Asia Archives · Page 3 of 4 · Bon Voyage on a Big Adventure!

October 9, 2018

Days 90 – 93: Chiang Mai, Thailand (Our Favorite, Our Favorite, Our Favorite)

So, of course, we loved Budapest and Korcula and Heraklion and Hoi An and the list goes on. But when I say we LOVED being in Chiang Mai, Thailand– we LOVED it. We stayed in the Nimman neighborhood, and it was just. so. hip.

I’m excited to write about it, and I hope you are excited to read. Come explore Chiang Mai with us!

Day 90: Travel from Luang Prabang, Laos to Chiang Mai, Thailand

At this point, we pretty much have airplane travel down, and this was an easy one direct flight trip. We took a tuk tuk from our AirBNB to the Luang Prabang airport, and then our host arranged for us to be picked up from the Chiang Mai airport when we arrived.

Our AirBNB in Chiang Mai was in a pretty new apartment complex that wasn’t that different from any apartment building we had lived in DC over the past ten years. There was a pool and a gym– perfect!

We are taking a new approach to travel days, especially in Thailand where we have pools everywhere we stay: Get to the AirBNB/hotel. Go to the pool. Relax. Make a plan for how to spend the next few days.

This plan was on point. First, I arrived in Chiang Mai having read all of the books we had with us, but in the apartment, there was a copy of Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. A free, great book to read at pool? Hallelujah! Chiang Mai is already winning. Second, the pool was an infinity pool with spectacular views of the hills of Chiang Mai. Does it get better?

Reading at the pool. Does it get better?

Pool in Chiang Mai — Rich also “reading” at the pool.

The Nimman Neighborhood and Nimman Social

So our neighborhood is named Nimman for Nimmanhaemin Road which runs through the center of the area. In Nimman, you will find cafes, bars, and boutiques that all look like they jumped off the pages of Instagram’s top accounts. The food is delicious and healthy, the shops are adorable, and everything is right next to everything else.

For my American readers, you may be thinking, well, is Chiang Mai as hip as Brooklyn or as Twelve South in Nashville or Fishtown in Philly? IT IS HIPPER. Seriously. We thought Nimman might be like our favorite neighborhoods in America, and instead, we may have even liked it better.

The first night in Chiang Mai, Rich walked the seven minutes to dinner repeating, “I love Chiang Mai. I love Chiang Mai.” He was giddy.

We went to dinner at Nimman Social, a part indoor, part outdoor bar/cafe attached to a nearby hostel. We drank a beer and ate two noodle dishes and the most incredible french fries, sitting under white bistro lights, for less than $10. Can’t beat it.

Nimman Social in Chiang Mai — Enjoying dinner at Nimman Social.

Day 91: Umm, We Enjoyed Nimman Some More

If you are reading this thinking you want to travel to Chiang Mai for a few days, umm, this may not be the itinerary you want to follow. If you are traveling the world for a year, I highly recommend a day EXACTLY like this.

How we spent our day:

Slept in.
Worked out in the apartment gym.
Walked to breakfast at Overstand Coffee. Ate avocado toast.
Found a bookstore that didn’t sell any fiction in English. Were directed to a bookstore in the mall.
Walked to the wrong mall, explored it.
Found the right mall, the MAYA Lifestyle Shopping Center, which happened to be unbelievably fabulous. Bought two books and a dress at H&M (on sale!).
Went home and went to the pool.
Got ready and ate dinner at the mall food court.

Perhaps you are wondering about this mall food court eating. That’s because you are imagining an American mall food court. This food court had every kind of Thai street food prepared fresh in clean booths for cheap. Remember: In Southeast Asia, we are eating the majority of our meals out. Being able to grab quick, casual, delicious, inexpensive dinner may have been one of our favorite parts of staying in Chiang Mai.

The outside of the Maya Lifestyle Shopping Center.

The INSIDE of the Maya Shopping Center. All of the games of mall madness I played as a young girl led to this…

Umm, this is pad thai BAKED INTO AN EGG. Genius, mall food court, genius.

Day 92: Temple Time in Chiang Mai

Rich and I woke up, hit the gym, and then enjoyed a yummy bowl of cheap chocolate cereal in our apartment. We decided we should probably check out some of the famous temples of Chiang Mai.

Wat Phra Singh

We walked from Nimman to Old City to reach Wat Phra Singh. Wat Phra Singh was one large, beautiful temple, surrounded by several smaller temples. Every year, during the Buddhist Songkran festival, the statue of Buddha that is housed here is paraded through Chiang Mai.

Not unlike what we witnessed in Sicily with the statue of Mary arriving on a boat to celebrate the Assumption!

