All Options Considered

2 girls, post-FIRE, traveling the world

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Today we were walking around the Demachiyanagi area of Kyoto where the Kamo-gawa and Takano-gawa rivers come together 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️ . Alison said, “it’s basically lunchtime so let’s see what looks fun for lunch around here” 😊 . And 10 seconds later I said, “Ooh look at the line at that place” 😲 . No idea what that is, let’s try that! 🤷‍♀️ . So we tried something new today - Omurice! 😋 . Omelette Rice 🍚🍳 . Ali got the original house special with chicken and tomato sauce 🍗🍅 . Alison got the mushroom special 🍄 . Lesson - when hunting restaurants, long lines of locals always win 🥇 . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

We visited Phuket in February, and stayed for 11 nights 🇹🇭 . I'm just gonna admit right up front, that Phuket is definitely not a good fit for us. Even though we did our best to completely avoid the areas that thrive on parties and prostitution, we still found Phuket to be kinda creepy and seedy 🙅‍♀️ . No offense! Of course it is possible to have a fabulous time in Phuket. For people who are traveling as tourists, you can absolutely feel free to enjoy those white sand beaches and parties in Phuket 🏖🕺👯‍♀️ . Personally, we focus on other things so Phuket is just not what we are looking for. Phuket gave us a really awesome new friend and an amazing house and cat sitting experience. And we are so grateful! But as predicted, Phuket is not a good fit for us as nomads. So we will keep on traveling, looking for places where we can enjoy the expat life and local culture 🗺🌴🗿🌾🙏 . Check out our City Report for Phuket on our blog at alloptionsconsidered.com 👉🌐 There’s a link in our profile 🔗👥 . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

Yesterday we had no plans for the day so I went online and searched for things happening in Kyoto - and wow we hit the jackpot 🎊 . It was Aoi Matsuri, one of Kyoto's three most famous festivals, so we were super excited to see what that was all about 🤩🥳 . The main element is a big long parade that goes north from the ancient Kyoto Imperial Palace, to the Shimogamo Shrine, and then on to the Kamigamo Shrine 🏯🚶‍♀️⛩💃⛩ . We walked the full distance roundtrip, mostly along the river and tracked 6.8 miles 🚶‍♀️👏 . The Kyoto Imperial Palace was stunning - we will definitely go back to really explore the palace grounds - looks like a great place for a picnic 🧺 . We decided to stop and join the crowds to really watch the massive procession from start to finish halfway between the shrines, which was like getting a glimpse back in time to another era of Japan 🎎 . The tradition began at some point around the year 550, and really grew around the year 900. We were mesmerized by the procession of around 500 people, their clothing, the swords and drums, the beautiful horses, and the enormous bouquets of flowers 🤩💐🐎 . The story of today’s hollyhock festival of Aoi Matsuri is that around the year 550, the emperor sent a procession of offerings to the 2 shrines to gain protection from the gods to prevent floods, famine, and epidemics in Kyoto 🌿 . There’s an imperial messenger with a gold sword carrying the word of the emperor, and then the hero is the imperial princess in formal dress wearing 12 layers of kimono (weighing around 66 pounds) - she enters the 2 shrines and pays respects to the gods to request their favor and protection for Kyoto 🎎🇯🇵 . We felt like we saw an important historic event, combined with a fabulous theater show, combined with a long hike through gardens and along the river. It was fabulous 🥰🎉👏 . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

We ventured out to see the famous Bamboo Grove in the Arashiyama district 🎋🎋🎋 . The bamboo stalks are amazingly tall and much thicker/wider than we expected. Even the new baby shoots are massively wide compared to bamboo we have seen before 🤩 . It makes sense that the bamboo grove symbolizes strength and has the power to ward off evil 💪 . We also visited the Tenryuji Temple with its magical gardens ⛩💐🌿 . And the historic 400+ year old Togetsu-kyo Bridge ☺️ . We loved all of it! Except for the crowds. Since the bamboo grove is one of the most visited sites in Kyoto and in all of Japan, the little streets were lined with busses 🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌 . Ug. Ack. We are tourists who cringe at mobs of tourists 😏😑 . The Arashiyama district is stunning though. The mountain itself is beautiful. We loved all of the forested views and walking paths ❤️🎋⛰🌳 . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

We are all settled in at our new Airbnb home in Kyoto 🏡 . Priority 1 - a comfy couch or chairs. Got it! This apartment is only about 350 sq ft but that is around 3x the size of the adorable little apartment we had in Hiroshima. So this place with its little couch feels like a giant palace so far 🛋🏰 . Priority 2 - a stove top or hot plate for cooking. Got it! This place has a hot plate, a kettle, and a microwave. We can cook all of our meals here, no problem 🍳🥘🍽 . Priority 3 - good food shopping options nearby. Got it! We have a HUGE grocery store across the street 🛒 . We are 1.8 miles south of the city center, with a subway station 2 blocks away from our place 🚇 . We booked this apartment for 7 nights, for only $32/night after taxes and fees. So now we get to decide whether to extend here for another 7 nights after that, or move on 🤔🤷‍♀️ . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

