Things I love: Day 3— Travel Quote

There’s nothing I love better than getting inspiration from amazing writers. Whether it’s seeing a quote on Pinterest or spotting one scrolling on Instagram, great quotes always get that fire going in my belly. They re-awaken my dreams and my yearning to travel to a new destination or to experience something new.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from author Jack Kerouac:

YOLO. Carpe Diem. No day but today.  I am feeling the urge to book my next plane ticket now!  Where do you want to go next?

All Love,

Alicia

Day 2- Things I love: Traveling

TRAVELING. I love to travel! Why? Because it’s exciting and fun! There’s a whole world to discover and the thrill of meeting someone new, having enchanting experiences, and learning new skills is… priceless. It’s hard to not love traveling, am I right?!

For me, it’s always about the EXPERIENCE and how it makes me FEEL.  There are some places that make me feel totally at home, like my heart has found its place in the world. There are other places that stretch me beyond my comfort zone and challenge me to take new risks.  Each city has its own energy, its own vibration, which will make you feel a different way.  I find that each journey I take is due to an experience I want to have. When I went to France, I wanted to experience elegance. When I went to Spain, I craved an adventure. When I went to Thailand, I wanted to experience love and rediscover myself.

Here are my Top 10 Favorite places I’ve been to:

1. CHIANG MAI, THAILAND. I experienced love like never before. Met a soulmate who opened my heart again. The rustic charm of this city was impossible not to fall in love with!
2. AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE. I found true love in this little town. Met my first boyfriend here. Learned how to speak French in a study abroad program, found my inner beauty, felt the true meaning of romance.
3. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK. This is where my heart lives. I will always consider New York my home. This place makes me come alive! The music, the art, the straight-up no-nonsense people, the fashion, the drive… NYC made me flourish and thrive.
4. WAIKIKI, HAWAII. Hawaii is paradise. The beaches, the food, the tropical air. I could definitely live here for a while.  It’s a place where I can dream and feel free. Not a care in the world. I mean, how can you be stressed when you are in paradise?! OOH— plus, Hawaii has THE BEST COFFEE in the world! Kona coffee (100% Kona) is my favorite by far! And I’m a huge coffee snob. I’m telling you: it’s heaven!
5. KOH TAO, THAILAND. Interestingly enough, aside from the beauty and perfect weather on this island, I actually experienced and gained a lot of friendship from this magical place.  Lifetime bonds were formed with other travelers I had met and really fun times were had because of them. We even had our own mini floating lantern ceremony on our last night together. It was so magical and full of wonder and love. Super grateful for all the gifts that this place brought me. Plus, you can become a certified scuba diver for super cheap!
6. BONAIRE, CARIBBEAN. This island challenged me to face my fears. I am terrified of heights and went cliff jumping with my friends. It was disastrous because the first time I fell on my hip and bruised it badly. But my friend forced me to go two more times to overcome the fear of hurting myself. And I did it. Scariest thing ever, but what an adrenaline rush!
7. BARCELONA, SPAIN. Who doesn’t love hot chocolate and churros for breakfast?? I found new experiences here. I have always loved the Spanish culture. It was experiencing a whole new world, a whole new way of being where family, loyalty, and friendships came first. And a love for siestas. I love taking naps!
8. FLORENCE, ITALY. I loved all of Italy, but Florence captured my heart. Something about the quaint city plucked at my heart strings. I could live there. It was simple, yet filled with an air of pure love. And the food was to die for! Who knew you could eat that much pasta and cheese and still lose weight?!
9. HONG KONG, HONG KONG. Talk about a bustling city! With so much great food and culture, it is hard not to feel the vibrancy and ancient history this place has to offer.
10. DISNEYWORLD, FLORIDA. Okay, so maybe Disneyworld isn’t technically a city, BUT it is it’s own world and it’s by far my favorite. It’s the happiest place on earth! I don’t know how Disney does it, but I always feel so happy and full of life and have so much fun every time I go there.

What are your favorite places that you’ve been to? And what did you experience there? I’d love to hear!

Sending you lots of love,

Alicia

Dante’s View: 5 Steps to Let Go of Your Worries

This weekend I went to Death Valley, California to explore more of the state. I went up to a place called Dante’s View where you stand at the highest point in California and can look down to see the lowest point in California. It took my breath away. The mountains and valleys were so deep and seemed to go on forever.

The view from the top was spectacular and it reminded me to keep life in perspective. I had been worrying about the future so much that I started to lose all creativity and gumption. But standing there looking out into the horizon, I was reminded to take a step back and look at the big picture.

