Happy August Loves,
It's the end of summer and as friends, families, solo travelers, and boo'd up couples alike make a last dash to soak up some much needed sun, I wanted to check in with my extended family and share one of my best travel finds to date ... A tropical jungle escape in Bali, Indonesia!
Fresh off a recent trip to Bali, Indonesia (location post coming soon), I wanted to share some of the online hiding places I use to find flight deals when traveling. Despite the obvious growth and popularity of travel, there is still the perception that booking flights has to be be expensive. It really doesn't. Travel can and should be accessible to everyone!
As an on and off again yogi since college, I'm not new to the idea of “mindfulness” or popping into a random yoga class. That said? I’ve been looking for a challenge … Something that would push me out my comfort zone and elevate my mind - body connection to next level. Cue? Naked yoga! Now I know what you're thinking ..."Wait, that’s a thing?” ... “How naked are we talking here?” ... “Is this a real yoga class?" … Or? As my mom asked, "So yall just gonna be bent over completely naked the whole time huh?” Moms. What can I say LOL! The answer to all of these questions, is YES, naked yoga is an actual practice. I discovered it not long ago and was so excited when my nudist / naturist colony peeps decided to rent a space and host a private class with a certified instructor, Whitney ...
It was during that time, that I began another fun hobby ... collecting jewelry pieces from my (or friends) various places of travels. While a bit small now, my collection is slowly growing! What I really love about my personal travel jewels is the story they each tell. Never fail, whenever I wear them out, I'm undoubtedly complimented and asked about them. Stories of my journey in that respective country and the people I met along the way begin to spill out. In a sense, these jewelry pieces are more than just cute bobbles on a neck or wrist ... they're people connectors. Cultural ambassadors inviting conversation and a chance for learning. Love it. Below are a few pieces from my personal collection so far!
The journey of this trip began almost exactly one year ago. Disgruntled that I had to work my 9-5 over the Christmas holiday, I woke up Christmas morning and started the day the way I usually would ... grouchily scratching my left boob and checking my social media feeds. What I didn't know was that this morning routine would end much differently than the norm. As I'm scrolling through my Instagram feed, I notice hype around flights and some apparent travel deal. The details, I had yet to really look into through my sleepy eyes. I'm slow to react to the growing online chatter and the number of people posting, because if you follow the standard travel blogs, then you know, there's always a travel deal. Except ... this was the deal of all deals.
Almost 3 years ago I began traveling. The free-spirit within me has always wanted to see the world, but the way my wallet was set up because of student loans and a crazy expensive apartment in NYC, saving was always so difficult. Then? There was my over protective parents who hated (still do) the idea of their only child traveling anywhere outside the house ... if you have African / Caribbean parents, you know the struggle! lol. Finally, there was the issue of my friends, many of which said they wanted to travel, yet, had no real interest in making concrete plans. What I did get? Lots of talk surrounding going to dream places, but no actual steps made ** loud sigh ** .. It was at this point that I decided to travel on my own.