Instagram story viewer> @rachi_h> Posts

Rachel H B | Travwell | 🇺🇸🇻🇳🇯🇵

@rachi_h

3.1K

followers

2855

following

🇻🇳 Cracking the code to settling into Hoi An
📚 Skip traps, travel meaningfully @travwell.co
🗺️ FREE Google maps lists for new follows

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

If you’ve ever had to leave something that looked “normal” to the outside, I get it. Iykyk

#vulnerablemoment #cptsdrecovery❤️‍🩹 #40somethingtravel taken in Bangkok by @rachi_h

71

18

9 months ago

Olive and Oil saw the ocean for the first time today!

They were both found malnourished, from different abandoned litters in Hoi An, Vietnam. Now they ride in backpacks and cautiously inspect waves like tiny lifeguards.

Watching them experience new things will never get old, right?

If you’ve been following along, thanks for enjoying them with us!

😅😅😅

#happykittiesclub #beachkitties #hoianlife #beachkitten #abandonedkitties taken in Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

134

14

10 months ago

For now, we’re renting a home in Hoi An, Viet Nam. As an ex-corporate America worker bee, I am enjoying the peacefulness of creating travel guidebooks and travel routes.

Everyday is an adventure for us as we hop on our motorbikes, learn a new language, try to understand cultural differences, and go on visa runs. We’re in our 40s, childfree by choice, healing from PTSD, and trying to make the most of our life living in the now.

Stephen has shifted his behavior coaching business from hybrid to virtual and is creating products now. He has a neighborhood cafe that’s his Central Perk that he frequents daily and plays pickleball several times a week. He’s enjoying having a sense of community.

Follow along on our adventures in Southeast Asia

#travelcouplelife married in Iceland #longdistancelove long distance relationship #theuk Iceland wedding reception #cltnc Charlotte North Carolina #americanabroad wedding reception Reykjavik #vietnamlife🇻🇳 Hoi an Vietnam #quangnam taken in Reykjavík, Iceland by @rachi_h

310

33

2 years ago

I never realized how much I was influenced by Asian cultures until I lived in Vietnam for 2 years 🤷‍♀️

#americanculture #vietnamlife🇻🇳 #asiancultures taken in Da Nang, Vietnam by @rachi_h

48

10

7 days ago

I grew up always having clothes all over the ground. My mom worked so often and would come home and tell me to clean it up and I’d be like but then I can’t find anything?! 🤭

Then I married a minimalistic, organized guy @stephenbelenky ✨ In our relationship, I’ve learned there’s different.types.of.cleaning. Daily cleaning, deep cleaning (me!!!), decluttering, and organizing.

My upbringing was looser with routines but there was rigidity when it came to rules. So I like to make up little concepts for myself to follow to keep me going. I enjoy making my home and space beautiful so if I’m too functional with how I organize, then my daily-ish decluttering goes down the drain. I’m just not motivated if it doesn’t feel creative and attractive. So here’s the one thing I do:

I don’t want to spend a ton on organizing so if I’m budgeting for a plastic storage drawer, for example, I find the most aesthetic version possible and put some plants on top. When I saw how cute this one was put together, then I knew I had to label everything too. I don’t have a label maker on hand so I just made handwritten tape signs.

When storage and organization feels cohesive to my space and I smile when I walk by, I’m 10x more likely to use it!

#hoianlifestyle #kaizen #aestheticstorage

What kind of cleaner are you? taken in Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

18

8

18 days ago

11

7

19 days ago

Life has been heavy lately but then I today I remembered I’m in a place where I get to see rice fields and a mountain backdrop, sunny skies, go to a beautiful villa, feel the wind, swim, and see the lotus flowers.
@zenretreat.hoian

I get to have salted matcha at a chill cafe while @stephenbelenky tries to make a kid laugh 🤭
@laclac.hoian

Have you tried salted matcha yet?

#hộian #vietnamview #đanang taken in Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

45

4

2 months ago

I’m still in shock over my father’s sudden death. I want to publicly "thank" American Airlines for how they handled my husband Stephen’s bereavement flights while he was trying to get home to bury his dad.

I am so "thankful" that while he was in transit on a grueling 39-hour journey from Vietnam, @AmericanAirlines cancelled his connecting flight (AA 280 out of Seoul) and left him stranded at the airport with a valid reservation but NO actual ticket.

I’m beyond "thankful" that after denying him boarding, @AmericanAirlines falsely logged his non-boarding as a "voluntary forfeiture." They essentially accused a grieving son of choosing to skip his flight home to his father's funeral.

I’m so "glad" that it took 13 exhausting phone calls with Chase Travel, and forcing agents into a three-way call to prove the airline's system error, just to get @AmericanAirlines to fix their mistake over a week later. And as a final bonus, they punished him by giving him worse seats than he originally paid for.

It's comforting to know that when we are at our most vulnerable, we can rely on a "high-quality" airline like @AmericanAirlines to add massive financial stress and administrative nightmare to a family's deep grief.

If you believe grieving families should be treated with basic human respect and not taken advantage of by an airline, please SHARE this post and comment below on what you think @AmericanAirlines should do to make this right.

#americanairlines #departmentoftransportation #travelfail #customerexperience #FlightReview by @rachi_h

47

27

4 months ago

Junctions between the calm and chaos of the beach.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#vietnam #travel #wearesaigoneer #travelphotography #hoian @vietnamstreets

With special thanks to @rachi_h and @stephenbelenky for the early start. taken in Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

3

18

5 months ago

I blame it on the chopsticks 🥢 🤭

What “regular” things have you struggled to find in other countries?

#expatprobs #immigrantproblems #vietnamlife🇻🇳 #chopstickculture taken in Vietnam by @rachi_h

23

5

6 months ago

Hoianese rescue cats that are so spoiled they get to go to the beach often! This time they were really curious about the basket boat, I wonder if its owner had caught some fish recently 🤭

Olive is a Japanese Bobtail and she’s prone to being adventurous, she’s always trying to escape our courtyard. We take her in the water to give her more stimulation! We think she’ll be swimming soon…

Oil, the ginger, is very shy and affectionate, preferring to stay home. So beach trips are not his thing and he likes to stay on the towel in the bag when he can... unless his sister is right by his side. He’s the one with his arm over Olive trying to stay close.

We want to keep taking Olive but don’t want to stress Oil (we think it’s a good, healthy stress though) and they’re pretty bonded so we don’t want to just leave Oil at home. What do you think we should do?

#beachcats #beachcatsofinstagram #beachcatsaroundtheworld #hoianlife taken in Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

42

10

6 months ago

When it’s Tet holiday and you can’t get delivery so you pick it up yourself and the employee has to help you figure out how to get it home.

#onlyinvietnam🇻🇳 #vietnammoment #travelvietnam🇻🇳 #hoiantrip Viet core #vietculture taken in Hoi An, Vietnam by @rachi_h

58

8

8 months ago