A Little Life Update

Whoaaaa it’s been far too long since I posted.

Remember me? God, I freakin’ hope so.

This whole work-while-traveling thing has not had quite as much balance as I thought it would….but I’m happy to say it’s because I’ve been too busy ~living in the moment~. Can you believe I’ve already been backpacking for 3 months? Time flies! During my first month I thought dang, 4 months is a long time. Now I’m thinking…hmmm how can I extend my trip? Once you get into traveling, you learn about so many more places you want to go through people you meet. There are places I never thought I’d go or never heard of that have suddenly jumped to the top of my bucket list. I want to see everything this world has to offer.

It’s really an amazing thing to recognize the moment you’re in and since creating this brand and placing a name to the word Lila, I feel myself recognizing it so much more. I have felt it countless times over the last few months.

I want to share more, write more, show up here more, but I’ve been struggling with the balance. I want to be sure I’m never doing something just to be able to post about it. And I think I’m good at that, but I just want to be careful not to get lost in the pressure to create. It’s kind of ironic, you’d think I’d be writing like crazy while in these inspiring, beautiful places. But the truth is, I’ve been having some writer’s block. Most of my writing flows in reflection and introspection, so I’ll do my best work when the adventure is over. When I’m home, all I’ll want to do is write. But right now, I want to be where I am. I mean, I have a tattoo that means “to be” so I think what I’ll do right now is just be.

Just a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to the last 3 months:

Thailand

Volunteered at a non-profit Called Daughters Rising, who do work in access to education for women refugees. BONUS, they’re partnered with an elephant sanctuary so my office views continuously had elephants poking out from behind my laptop (you see how it’s hard for me to want to work here?)
Met the founder of one of my favorite brands, Live A Great Story
Experienced a traditional wedding in the Karen Village where I was staying with a local family
Got really ill with food poising twice (have you ever thrown up for 12 hours on a travel day? Because I have)
Amazing cooking class on a family farm in Chiang Mai
Got my Open Water Scuba Certification on Koh Tao
Stayed in a floating water bungalow in Khao Sok National Park
Went in many caves, including one that the water is so deep you have to swim through
Lots of kayaking and snorkeling
Had a monkey on my back (literally)
Many 7/11 toasties
Good fun
A couple of massages
Made many new friends

Vietnam

Met up with my friend Minke, who I met in Santorini on my first solo travel. Remember the bathtub pool party in Florence? We co-hosted that.
Spent 3 days on an extreme motorbike journey called the Ha Giang Loop
Successfully crossed the street in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
Relaxed on a boat cruise through Ha Long Bay
Closed out the Karaoke bus at 4 am in Ninh Binh 4 nights in a row
Sang What’s Up by 4-Non Blondes more times than I can count
Food poisoning while in the adventure capital of Vietnam
Lanterns, lanterns, lanterns
Spun in a bamboo bowl boat
Took a cooking class and learned to make a few traditional meals
Practiced my bartering skills (my nightmare)
Fell in a street hole (don’t worry, my face caught my fall)
Many bowls of Pho
Felt on top of the world at Ba Na Hills Golden Bridge and the gondola over Da Lat
Many night buses…some more treacherous than others
Made lots of new friends

Indonesia

Spent my first two weeks on Nusa Penida volunteering with Green Lion sea turtle conservation
Got to see baby turtles hatch
Released turtles into the ocean- welcome to the first day for the rest of your life :’)
Singing to the guitar around a campfire at the turtle project
Lots of ice cream and lemonade at Mixue
Went to the hospital – all good now… I think…
Met up with a few friends from Home in Bali!! So nice to have a piece of home at this point in my travel
Visited some iconic Bali sights
Yoga
Met lots of new friends
TBD…

Over the last few months I’ve had some really wholesome moments, and few where I legitimately thought I was going to die. All in good fun, though. Both make me feel really alive. When I get to my final breath, I want to know that I lived life to the fullest and I can proudly say I’m on the right track.

Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it when I’m sitting in my bed, recharging in Minnesota in a few months time. In the meantime, here’s a few epic shots from some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Follow my instagrams for more frequent posts and updates!

All my love, please wait for me <3

Alexa Jo