Rich outside of one of the temples at Wat Phra Singh

Wat Chedi Luang

I had a bit of beef with Wat Chedi Luang because my new H&M dress was deemed to be too short, and so in order to enter the area, I had to borrow a big piece of cloth to wrap around my waist. I will eat that I knew that my dress didn’t come quite down to my knees and that I did some risk analysis on whether I would be able to skate through on temple entry (also similar to Catholicism– figuring out how to pull your school uniform skirt down to pass skirt checks-ha!).

What I did not bank on was receiving the longest piece of cloth ever when my skirt didn’t pass inspection and having said cloth reach my ankles. I was tied up pretty tight which made walking, well, pretty miserable.

But the temple was huge and old and really stately. So it was probably worth it. We just didn’t stay too long.

One of the smaller temples at Wat Chedi Luang

Rich Gets a Haircut!

After we left the temple, we got lunch in Old Town. The restaurant had a good TripAdvisor rating, but didn’t hold a candle to the mall food court.

We then walked back to Nimman for Rich to get his haircut. He did a lot of research and landed on 56 Barber Shop. Rich has very thick, curly hair, and as any of his family members reading this can attest to, is very particular about his appearance (I type this hearing his voice in my head say, “Isn’t it worth it in order to look this good?”).

Chan at 56 Barber Shop did a phenomenal job. He played old school hip hop (read: Biggie, Eve, J-Lo) the whole time and took close to an hour to get everything perfect. This was a big haircut a few days before Rich turned the big 4-0, and Chan came through. It also further fueled our belief that Chiang Mai is A-MAI-ZING (get it?).

After! This almost-40 year old walked out feeling great!

Dinner at the Mall Food Court

We couldn’t resist.

food court dinner in chiang mai — Pad thai meets nachos in this mall food court crispy pad thai dish. This was Rich’s VERY FAVORITE dish in the past 30 days and cost less than $2.

Day 93: Work Day in Chiang Mai

But First, Coffee

As I mentioned (over and over), Nimman had a ton of cute cafes. We wanted to try Ristr8to, a coffee shop that had won international latte art competitions. Our plan was to get a coffee and work on blogging/planning from there. However, while they had great lattes, they did NOT have air conditioning. That dog won’t hunt.

Nothing says good morning like this guy…

We spent at least an hour trying to figure out where to go to work with aircon (as they say over here) and WiFi and finally landed on Healthy B Cafe. I finished our Siem Reap blog post while Rich booked all of our lodging for Australia. Productivity win!

Healthy B in Chiang Mai — We enjoyed working from Healthy B!

Pool Time

We headed back to our glorious apartment pool. I had already finished Born a Crime, and Rich needed to finish it so we could leave it behind in the apartment. We both really loved it. Trevor Noah is of course hilarious, and he is also raw and direct about real systemic and familial challenges he faced during his childhood in South Africa at the end of apartheid. If you enjoy a good memoir about perseverance and chasing the life you believe you can have, pick this one up.

There was another American couple at the pool while we were. The young man was on sabbatical for a year from his job in Baltimore and was traveling long-term like us, and his girlfriend had flown in from New York to meet him for a two week vacation. He was a fellow Teach For America alum (go figure), and it was pretty interesting to share thoughts on places we had visited and exchange reflections.

Dinner at the Food Court

I’m telling you: so cheap and so good. We had already eaten at real restaurants twice that day! Don’t knock it until you try it.

Final Thoughts on Chiang Mai

I re-read this post, and I’m not sure I am capturing well what we loved so much about Chiang Mai, and perhaps that is because what we loved so much is that Chiang Mai felt like home. The apartment building felt like our apartment building in DC, and the cafes felt like our favorite coffee shops in Philly. Nimman was super walkable– we didn’t need Google maps to get around. We went to the gym, we read great books by the pool, we drank coffee slowly, we liked every bite of food we ate.

See, when you go on vacation, you want to see new things and explore different ways of life. Visit the temples; eat the fancy food; go, go, go.

But after 90 days on the road, in ten different countries, the escape we needed was to pretend we were home. Beautiful Chiang Mai gave us that from the minute our plane landed. That sense of home made Chiang Mai one of our most favorite destinations of all.

100%, we will make it back to Chiang Mai again.

October 7, 2018

Days 85 – 89: Our Adventures in Luang Prabang, Laos

Laos was good to us! We enjoyed starting in Vientiane, the capital, and then really enjoyed laying back in Vang Vieng. While the journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was a bit of an adventure, Luang Prabang treated us right. I’m excited to share how we spent our time.

