BootsnAll Travel Network



about us & our blog:

Malia & Jess are coming home! Our five month adventure has taken us through Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. You can view our most recent blog posts here on the home page or view posts by city/location, author, posts with videos, etc. by using the categories listed at right. Feel free to check out our itinerary and our latest pictures by following the links as well. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

the next episode

June 22nd, 2008

so jess and i made it safely home. we’ve spent the past few days seeing all our friends and family and really soaking up all of the things we love about hawaii.

next up for me… paris! i’m going to be attending a writing workshop in paris for the month of july. i bought a one way ticket there, and it’s going to be an adventure in itself to figure out how i’m going to make my way back home again! so many ways to cross half the globe…

if you’d like to keep up with my travels, i’ve started another blog at maliayoshioka.wordpress.com. this blog is already way too full of memories to pack any more in. =)

the countdown begins again! i leave for paris in 5 days… can’t wait!

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then and now

June 17th, 2008

this was jess and i on new year’s day – first sunrise of the new year, when we had the entire trip before us and we were full of anticipation of the year ahead!

new years sunrise 2008!

and six months later… this was jess and i yesterday after watching the sun set on our last day in fiji, the last of our little trip of a lifetime. some things haven’t changed…

our last sunset!

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homestretch

June 10th, 2008

it’s so strange to think that a week from now we’ll be back at home in hawaii… i can’t believe how fast the time has flown by since we started this adventure back in january. on our drive back to auckland, jess and i had time to reflect over the highlights of our travels, the amazing friends we’ve made along the way, the new foods we tried, and how much we’ve learned about ourselves and each other.

i guess in a way, its appropriate that we’ve landed in fiji. it seems to be where everyone comes to get married, fall in love, and rekindle old flames while soaking up the sun. we definitely feel like the old married couple. in the past six months, we’ve gotten to that point where we finish each others’ sentences and laugh at jokes and stories beginning with the opening line. people asked us from the beginning if we were sisters, but we seem to get that question more frequently now. we’ve found many similarities to strengthen our friendship, and also worked through the inevitable differences, and learned to celebrate our individual quirks along the way. with all the stress of travel, i think we’ve done a good job of balancing things out. when one of us is stressed, the other steps it up. and as much as i do love solo travel, i couldn’t imagine having done this trip without her.
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road tripping

June 7th, 2008

so jess and i have spent almost two weeks in new zealand so far. we’ve not had enough time to get down to the south island (which EVERYONE says we need to see!) but we’ve traveled all over north island in our trusty rental car. we make up our own games to pass the time as the miles (oops, kilometers!) roll by. well, jess drives, i navigate. we’ve got it down to a science. well, most of the time. but isn’t getting lost just a fun way of taking the scenic route?

road trip new zealand!
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thailand in retrospect

June 7th, 2008

kimi just put up a myspace blog about the two weeks that she, kira, and christy joined us in thailand. she did a great job using photos to tell the story of how meaningful it was to all of us. check it out if you have time! =)

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winter wonderland

May 31st, 2008

i know all of you back home are complaining about the heat, and just a few weeks ago so were we! bali, singapore, thailand, all of them kept us busy figuring out different ways to beat the heat. it all seems like so long ago, now that we’re in the cold weather of new zealand! last night our room was so cold, and jess and i took turns staring dumbly at our radiator, fiddling with the controls, kicking it, and trying to get the damn thing to work. we both gave up and headed to bed bundled up, crossing our fingers it would magically go on during the night. somehow this morning, around 10am it started to gurgle and now we’ve got a nice and toasty room. go figure.

yes, we’ve made it to the southern hemisphere. yes, australia, new zealand, and the rest of the world “down under” are heading into winter. yes, the toilets flush in the opposite direction down here. and no, we haven’t tried vegemite. we’re definitely not in asia anymore.
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bye bye, bali

May 19th, 2008

last night while i was getting ready to fall asleep, i kept thinking about all the things i need to do before we leave bali tomorrow night. it’s always like that when we’re getting ready to pack up and move on, and it was distracting me so this morning i put it down in a list. it’s mostly things to buy (cheap sunglasses, a larger duffel bag, shampoo, a few souvenirs) and things to do (fix ipod, reconfirm our flight). some of the items on my list are things that are SO “bali” that we have to fit them in one more time before we leave. cheap meals (yesterday i had a t-bone steak dinner for $2), cheap spa treaments (massage, deep conditioning hair treatment, and mani/pedi for $25), and of course, laying by the pool to soak up the bali sunshine.

this morning i woke up ready to jump into my bikini and… it’s POURING outside. like, cats and dogs pouring.

WHAT? it rains in kuta?!?
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eat, pray, love

May 17th, 2008

if you’ve read elizabeth gilbert’s eat, pray, love, then you will understand my excitement at what we did this morning! =)

his personal copy of the book

in the book (which is fabulous, and you should run out and buy it right now if you haven’t read it yet), gilbert travels to ubud, bali – the “love” part of the title – and meets a balinese medicine man named ketut liyer. she returns two years later to study meditation with him, and he becomes both a friend and teacher to her as she spends time in bali.
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the end is (unfortunately) near

May 17th, 2008

i can’t believe how quickly time flies! we’re at the point where we’ve only got one month to go before we head back to reality! im bracing for some major culture shock heading back to the world as i knew it before… but i’ve also been spending more time reflecting on all we’ve seen during this little adventure, and thinking about what it means for my future.

in the last four months, i’ve learned so much! about myself, about jess too, about travel, and about the world around us. and it’s a beautiful world out there, people. i won’t ever regret taking this trip. in fact, i’m planning to build this into my life plan somehow. it doesn’t seem so far-fetched being able to save up money while working at a job for, say, five years or so. by then, i’m itching for something new anyway. move on, and take a nice trip in the interim before starting a new job with a fresh perspective. who’s to say i couldn’t do this my whole life? lather, rinse, repeat. but a lot more fun!
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health on the road

May 4th, 2008

i have to admit that i’d never heard of typhoid mary, and only heard passing mention of typhoid itself until just the other day. i probably could have gone my whole life without really needing to know what it is and what it does to you, but now i know…. and that’s because jess managed to pick it up somewhere along our travels!!

she’s been to the ubud clinic twice in the past three days, and has mom here (perfect timing, mom!) to take care of her too. the doctors started her on antibiotics and she’ll go back to the clinic next week for another blood test. she’s doing ok, but still feels pretty miserable!

although doesn’t she look like the prettiest sick person you’ve ever seen?
poor jess is sick!

want to send typhoid jessica a get well card? how about a cool one from hipstercards.com?
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