My life was filled with abundance. I had just allowed fear to consume my mind. I started to focus on what I did have, and a smile crept onto my face. I had a nice apartment to live in, great friends, a healthy body, food in my belly, plenty of clean water to drink.  I had the freedom to choose whatever job I wanted, to create my own business, to live a life that I loved with the love of my life by my side. There was coffee in my cup every morning and a warm bed to sleep in at night. Things are pretty good right now. I have so much to be thankful for.  My anxiety left my body as the wind blew my worries away.

Life is short. Why bother wasting it worrying about what tomorrow is gonna bring??

1. Do what you can with what you’ve got.

2. Live in the moment. Life happens in the present. Not in the past, and not in the future. Your time is NOW.

3. Have faith that it’s going to turn out all right in the end. Believe. Surrender. There are always going to be bumps in the road and obstacles to overcome. But you have the power to find a solution and climb over any hurdle that comes your way.

4. Focus on what you DO have and what you CAN do. You get what you put your attention on, so think about all the good things you have in your life and the actions you can take. More good things will come to you!

5. Just keep going and do something that you love each and every day. Every step forward, no matter how small will get you to your goals. And if you are doing something you love everyday, your life will be filled with so much more happiness.

Travel not to find yourself,

but to remember who you’ve been all along.

What steps do you take to free yourself from worry and destress? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

If you want more up-to-date pictures of my adventures, follow me on Instagram!

And as always, I am here for you. This is your time. You’ve got this!

Much Love,

Alicia

Top 10 Bucket List Ideas

TGIF! It’s Feel Good Friday!

And what better way to feel good than to see if I can check off anything on my bucket list this weekend. Or at least start planning for it 🙂

Any time I feel uninspired, I go to Pinterest and find things to add to my Bucket List. Here are my Top 10 Bucket List Ideas that I want to accomplish this year:

1. Swim with a mermaid tail on. I’ve always loved “The Little Mermaid” and have always wanted to be Ariel. There’s a yoga retreat in Bali where you can do this!! Check it out here: TeekiDreams.com

2. Watch the sunset in Santorini, Greece. I am OBSESSED with Greek mythology and would die to go to Greece to stand where the legends began. My favorite Greek God is Athena. Who is your favorite?

3. Write and publish a book. When traveling, you experience so many exciting and moving things! I want to write and publish my own book of stories from my adventures. Riding elephants, finding true love, discovering true inner beauty… what’s your favorite story? 4. Let go of a Floating Lantern in Thailand. Okay, so I already did this, (story here) BUT– I would really like to go to The Floating Lantern Festival and release a lantern with thousands of other people! If I can’t make it back to Thailand, I am planning on doing it here in the States. Want to come with me to the RISE festival? Click here for more details! 5. Travel the World with Someone I Love. I am all about solo travel, but I am also all about traveling with people that I love. What better way to explore the world than with someone dear that you can share all those experiences with? For me, it doesn’t matter where you are, it’s who you are with ❤ 6. Go Lavender Picking. Lavender is my FAVORITE scent! I am dying to go to a lavender farm in France and pick my own batch of lavender. Calming and peaceful, lavender soothes my soul. Plus, purple is my favorite color. I want to have a photo shoot in those beautiful purple fields! 7. Stay in an overwater bungalow. I tried to find one of these in Thailand, but alas, they were nowhere to be found! Turns out they are more prominent in Fiji, Bora Bora, and the Maldives. I must book a ticket to one of those islands then! Who wants to go with me?8. Learn to Shoot a Gun. Who doesn’t want to be a badass superhero?! I really want to play one of those tough chicks fighting crime and putting the bad guys away. 9. Ride in a helicopter. Even though I am terrified of heights, I would love to see the world from an aerial view like this! 10. Do an Infinity Sign with a Friend. How cute of a picture is this?! Now all I have to do is convince one of my flexible girl friends to come to the beach and make this happen. Friends forever!

BONUS: 11. Go on a Disney Date. I’m a Disney Princess at heart and love Disneyland. It’s the Happiest Place on Earth! Living in SoCal, I know I can make this happen! Who wants to be my Prince for the day?

For more of my bucket list, follow my Pinterest Bucket List board!

What things are on your bucket list? Comment below. I’d love to hear your dreams and desires!

Much Love,

Alicia

 

10 Tips for the Full Moon Party in Thailand

Time for Tuesday’s Travel Tips and Tricks!

Happy Tuesday! Today I’d love to share with you some tips and tricks if you are interested in going to a FULL MOON PARTY!