Day 85: Travel to Luang Prabang Was More Than a Notion

One of my favorite coworkers in Washington, DC would always say that something was “more than a notion” if it sounded straightforward but then ended up being complicated or challenging.

So by the time you finish reading this section, you will understand what I mean when I say that travel to Luang Prabang was most definitely more than a notion.

The Trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

It started simply enough. Our understanding was that our hotel in Vang Vieng would provide a ride to the bus company. While we were checking out, we let the hotel know we would need that service, and they said that actually, the bus would come to us.

Three minutes later, a driver in a songthaew, a pick up truck converted into a “bus,” pulled up. He drove us rather aggressively through the muddy streets of Vang Vieng to a bus stop where we got out to wait. About 45 minutes later, he came back, we climbed back into the back of his truck, and we picked up a few more passengers. He then drove us to a different bus station where we loaded a van.

Our first van driver appeared to be about 17 years old. As a former high school teacher and administrator, I’m going to call myself an expert on approximating the age of teenagers. We drove for about three hours on the bumpiest roads I had ever been on. Despite wearing a seatbelt, I almost hit my head on the ceiling. The young driver stopped the van twice to check and see if we had flat tires. I don’t know how, but Rich slept.

Sleeping on the way to Luang Prabang — The man can sleep through anything.

After about three hours, our van pulled to the side of the road, and an older man from a different van approached our van. This man and our young driver switched places. While Rich and I were not expecting this shift change, we were both pretty relieved that someone with a bit more driving experience was taking over.

We then drove about half a mile on top of boulders. I am only minorly exaggerating. If you had told me there had been a rock slide a week before, I would have said, oh, okay, makes perfect sense. I don’t have photographic proof because I was too terrified to capture it.

We then drove up a very tall mountain on a road that was sometimes paved and sometimes not.

I’m assuming you get the picture.

The older driver seemed to do a great job navigating the treacherous terrain, but he did have to get out of the van to relieve himself on the opposite side of the road three times in the next three hours. So maybe the drive made him nervous too.

After about six hours in total of being in the van, and after a drive that while dangerous was unbelievably beautiful, we arrived in Luang Prabang. Our AirBNB hosts had arranged for a tuk tuk driver to pick us up at the bus stop where we were scheduled to arrive. Only one problem: the van driver did not deliver us to the bus stop.

Sunset on the way to Luang Prabang — The. Views. It reminded me of driving through beautiful North Georgia.

Our Harrowing Trip to Our AirBNB

Our van driver’s English accent was very thick, and I didn’t understand what he said at all when he pulled over in town and started removing our items from the back of the van. Rich and another woman on the van independently heard him say that he would not be taking us to the bus station “because of the police.”

Oh.

So we were on the side of the road in Luang Prabang, Laos with our bags and with NO cell service to pull up google maps to find our way. I suggested we walk until we saw a cafe with WiFi and then we could go from there.

Where’s a cafe with WiFi when you need it? We walked for about 10 minutes before we found such a spot. Let’s just say when we arrived, we needed a beer as badly as we needed cell service. So we enjoyed our beer and realized that we were only about a 19 minute walk from our AirBNB which we both felt we had in us.

The Bridge of Doom

About 10 minutes into our walk, we reach a bridge that Google said we were supposed to cross. Let me paint the picture: It is wooden and is about one American traffic lane wide. Bicycles and motorbikes are speeding over it in each direction, barely missing each other. We look at the bridge, not quite sure how we are going to squeeze across with our bags, when we notice a small walkway on the side, below the main bridge.

I say, “I think maybe we walk on that, ” and Rich takes off like a man on a mission.

Oh, I don’t think I mentioned this: the bridge is over a raging river. Maybe I also didn’t mention that it is after 9 PM and pitch black out. And I did mention this but would like to mention it again: we both have our large backpacks and a smaller bag each. All of our worldly possessions.**

So I follow, more slowly, a few steps behind, when I realize this bridge has a ton of give in it, and I step on a plank that gives A LOT. My heart races. I think, “Are we supposed to be crossing the bridge on this adjacent platform? What if what we are on is only for workers or repairs? If I fall in the river, will I be able to swim with a 20 lb backpack?” My thoughts get darker from there, but you get the picture.

Rich is a good 10-15 feet ahead of me because a.) he’s a man, b.) he’s fearless, c.) he’s impatient to get to the AirBNB, or d.) all of the above. He turns around and looks at my face and says, “Are you crying?”

I wimper, “No” because that’s embarrassing. I’m not crying. I’m on the precipice of a full on panic attack. As any appropriately cautious individual would be.

