Cooking Class in Chiang Mai: Zab-E-Lee's

In my opinion, a Thai cooking class is something that (if time allows) any traveler coming through Chiang Mai should look into.  Not only is it an informative learning experience, but you get to try out your hand in the process AND eat all the amazing food!  Foodie or no foodie, chef or no chef, I think there is fun here for everyone- even for those who claim they "can't cook"- do not worry!  It's all laid out for you and actually most of the work is already done.  You follow some basic instructions and you voila- you are a Thai chef!

Zack conquers 50k: His Thoughts on the North Face Endurance Challenge

My husband, Zack, has time and time again proved to be such a strong individual.  I admire the way he takes opportunities in life and runs with them...  In this case in particular, he literally ran.  

50km, actually.

One Week in Vietnam: Last stop... Hoi An!

Okay, first thing's first.  Can we take a moment to appreciate the above photo?  The colours, the dark silhouettes, the glow of floating lanterns among the rowboats.... just wow.  This photo is unedited except for the addition of the "Hoi An" title.  It was literally a picture perfect moment.  And the funny part is, minutes before this, Zack and I were having an argument.  A particularly stupid one actually.  As we bickered and pushed through the riverside crowds in old town Hoi An, we stopped in our tracks when we saw this scene in front of us.  It was so beautiful that we both decided right then and there that this argument wasn't worth our time.  It was so beautiful.  It was magical. 

One Week in Vietnam: Ninh Binh... A Beautiful Detour

After a few days in Hanoi, we were desperately seeking nature and a break from the heat.  That is why I was SO excited for the next part of my "surprise adventure": Halong Bay (Ninh Binh was actually not at all in the plan at all at this point!).  As we were packing our bags for our planned boat cruise along Halong Bay, a typhoon was rapidly heading our way.  By the time we were ready to go, the winds and rain had picked up so much that all trips out into the bay had been cancelled last minute.  Not only did Zack feel bad that his "surprise plans" had fallen through, I forced him to tell me all the details about the rest of the trip in order to help him plan the rest of the week.  We hadn't realized that we were visiting Vietnam in typhoon season..... oops.

One Week in Vietnam: The Streets of Hanoi

As I boarded a plane to Vietnam, I knew nothing more about the country other than that the people had endured years of war and that it was the home of some tasty noodle soup named Pho. I also had zero idea of where in Vietnam I was headed.  Zack planned out this entire trip; partially because I was preoccupied with other things at home and partially because he naturally is the itinerary planner out of the two of us.  As he planned, he decided to keep the itinerary a secret from me as a fun way to celebrate my birthday.  It wasn't until I had my boarding pass in hand at the airport, that I was aware of where we were headed first.  So basically, he "whisked me away" to Vietnam!  I know what you're thinking... Zack is the sweetest husband ever and this is just way too romantic.  Well, the first part of that is absolutely true... he is the sweetest.  And the second, well... if you consider being whisked across some of the craziest streets in the world, dodging motorbikes left and right (hoping you come out alive) and dripping with sweat as make your way through dusty street vendors, than yes, how romantic. :)

A Life Update

You may have noticed that I have been a bit absent from this site lately.  There has been a lot going on in my life these past couple of months- from being in Canada, moving into a new house in Thailand, from teaching English and to finding out some devastating family news.  I don't really know where to start, so I might as well start with the worst of it.

May at Sarah Reimer Designs: Preparing for my first Handmade Market!!

Trekking Mount Rinjani: Lombok, Indonesia

I knew the morning would come too soon as I tossed and turned in my damp sleeping bag. It was only 9pm but when you are up in the clouds of the mountains, 9pm feels like the middle of the night. I went over in my head that everything was prepared for when we woke… head lamps: check… gloves and extra sweater: check… camera with extra battery: check. I hoped that my shoes would stay dry from the dew or moisture in the air. I was already sick of those gross wafer chocolate bars that we stocked up on before we left, but I stocked my jacket pockets anyways. It had only been one day of hiking so far and I was eating those as if they were going out of style (I guess you could say I'm a bit paranoid on hikes like this after what happened in Norway.). I continued to toss and turn, trying to get comfortable between the lumps in the ground that seemed to be so inconveniently placed. It wasn't before long, that I heard some stirring outside our tent. It was our Indonesian porters, who were in charge of setting up/tearing down camp as well as cooking our meals. 2am ...it was time to hit the trail.