What is a Full Moon Party? It is a magical night of dancing, drinking and tons of fun on a beautiful beach in Thailand! It a tradition that occurs at every full moon on the island of Koh Phangan where thousands of people from all over the world come together to celebrate and dance on the beach underneath the full moon until the sun rises the next day.  I’m not much of a party animal, but I had a joyful time and highly recommend doing this once in your life. Why? Because it is crazy and exciting and an incredibly unique experience! The music, the energy, the vibe, the stories… it’s almost impossible to describe. You have to go and experience it for yourself! Definitely worth the trip! More information can be found here: http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/index.html

 

If you are dying to go, here are some tips and tricks to have the best experience possible:

• DO book your hostel in advance! More than 10,000 people flock to the small island just for the Full Moon Party, so make sure to find your living arrangements early. I booked my hostel 6 weeks in advance and half the places were already full! Trust me: You will be thankful for your bed instead of having to sleep on the beach!

• DO try and book a hostel by the beach. Here’s why: if you already have your lodging in within the stretch of beach where the Full Moon Party occurs, you don’t have to pay the entrance fee! BONUS: since your hostel is on the beach, you can easily access a clean bathroom and even return back to your bed for a quick nap if you get tired! You can book your hostel on the other side of the island or even book a hotel on Koh Samui (the neighboring island) and take a ferry to Koh Phangan. However, you will be stuck at the party all night long and the taxis will be a bit difficult to come by at the wee hours of the morning should you want to go home early. YES TO THE YING TIP: try booking a bunk at At Phangan Hostel. This is where I stayed. The owner Sophita is SUPER nice and accomodating and is ready to help you make the most out of your Full Moon experience! The hostel is clean and right in the midst of the party, while being in the heart of the town where there is much food and shopping as well.

 

• DO eat something before you head out. Buckets of liquor will be served all night long, and you will want to prepare your stomach for the debauchery of the night ahead! Yes, there are actual plastic buckets you can purchase filled with 3 tea cups of hard liquor and a chaser of your choice. They will f*** you up, so be forewarned! Crazy things happen when people drink a ton of buckets!

• DO keep your camera/smartphone on a wrist or neck lanyard. THINGS DO GET STOLEN! If your hands are flying through the air as you are dancing the night away, your camera might go flying away too. I kept mine on a wrist lanyard, so I knew where it was the entire night and still was able to have fun and take amazing photos!

• DO get painted up! Around 7pm, stands will be posted up where you can get completely adorned in beautiful glow-in-the-dark paint. Here’s why you should do it: a) there are black lights shining all over the beach, so you will be able to shine in the darkness under the moon light. b) It will make for really fun pictures and you will be able to keep track of where your friends are in the crowd!

• DO walk up and down the entire length of the beach. Not only are there bars blasting out different kinds of music, but there are also fire dancers, fire jump rope, and other exciting things to see and experience! Find the bar that’s playing your type of music and dance the night away!

 

• DO stay up and watch the sunrise. It is a stunning sight to see. Even if you have to take a nap in the middle of the night, set your alarm and watch the sun come up on the beach. You won’t regret it!

 

• DO NOT wear flip flops. They WILL go missing! You will be drinking and dancing all night long, and your flips are going to fly off your feet at one point or another. Granted, you most certainly can buy a new pair for cheap the next day, but why bother wearing them if you are going to lose them anyway? I suggest wearing sandals with a strap around the heel. Or if you want to fuck it, buy a cheap pair for 100 baht (about US $3) and wear those out. You will want something to protect your feet as bottles and beer cans will be strewn across the beach as the night progresses.
• DO NOT drink anything that you didn’t purchase or a drink that has left your hand. Especially if you are a female. Unfortunately, there are still skeeze-balls out there who do spike drinks and attempt to take advantage of girls, so just be aware.
• DO NOT bring anything of value with you. All you need is maybe 500 baht (about US $15) for drinks and food to keep you going through the night. That’s it. Enjoy yourself!

DO HAVE FUN! Meet people. Get to know the other people in your hostel or hotel. Going out in groups to this is the best. I ended up meeting a whole group of Canadian girls who were so sweet and kind. We ended up looking after each other and dancing until the sun came up. We even met these incredibly nice guys we ended up traveling to Koh Tao with, but that’s a whole other adventure for another post 🙂

What’s your favorite party you’ve been to in your travels? Comment below. I’d love to hear about it!

Much Love,

Alicia

Adventure: Hiking in Malibu

You don’t always have to travel to far away lands in order to have an adventure. Sometimes, a small day trip outside of your city can refuel your energy and clear your mind of the drudgery of your daily rut.

I missed having adventures in Thailand, so I decided to find adventures at home here in California.

For those of you who want to visit, there are some beautiful places to hike where you can see beautiful mountains and the ocean!