Rich turns around and walks. I inch my way across a very long bridge. I survived. But barely.

The next day, we google the bridge. We read things like, “Only cross if you dare. Not for the faint of heart. No one likes the bridge of death.”

Yeah, no shit.

This is how scary the bridge looks IN THE DAYTIME. I’m unsure why this man is STANDING on this bridge, seemingly unafraid.

Day 86: Our Adventures at the Kuang Si Waterfalls

I’m seguing from a curse word to an adventure that my mom thought was irresponsible to share on Instagram because it looked too dangerous. Sorry, Mom! We really are being careful almost always, and I usually don’t curse!

So the Kuang Si Waterfalls are located in a large park about 45 minutes outside of Luang Prabang. Our AirBNB hosts arranged for a tuk tuk driver to drive us to the falls, wait a few hours for us, and then drive us home.

The Bear Sanctuary

Once you pay a small fee to enter the park, you cross a bear sanctuary to get to the falls. There are several bears in a big space that looks a lot like a zoo but with more fun toys. There is also a caged area where you can watch the baby cubs. Too cute!

Baby bears! (Behind glass, totally safe)

Rich gets tired of Amanda and makes friends with bears.

Kuang Si Falls

We hiked for a few minutes before reaching the falls, and they were breathtaking. There were people swimming in a pool at the bottom, but we opted to hike a bit farther before going for a swim. We took some pictures on a bridge at the bottom of the falls, and then crossed it to another trail. We were able to climb up a steep path to reach the top of the falls before coming back down.

Once we were at the bottom, we noticed a few people were headed towards a path on the left. At this point, we had probably hiked for an hour so we said we would check it out but keep the option to turn around before going all the way to the top on the table.

I’m so glad we did NOT turn around. When we got near the top, we saw that there was a staircase that had become part of the waterfall that you could still walk up. Presumably, when the falls were less full, the staircase was dry, but it had rained a day or two before so the water ran down the stairs.

We decided to head up, and it was awesome. I never thought I would walk up a waterfall! It was one of the most fun thirty minutes of our whole around the world trip. (Sorry, Mom. Anyone who has not turned 34 yet most definitely should NOT attempt. It is ONLY really fun if you are old and careful.)

Dinner

We paid a boat to take us across the river to the town of Luang Prabang to avoid crossing the Bridge of Death.

Day 87: Almsgiving Plus Work Day and Laundry

Almsgiving in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a very religious town with Buddhist monks everywhere. Each morning, the residents of Luang Prabang line the streets to give a small offering to each monk as he passes. Steve, our host, told us that the monks would pass the house between 6:00 and 7:00 AM so we got up early to sit on the balcony and watch. Sure enough, at about 6:15 AM, the women across the street headed outside and the monks came by.

It was really neat to watch and offered a nice, quiet time for reflection.

The procession of monks passed right by where we were staying.

Early morning almsgiving in Luang Prabang

Laundry!

So we ended up going much longer in between doing laundry than intended. I won’t name the last city we did laundry in before Luang Prabang. Luckily, our AirBNB hosts provided laundry service for a reasonable fee so we gave them a VERY big load, put on the clean clothes we had left over (a tank top and hiking pants for me, a long sleeved pullover and jeans for Rich), and settled in to work for the day.

The AirBNB where we were staying was a true bed and breakfast. Steve and Meryl are ex-pats who live downstairs, and they have several guestrooms upstairs. Meryl cooked delicious eggs, bacon, and toast that we enjoyed each morning.

We spread out in the work space downstairs to crank out a blog post and do some planning together. We turned our laundry over to Meryl at about 10:00 AM; however, when we started really needing dinner around 6:00 PM, we hadn’t gotten our clothes back yet.

So Rich went to dinner in Southeast Asia in a snow suit, and I made my improvised outfit fit right in!

Rich working (and sweating) on laundry day.

Of course, the laundry was wonderfully clean and folded when we got home.

Day 88: Checking Out the Sights in Luang Prabang

We really enjoyed having some time to work while we were in Luang Prabang, so I tackled one more blog post in the morning.

In the afternoon, we headed out to see the sights in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Center because of the fusion of Laotian and colonial French influences in its art and architecture. We hiked up Mount Phu Si, the highest point in Luang Prabang to reach Wat Chum Si.

Amanda by the scary bridge of death. I conquered my fear to cross into town!

Rich at a Buddhist monument in Luang Prabang

One of the many statues on the way up Mount Phu Si.