Gili Air, Indonesia... an island of dreams.

After a few amazing days in Ubud, we said goodbye to beautiful Bali....  and said hello to the island of Gili Air- a whole new kind of beautiful.  When writing a title for this post, the phrase "island of dreams" seemed pretty accurate.  No motorized vehicles- only bicycles and horse and buggy, the most beautiful turquoise water, beautiful beaches, fresh coconuts... this place was pure bliss.  We found our accommodations through Airbnb once again, which turned out to be a small group of bungalows owned by a guy from Spain.  We lounged in the pool, walked around the island (which only takes about an hour to walk around), and thoroughly enjoyed the food.  We also went out snorkeling one afternoon to find a wild sea turtle, which was pretty exciting!  (I'll post a video at the end of this post).

Beautiful Ubud, Bali

Oh Ubud... the photographer's dream...

We left the beaches of Kuta to head north to Ubud, one of the most beautiful Asian towns I've been to yet.  The architecture here all seemed so sacred, with Hindu temples built into peoples homes, ancient carvings everywhere, and rice fields tucked in behind even the busy (but not busy compared to Kuta!) tourist streets.  With an abundant amount of local crafts, healthy food, and relaxed atmosphere, we definitely felt at home here.  We stayed in a beautiful Eco Home which Zack had found on Airbnb which was nestled in one of Ubud's cleanest neighbourhoods (it was nice to actually be staying among a local community), ate amazing food, and had bicycles to ride into town.  It was possibly the most ideal three days in Ubud.

First, let me introduce to you to our Bamboo Eco Home....

Arriving in BALI! (in all of it's... glory?)

What do you picture when you think Bali?  Palm trees and pristine beaches?  Tourists sipping on coconuts and people doing yoga on the beach as the sun sets?  Paradise?  I didn't even realize it, but it turns out I had this image of paradise in my head as we touched down at the Kuta Airport.  A bit too early, perhaps..

April at Sarah Reimer Designs: Introducing hand bound books!

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What keeps me going as a creative and a solo maker is bringing new ideas to the table.  Since listing my first batch of greeting cards back in May of 2015, I have tried new ways of bringing my travel inspired items a new twist.  Beginning with my travel calendar last fall, I branched out and successfully listed some hand drawn prints (mostly maps, bicycles, or nature inspired), and even sold my hand painted plates that I listed earlier this year (though they turned out nicely, I look at those as completely random. Can't say that idea really took off. But it was fun!).  This twist, however, seems like a PERFECT fit for my shop.  Hand bound travel photography notebooks.  These books perfectly showcase my travel photography while at the same time bringing in the art and detail of handmade.  Not only do I print the photos on handmade paper (and use that paper throughout the book), I actually hand sew these books.  Sounds tedious perhaps, but I love it.  There is something so fulfilling about actually creating these books from beginning to finish.

March at Sarah Reimer Designs: How I almost got famous this month. ;)