My friend Melissa and I woke up at 6am to drive to beautiful Malibu. We got up at 6am and headed out to the Malibu Canyons!

We arrived at the Solstice Canyons and it was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining. There was a light cool breeze. And the air was so fresh and clean. I was ready to start the hike!

We started hiking and immediately I was taken away by how serene and beautiful these hills were. The view even from the bottom of the canyon was breathtaking.  I couldn’t wait to get to the top!

 

 

 

 

We found a little rock area with a stream running through and decided to traverse it and take some pictures. It was fun to get connected to nature! Butterflies were flitting all around us beckoning us to play with them.

“Are we there yet?” I huffed. Good gracious, this was a work out! At least the scenery was beautiful.
We reached the top and a smile emerged on my face. WOW. I was grinning from ear to ear. THIS is what exploring is all about! Look at that view!!

Check it out! How stunning is this view?!

I had to take a moment and just soak it all in. This was so worth the mile hike uphill!

Melissa and I decided to strike a pose. As dancers, we had to fall into into a lunge and reach our fingers toward the sky!

Afterwards, we went to a cute little Mexican restaurant where we ordered these Chicken Burrito salad bowls. It was delicious! Topped with tons of fresh veggies like broccoli, bell peppers, and zucchini, it was the perfect post-hike meal.

If you ever visit LA, definitely go to Solstice Canyon. It’s definitely a beautiful site to see!

What adventures will you have this week? Comment below!

Much love,

Alicia

Top 5 Reasons to Travel

 

Happy Monday Motivation!

Last night I watched The Oscars and was pretty moved by quite a few speeches. It reminded me of why I love movies and how they inspire me to travel. There are so many reasons to travel, but what I love most about traveling is meeting new people and learning their stories. Everyone has a story to tell and they are fascinating to hear about. For example , during my travel to Thailand, I met a Canadian who worked six months out of the year and took six months to travel. Most of his travels were actually through the company he worked for who used 1/4 of their profits for philanthropy work all over the globe. The company would ask for volunteers from their company to travel to Argentina to build houses, fly to India to help the orphans at an ashram, and traverse to Thailand to deliver goods to those who lost everything in the tsunami.  This Canadian would volunteer. After he completed helping others, he would take a few more weeks to travel around the area and explore more of that country. How amazing is that?! Story after story about all the sights he saw and the people he met. It made me want to turn his life into a movie!

Most of us are taught to work hard, get into a good school, get a stable job, and start a family. It ends up becoming a life that is cramped into this little bubble of a rat race where you never seem to win. If you ever feel like that and have a yearning to have an adventure, here are 5 reasons to travel the world:

1. You get to see new and exciting sights. You wake up, go to work, come home, sleep. Repeat. Maybe there’s a workout at the gym, a coffee with a friend, a night out to dinner or the movies. But it’s all the same. The same places, the same restaurants, the same shops. Seeing new countries with new places to discover automatically gets you out of the boredom and routine of your daily life. You will feel freer, more energized, and happier! Change of environment is a valid form of therapy. So if you are unhappy, pick a city that inspires you, book a flight, and go. You’ll be in a better mood because of it!

2. You get to eat delicious new food. Food is delicious. Especially when you are getting handmade pasta in Italy or Pad Thai in Thailand or Spanish paella in Spain. The food in other countries tastes a million times better because most of them do not have all the GMOs and pesticides that we have here in the US of A.  That’s not to say that you can’t get great food in America, but the food overseas will definitely tantalize your tastebuds and fulfill your stomach’s desires you may not even know it had!

3. You get to meet new people. This was definitely my favorite part about traveling! Especially if you decide to backpack, you will meet other backpackers everywhere from all over the world. Strike up a conversation. Find out why they are traveling, how long they are on holiday, what exciting places they have already seen, and what places they are looking forward to exploring.  You may even get a fun traveling partner, a life-long friend, or maybe even meet the love of your life 🙂 I met several people along my journey who met someone during their trip who they fell in love with and had that soulmate connection with.  There are 6 billion people on Earth. Like-minded friends and lovers are out there. So go find them!

4. You get to try something new. If you have a bucket list and wonder if you will ever check anything off of it, now is your chance! No one is going to judge you out on the road. Find something you’ve always wanted to do and go do it! Whether it’s cliff diving, riding a bull, eating an exotic food, bungee jumping, or kissing someone underneath a waterfall, pick one item off your list and find a way to do it.  Your life is happening now. YOLO it up! You never know if you will get a chance to do it again! Be Brave!