What a thrill to visit Miyajima Island ⛩🏝 . We were able to hop on the streetcar at our door and ride that for about 30 minutes to the ferry terminal, then it was just a 10 minute ferry ride to the island 🚋⛴ . The island, swarmed by tourists like us during the day, is a pilgrimage site with an ancient Shintō Shrine that’s famous for the giant torii gate that stands in the water ⛩🌊 . Miyajima means "shrine island.” Itsukushima is a beautiful Shintō shrine complex built over water. The shrine complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple buildings and possessions are National Treasures in Japan 🇯🇵 . The temple is said to have been originally built in the year 593 😲 . Warlord Mori Motonari is famous for waging war in this sacred place in 1555, which tainted the sacred temple island. Motonari atoned for that desecration by constructing the amazing honden (main hall) in 1571 that we saw during our visit 🤩 . The island town of Miyajima-chō has a population of around 2,000 people, and around 1,000 deer 🦌 . All of the residents we met were very friendly 🥰🤣 . The color of the water is amazing - looks a lot like Hawaii 🌊💙🥰 . We had a fabulous time exploring the shrine complex while the tide was out. And we loved walking around the island and through the neighborhoods exploring 👣 . We stumbled upon a pine tree with an amazing horizontal branch that the residents have been pruning and caring for since the year 1800 🌲 . We are so glad the timing of our visit worked out the way it did - the weather was perfect and we heard they will begin renovation of the historic torii gate in about 2 weeks and it will be covered up by scaffolding for about a year 🙌⛩👌 . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

Hiroshima castle was built mostly using pine and completed around 1599 in a river delta area of 5 villages 🏯 . Construction of this impressive castle inspired the area to be renamed Hiroshima - a grand castle and a great river city complement each other 🌅 . The castle was destroyed in the atomic bomb blast in 1945, and then the main tower was reconstructed using reinforced concrete in 1958 🏗 . We most enjoyed exploring the ninomaru gate and keep that were completed in 1994, built from wood using original building methods 🌲🙌 . We had fun walking the long wooden corridors admiring the interlocking beams and intricately joined pieces of wood 🔎🤩 . Beautiful examples of Japanese history, tradition, and craftsmanship 🤗🇯🇵👌 . We also enjoyed walking through the castle grounds looking for the 3 trees that survived the bombing and are still growing/regrowing today. Everything is so beautifully green and lush here 🌲🌿💚 . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

As we’ve become more mindful of our money we have also learned how the sunk cost fallacy can be a challenge to deal with 💸 . Huh, the sunk cost what ❔🤷‍♀️ . The sunk cost fallacy is the dilemma of worrying that our spent money would go to waste when a change in circumstance occurs 🤑 . Have you struggled with the sunk cost fallacy in your life ❓ . Is there something you continue to hang on to or pursue because you have already invested time or money in it, even though it’s making you unhappy or financially worse off ❓ . Do you have stocks you should sell but can’t let go of ❓ . Do you have a car or home you want to sell but can’t let go of ❓ . We have done all of those things ourselves, more than once ‼️🏡💸 . What’s in Your Garage 🏘❓ . Today we mainly struggle with the sunk cost fallacy as unexpected opportunities arise that conflict with travel plans we have already paid for 🧳💲✈ . But - we do have a 5x10 storage unit in Seattle. Will we be glad we kept those few things or if we will realize that paying for that while we travel is a mistake 🤷‍♀️🤔 . Check out our new blog post 🔹 The Sunk Cost Fallacy, in Travel and in Life 🔹 at alloptionsconsidered.com 👉🌐 . Link is in our profile 🔗🗣 . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2 #moneycrush

Hiroshima Peace Bell makes and amazing sound 🎶❤️ . The surface of the bell is covered with a world map without national borders symbolizing a unified world ❤️🌎🌈 . Every ring of the bell is a prayer for world peace 🔔☮️ . The exact spot where the log hits the bell has the atomic energy symbol. Hitting that spot is a prayer for a world without atomic and hydrogen bombs 💣🚫⚛️ . The first time we each rang the Peace Bell was exhilarating! It gave us chills! 😊🥰🙏👌🌈 . Hiroshima is a remarkable, hope-filled city 🇯🇵❤️ . . . . . #alloptionsconsidered #itsjustusalix2

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