Ambria's Adventures

  Sunday is typically reserved as a hiking day for my friend group and me. This past Sunday, we decided to try a trail none of us had ever done but was on our lists: Pali Puka. This trail is less than 1 mile (my GPS marked it as .85 to the hole in the rock and back), rated moderate-difficult, has many steep areas where ropes are provided to help climb, can be windy and muddy, and will have you walking along some cliff edges. If you’re not great with heights, this may not be the one. However, one of the girls with us was very nervous at the cliffs and managed to make it with our support. Getting to the Pali Puka was pretty easy, and there is a parking area for the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout Point (if you’re coming from Honolulu, just take highway 61 N about 5 miles, and the signs are marked. If you reach the tunnels, you went too far). There are parking fees for non-residents that can be paid at the pay station. It looked like there were several options to pay, including using a credit ...

Day 4 - Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Seattle (4h 35m, 270 miles) After a night of rest and relaxation in Portland, it was time to hit the road again. However, it was also the 4 th of July, and my friend and I thought it would be more fun in a city, so we decided to spend the night in Seattle, Washington. Looking back, this was not the best option for us. While we did find a nice hotel at a reasonable price, it was so close to Portland that we definitely did not get enough mileage in. On top of that, most things in Seattle were closed anyway because of the pandemic. If I could do it again, I’d make a stop to get some coffee, check out the wharf, the gum wall, and probably be on my way. Anywho, before we left Oregon, we wanted to check out some views outside of the city and made our way to the Columbia River Gorge. Crown Point offered spectacular scenes of the gorge and forest, even on a cloudy day.  From there, we jumped on the Historic Columbia River Highway to do some wate...

My second trip to Bangkok, Thailand, occurred when some travel friends decided to plan our New Year's party there to bring in 2020 (before anyone knew what a disaster the year would be). We, as a group, love to celebrate the new year in different locations around the world. Sadly, this was the first time our group split up and went to various places. My first trip to Bangkok was a few months earlier, so I was less excited about the location, but I looked forward to seeing my friends.   After 3 layovers and several hours, I landed at BKK airport close to 1am on December 30th. Luckily, 2 fellow traveling friends had stayed awake, and the plan was for me to crash with them until I could check in to my hotel room. Despite the long hours of traveling, I didn't go to sleep right away. Three of us sat and tried to catch up on the years that had passed since we last saw each other in person, Istanbul for one friend, and the other was one I had never met in real life up to that time. A...