5. You get to discover yourself and inspire others to do the same. Probably the most incredible experience I had traveling was learning more about myself and who I truly am.  As you connect with others and see the lifestyle and condition of other less fortunate countries, you become a lot more grateful for the abundance and freedoms we have in America. You also will learn about what truly matters to you and what is truly important in life. Kindness and compassion will fill your hearts and you will be able to bring those stories back home and hopefully inspire someone else to live a life filled with more happiness.  What is the meaning of life if there is no happiness? Chase your dreams.

I learned so many people’s stories while I traveled and I am turning these stories into screenplays and hopefully movies.

So, where are you going to travel to? Need help planning? Comment below and I’ll do my best to guide you as best as I can!

Much Love and Happy Traveling!

Alicia

Adventure: Floating Lanterns in Thailand

One of the most beautiful things that you can do in Thailand is go to the Floating Lantern Festival. It takes place in November of every year where thousands of people gather together to write their wishes on a lantern and send their desires up to the sky to hopefully be made true by the Universe.  Unfortunately, I missed the festival by one week and was devastated. I really wanted to light a floating lantern in Thailand and send my wishes up to the sky!

Luckily, when I was in Koh Tao (a small island famous for diving), my new backpacking friends (some of whom have become my life-long friends) helped me make my wish come true. It was our last night together on this magical island, so all ten of us decided to go out for dinner on the beach together.As we sat around a large table reminiscing on our favorite times together, I spotted one single floating lantern soaring above the ocean. I squealed, “Look! It’s a floating lantern!! We have to light one!!” All of the girls immediately jumped for joy at the idea.  One of my friends spotted a man walking along the beach selling some. We leaped out of our chairs and asked him how much it cost. After some haggling (never accept the first price! You can always get cheaper! Check out more Thailand tips here), we scored ten lanterns: one for each of us. He had to go back and make more, but promised to be back in one hour to help us light them. That gave us plenty of time to finish our meals.

One hour later, he returned as promised. I hunted a waitress down and begged her to find me a marker so we could write our desires and wishes on the lanterns. Charmed by my childish excitement, she snagged one from the bartender and I scribbled furiously onto the rice paper. Twenty minutes later, we were all ready. We stood on the beach as the man helped us light them.

The heat from the flames were surprisingly strong and the hot air immediately started lifting our lanterns high. I had to hold on tight to make sure we all released them at the same time. This is my friend Jessica from Canada 🙂

Finally, we were all ready.

Three… two… one… RELEASE. My lantern floated up into the dark night sky.

It was breath-taking. An overwhelming sense of peace and wonderment enveloped us all as we watched our group of lanterns float off into the distance.

All the girls got into a group hug and begged me to sing “I See The Light” from Disney’s “Tangled.” Naturally, I obliged.

It was one of the most beautiful and bonding moments of my trip.

If you have the chance to light a floating lantern in Thailand, do it! I must confess that some of my wishes I wrote on my lantern are already coming true!

Follow me on Instagram for more pictures of my travels: http://instagram.com/aliciaying/

Much Love,

Alicia

Adventure: Riding Elephants in Thailand

WOW! What an adventure! Riding elephants in Thailand was MAGICAL.
The owner of our hostel (Diva Guesthouse– yup, we are two stunning divas!) was incredibly helpful. She organized a whole package: ride the elephants and bathe with the elephants! How fun!
A very nice and handsome Thai driver picked us up from the hostel and took us on a 2-hour drive up north of Chiang Mai to the elephant camp. We were transported to a gorgeous scenery of lush forests, mountains, and rice fields.

The moment I entered the camp, I gasped in excitement. These elephants took my breath away!

We were given clothes to change into and given bananas to feed the elephants. They were overjoyed to receive the yummy treats and ran over to us eagarly sticking out their trunks to grab a banana from our hands. I giggled with delight. They were so cute!!!

We were given quick instructions on how to ride the elephants and got assigned to our elephants. And then it was time to ride! Me and my friend were assigned to a 45-year old year old female elephant named Mai-ee-lu.

There are the most kind and compassionate creatures I have ever encountered. I now know why they are so highly respected and revered in Thailand. Our elephant guide, Sven, taught us a lot about the elephants: why they are so smart, the three different types of elephants, how they are getting abused, and how these camps help the elephants live a better life.  Elephants are my new spirit animal. I am forever inspired by their kindness, playfulness, and compassion. These intelligent animals will forever have a huge place in my heart.

By the end of the afternoon, none of us wanted to leave. We all felt so much respect for the elephants more than ever. YES TO THE YING TIP: Find a camp that allows you to ride them bare-back!! The wooden seats they sometimes use really hurt the elephants’ back and put them in a lot of pain! Do go to a humane camp and not one that is just out for a profit from Westerners. You can find out more at TripAdvisor.com.