it's thanksgiving in seoul and though i am so so far away from the land of the free, with not a turkey in sight, i am here with my family of friends and my sweetest cousin austin, and no girl in the world is more thankful than me tonight. thank you, my friends, for making my life so so complete :)

having a visitor in town is the best excuse to get out and see all of those sights that i've been putting off, so today austin and i went to the palace by city hall to check out some ancient korean history. my favorite part of these palaces are the hand-painted designs on every building~ just being in those plazas makes you feel like you've gone back in time...

my best cousin austin is visiting me for the week!!! and it is sooo lovely to be with family at this time of year. our first stop in the touristy sight-seeing was namsan tower, to get a great overview of the city! the han river looks so great with a sunset...

there is simply no better way to end a vacation than with a massage, especially in thailand!! the method seems harsh, but i swear i fell asleep while being twisted and pulled in every direction, and woke up feeling toooo perfect. i wouldn't think to waste my money on a massage in the states, but for $10 US for a THREE HOUR massage, who can possibly say no? all luxury should be so available...

we took a boat down a mekong floating market to get one last taste of fresh, mouth-watering fruity goodness before flying back to seoul, land of all things pickled and marinated. thailand, until next time, i will miss your warm embrace and all of your sweet, cheap treats! i do hope very much to see you soon.

can i stay in these sweet crystal waters forever?

rah lei beach is one of the many little island paradises in the south of thailand, and after visiting, my standards have gone sooo far up in terms of beautiful vacation destinations. with caves, palm trees, baby blue water and white white sand, could a girl ask for anything more?

when your budget is low and you're willing to take the scenic route, an elephant ride through the jungle might be your best option... it certainly was for us, and the trip was actually a total dream. these animals are massive and soo beautiful, and seeing the world from up there is something i will never forget. thank you, my friends, for sharing this very precious memory with me!!

some crazy little guys dropped in on our kayaking trek into the lagoons of krabi! the monkeys were quite bold: they wouldn't go until we forfeited the pineapple we'd packed for the ride! after spending some time, we paid the juicy toll and paddled on our way.

last night was manuel's birthday and we hit the town in patong for some drinks and dancing! the nightlife here is gaudy and there are many drunk australians but the air is warm and heavy and just makes you want to stay out all night long...

we made it to the beach! and i am thrilled to be warm. the sea is beautiful and despite the tsunami warnings, i feel careless and free out here in the sun! the cold korean winter is far far away, and i'm just thinking about eating pineapples and working on my tan...

hopped an overnight train from bangkok down to the andaman coast- quarters were less than spacious but with good friends and a hot food cart it hardly mattered! also, i had never been on a train with beds before, which amused me endlessly. how magical to roll over in bed and see the sun rising over rural thailand!

greetings from bangkok! i'm only here for one more day before i head south down the peninsula, so i've been trying to fill my days to the brim with the beautiful red, green and gold of thailand's capital city.