March was a slow month here for sales, but I did manage to get some pretty mighty exposure on this big world wide web!  I've also been reading the book, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, which has really allowed me to look at my work in a new way.  To me, it's not about the number of sales I get, but more that I am doing what I love and inviting creativity into my life.  I realize that I cannot control the amount of sales I get, but I can control what I put into my shop.  I had three major accomplishments this month that in return, did not make me any richer financially, but rather enriched my life creatively.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I am so glad we decided to keep heading south and into Malaysia. Don't get me wrong, the beaches and islands of southern Thailand were amazing, but it didn't feel that much different from Chiang Mai. Once crossing the border into Malaysia, it really felt like we were far away from home. New language, new food, new culture... it felt like we were worlds away. I really didn't know that much about Malaysia before coming here. In contrast to Thailand's Buddhist religion, Malaysia is mainly Muslim. Most women are covered head to toe, and I now felt like I really stood out as a foreigner. You'll often hear the “call to prayer” played over loud speaker where ever you are because most likely, there is a mosque in ear shot distance. The food seemed like a combination of cultures... but mainly has a Chinese and Indian influence. We LOVED the roti and naan while we were here (and probably ate it every single day). Prices were a bit more expensive than in Thailand, but it's hard to beat the low cost of Thailand. Overall, we had 7 days to spend in Malaysia, so we spent the first 3 days in Kuala Lumpur and 4 days in the Cameron Highlands.

Koh Lanta: Camping on the beach and motorbike adventures

Out of all our travels in the south of Thailand, Koh Lanta quickly became our island of choice. After doing some research on the different islands, what led us to this island initially was the long beaches, the sunsets, and the combination of tourism vs. local authenticity (some places in southern Thailand have exploded with tourism… not really our cup of tea). All of these proved to be true! You may have read about our experience at Lanta Animal Welfare. This was just one experience there that made our visit a great stay.  From exploring the island by motorbike to camping on the beach, we have a lot of good things to say about our stay here!

A visit to Lanta Animal Welfare: Koh Lanta, Thailand

Back in January, I blogged a little bit about our Christmas break down in southern Thailand.  You may have read about our Island Tour down in Krabi or our kayaking adventure from Ton Sai bay.  Well, the adventures continued for another couple weeks after that! Next, we headed to Koh Lanta, a beautiful Island south of Krabi, and then into Malaysia.  There really was so much to share, that I wanted to break our trip down into different posts, but only covered about half our trip (woops).  I am finally sitting down to share about the next half of our trip.  In all honesty, our trip just continued to get better as time went on, so I am excited to write a few new posts!

Our Neighbourhood... the Good, Bad, and the Ugly: Photography Week Four

I am excited to share this post to set some things straight.  Sometimes people assume we live in a "tropical paradise" where we spend our days drinking fresh coconuts while lounging on the beach.  Okay, we do have fresh coconuts quite often, and we do have a pool to lounge at if we want...  however, our reality is much different than a "tropical paradise".  We don't live on a compound or within a special community full of Westerners.  Our housing was not arranged for us.  We live in an apartment building in the heart of Chiang Mai (I will admit, it is a really nice apartment that is not so typical for Thai people.  See more photos here of our apartment).  There is a mix of locals and expats who live in our building, however, our neighbourhood is mostly Thai.  Also, in case you weren't aware, we are nowhere close to any beaches.  Chiang Mai is nestled among the mountains of northern Thailand and it would probably take at least a full day of driving to see the ocean.

February at Sarah Reimer Designs

Is February seriously over already?  Anyone else feeling like that month just evaporated out of thin air?  We even got one extra day with it being a leap year, and I still am stumped at where this month went.  It was a busy month for me.  I have been getting a lot more hours teaching here at the school (which is great, but I do end up getting less done for the shop), which I think makes time go even faster.

One Second Every Day + Photo Prompts: Photography Week Three

Project One: 1 Second Every Day

At the beginning of the month, I listened to a Podcast about a guy named Cesar Kuriyama.  He is involved in an on-going project of documenting his life by filming one second of each day in hopes of creating lasting memories of the year, in one six minute video.  Though at first I thought this was a little silly to be filming one second every day, I was intrigued by his thought process behind this idea.  With only taking a few seconds out of his day, he was able to capture something that truly reflected his every day life- the good and the bad.  It wasn't about capturing those "picture perfect" moments (though sometimes those do happen!), but it was about capturing little bits of his daily grind.  Capturing these moments by video added a whole different aspect over just taking a photo.  Hearing the sounds, and seeing a live moment in time can trigger memories that a photograph may not.  Anyways, this guy turned his idea into an app called "1 Second Every Day".  I downloaded the app and decided to give it a go.  I started on a Thursday, and decided to see where it took me.  I decided if I didn't like having to commit to this, I would simply not continue with it...

