Two summers ago I had the opportunity to attempt to learn a few of the movements involved in working with the fire balls, minus the fire[...]

Thailand, Travel

Learning How To Pray From A Monk

Before I went to Thailand I knew very little about monks. In fact, they were like make believe characters to me. I had never seen one and I was naïve enough to think that maybe there just weren’t that many monks these days, that they were something of the past. I was very wrong. As I spent time in Chiang Mai it became a common occurrence for monks to pass me by on the streets as I looked for breakfast. After spending twenty years never seeing a monk, they were suddenly everywhere in their beautiful saffron robes. Women are not allowed to have any physical con[...]

Asia, Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel, Vietnam

10 Tips For Surviving An Overnight Bus in Asia

By the time our cab driver has arrived at the bus station, we are one of the last stragglers to board our overnight bus. We are given plastic bags and told to remove our shoes before getting on. I’m maneuvering myself through the narrow spaces between seats, passing foreigners and locals alike doing their best to get into a comfortable position in their designated bed. Instead of seats all perfectly aligned like a regular bus you would imagine, the seats are narrow and fully reclined, two layers of three rows. All I can think is that it looks like The Knight B[...]

Czech Republic, Europe, Prague

Prague, Captured in Photographs

Prague isn’t just a city, but an entity of some kind. -Sezin Koehler Have you ever been to a city where you start walking and then suddenly it's dark outside? You begin to wander through tiny alleyways, stumbling across beautiful hidden secrets, drifting in and out of reality. That was Prague to me - a city that I spent days wandering in and constantly being pulled in and out of its fairytale-like atmosphere. I only had three days in Prague and let me tell you, three days is not nearly enough. However, in those three days I was able to experie[...]

Thailand, Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

6 Questions To Ask Before Getting A Tattoo Abroad

I love tattoos. I love the stories behind them and the light in someones eye when they talk about what their tattoo means or where they got it. Can you guess what kinds of tattoos fascinate me most? You got it, travel tattoos. Whether the person got the tattoo on their travels or the tattoo is a symbol of their love of travel, they are by far the most interesting and the closest to my heart. I also love script tattoos since I connect with words more than images. It seems that every time I leave the country, the itch for a tattoo comes back and boy is that itch st[...]