I landed in Italy after six months in developing countries, and it was a shock to the senses in some regards. I remember having culture shock when I landed in Bangkok all those months ago. I didn’t expect the reverse culture shock of landing back in the Western world. Having my bestie Jenn fly over […]
There’s a sense of poetic chaos to the roads of Southeast Asia. At first glance, there seems to be no rhyme or reason. Cars whizz past, motorbikes weave and pedestrians walk with a nonchalant indifference. This frenetic pace to the traffic baffled me in my first days in Southeast Asia. The streets of Bangkok are […]
As much as I loved Luang Prabang (and that’s lots and lots), it was time to head onward and explore other areas of Laos. We knew that we needed to be at the Thai border in a couple weeks so that we could do the Gibbon Experience in the Bokeo Nature Reserve. But between then […]
My first morning in the Bokeo Nature Reserve in Laos, I woke to the distant hooting of Gibbons. The monkeys release a high, rising call. As they wake up, their excited calls reverberate across the empty quiet of morning. Although intellectually I knew that the villagers running the Gibbon Experience lived nearby, my tree house felt […]
After traveling from Thailand into Laos, and then taking part in a few adventures around Vang Vieng, I settled in the ever-so-charming Luang Prabang. The city has wowed me with it’s quiet pace of life, delicious and affordable eats, and countless new activities teaching about Laos’ history, culture, and people. I am quite taken with the […]
I knew it was inevitable that I would get sick at some point. When you travel through Asia it’s less a matter of “if” than “when.” I didn’t consider what it would mean to get violently ill in a region of the world so untouched by Western medicine. Just a few weeks into my five months […]
Luang Prabang is a beautiful city, it’s like the adored child who is the apple her parents’ eye. The city crawls along the Mekong River. The gilded tips of temples peek above the palm trees. In 1995, UNESCO designated the entire city as a World Heritage site. Key aspects of the city are now protected from tourism, time, and […]
Once upon a time the main activity in Vang Vieng, Laos centered on tubing the Nam Song River and partying. In the years since the tubing scene was shut down, Vang Vieng has sprung back to life as an ecotourism hotspot. When I visited on my round the world trip, I partook in the tubing […]