Chiang Mai Junk Market: Photography Week Two

Let's flash back to this past September of 2015.  I arrived in Chiang Mai after 36 hours in transit by myself.  I was jet lagged.  My short term memory was embarrassingly terrible for those next few days(who else experiences this when they're jet lagged? Zack literally had to repeat everything to me), and I felt a little confused with my decision to pack up and move across the world to a foreign country.  I couldn't understand what anyone was saying and I didn't understand why people were doing the things they did.  Though my memory was lacking for the first few days, there are a couple memories that stand out in my brain as I wandered around trying to absorb my surroundings.  One of those memories was my visit to the junk market.  

Market Life in Chiang Mai: Photography Week One

If you've ever visited a market in Thailand (or Asia for that matter), you'll know that it can be senses overload.  The sights, sounds, smells (good AND bad)... it all adds up to be quite an experience.  So, for my first photo project of the month, I decided to head to Wararot Market here in Chiang Mai.  This place is like a travel photographer's dream.  There is always SO much happening.  You can find anything from hand woven goods to live frogs to colourful fabrics and Thai apparel... you name it, it's probably there.  Markets like these seem to have a culture of their own.  Some markets here in the city are open all night long (not this one in particular), and it's not uncommon to find someone sleeping behind piles of bananas and coconuts.  I've found myself wandering through yards and yards of fabric, I've encountered fluffy dogs dressed in sweaters (some nice and some unfortunately not so nice), and have been caught of guard by finding live turtles and eels in buckets.  There's lots of food to try and lots of smells to be smelled.  Zack and I have come here a few times to just wander and take it all in.  This week, I tried to capture the many colours, textures, and culture I see when I visit Wararot Market.

Tonsai and Railay: Sea Kayaking and a Hippie Haven

This post is a continuation of our Christmas holidays in the south, continuing on from the beaches of Krabi.  (click that link to read where I left off).

As we unloaded our stuff out of a creaky wooden long boat, ankles now deep in water, we looked around for any other signs of existence.  Though only 15 minutes away from Aonang beach (a more populated and tourist packed place), Tonsai felt so... remote.  We said a quick goodbye and thank you to our Thai boat driver, and I looked down towards each end of the beach.  There were definitely no sun bathers. I saw plenty other longboats, a Thai guy renting kayaks, and what looked to be a small corner store about 50 metres off the shore.  At the far end of the beach, I noticed some movement scaling the steep rock cliffs.  I looked more closely and noticed that this "movement" was from humans!  In front of us were rock climbers that came from far and wide to climb these world famous cliffs.  But I wondered... where do all these climbers stay?  The bay looked deserted, and surely not all of these travelers could afford staying at the pristine Railay bay around the corner...

2016: A year to Grow

As I revisited my 30 before 30 list, I realized in order to help me achieve my goals, I needed to see them in front of me. I also came to recognize that I wanted smaller goals to achieve every month, week and even day. I follow a blogger who I originally used to help plan our Europe trip. She just wrote a year in review post and in it she talks about how she did in achieving her goals. She had a picture of a daily checklist for her goals and I loved the idea of seeing progress. Interestingly enough, the calendar is created by a blogger/podcaster that Sarah listens to and gains insights and ideas for her work. I decided to choose a few things that I could measure and work towards.

30 Before 30 Revisited

Last year for my Birthday/New Years I decided to write a 30 before 30 list. Things I wanted to do/accomplish before I entered into what I considered real adulthood. A few weeks back I was excited to reflect back on this list to see how I was doing. In all honesty though, I wish I would have printed this list and displayed it somewhere for me to see every day. They say if you want to accomplish something, make sure you are reminded of it daily. I plan to do that this year to make more happen (along with some daily/weekly goals). I can't complain though as it has still been an awesome year full of so many adventures, travels, and blessings.