Dinner at 525 Cocktails & Tapas

For dinner, we got drinks and tapas at 525 Cocktails & Tapas. The macaroni and cheese and water buffalo sliders were to die for. The owner was there and came over to chat when we had finished eating. He and his wife are ex-pats from the United Kingdom and Australia, and he said they love raising their young son in Laos. Similar to us, they had wanted to take a bit of a step back from hectic jobs and living “busy” lives. For them, that looked like opening a bar in Laos.

We enjoyed spending time with him.

Looking back on that delicious meal, I can definitely tell we have adapted to prices where we are! For less than $25, we got two cocktails, five tapas, one beer, and a dessert thrown in– AND we felt like we had spent a lot on dinner!

We ordered one of these dessert samplers and got TWO. I LOVE dessert. Heaven.

On our way home from dinner– across the scary bridge, I conquered my fear– we ended up walking beside a young monk and his talkative friend. At first, we thought the friend wanted to sell us something, “Where are you going? Where are you staying? Where are you from?” but he was just genuinely curious and friendly.

We really enjoyed the people we met in Laos. They were always nice, but a whole lot less pushy than people in some of the other countries we have visited. There was a quiet confidence to all of the towns we visited in Laos.

Maybe it is the amiability I talked about in my post on Vientiane: being kind and gracious is a virtue. It was easy to imagine why both Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang were full of ex-pats. Laos was an easy place to feel welcome and that you had plenty of space at the same time.

** We were carrying all of our worldly possessions not in storage, at my mom’s, or at Rich’s mom’s across the bridge of doom.

October 4, 2018

Days 83 – 85: Vang Vieng, the Beautiful

So faithful readers will recall that due to one very nasty jellyfish (or family of jellyfish perhaps), I didn’t love our time in the Halong Bay. Fortunately, the same limestone cliffs found in the Halong Bay surround beautiful Vang Vieng, Laos. Same limestone, different outcome: we loved Vang Vieng.

Day 83: Travel to Vang Vieng, Laos

We thought we were taking a bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, but our bus ended up being a pretty regular-sized van. Most notably from the trip, everyone’s luggage was tied down on top of the van with a tarp on top of it, and the terrain was rugged. I’m not sure a bus could have passed over the washed out roads we took.

When we arrived in Vang Vieng, our cell phones couldn’t pick up any internet or regular service which made finding our AirBNB in a town we had never visited before a bit challenging. We decided to walk in the direction that everyone else from our van walked and hauled our belongings, which survived five hours of jostling on the roof of the van, about 10 minutes until we found an Amazon Cafe with free WiFi and could pull up a map.

Originally, we planned to stay in an AirBNB in Vang Vieng, but Rich found an amazing resort at a pretty reasonable price ($76/night) that he kept showing me over and over again (“Look at those views! The mountains! That swimming pool!”) so we changed our plans to stay there instead.

The Riverside Boutique Hotel in Vang Vieng

Staying at the Riverside Boutique Hotel was a great decision. All of the things that Rich saw in the pictures were better in real life. We walked into our room, and a scented candle was burning. We had arrived.

Day 84: Visiting a Limestone Cave and One of Many Blue Lagoons

When we started researching things to do in Vang Vieng, we realized quite a few of the things were pretty far outside of Vang Vieng. Rich suggested using the free hotel bicycles to bike to some far away trails and waterfalls, but all I could think of was the terrible dirt roads we had driven in on. Off-road biking didn’t appeal to me at all.

We decided instead to relax at the pool in the morning and then head to the closest “attraction,” a limestone cave and a blue lagoon in the afternoon.

Visiting the Tham Phu KHam Cave

The Tham Phu Kham cave was an easy 25 minute walk from our hotel. We paid a nominal toll to cross a big orange pedestrian bridge over the river, and then bought a ticket to the cave once across. We climbed a steep staircase to enter the cave, and then once we entered, we were the only ones inside. I had never had a cave to myself before!

The cave was really cool temperature-wise, which was a big relief from the Southeast Asian heat, and beautiful too. It was also a bit creepy, so I’ll go ahead and admit that we didn’t explore it too thoroughly for fear that we would forget our path out! I love my husband, but I can imagine other people who might handle being lost in a cave with more composure than he would.

The view of Vang Vieng from outside the cave.

Inside the cave. We are not the best cave photographers.

Cave in Vang Vieng — The climb up to the entrance of the cave

The Blue Lagoon

By the entrance to the cave, there is a decent sized natural swimming lagoon. During dry season, the water is very blue. We were there during rainy season so it was a little murky.

There were several other tourists there when we got there, and Rich was all about jumping in. Knowing that we had an actual pool back at a resort (and remembering my jellyfish fiasco), I was good to sit this one out and hold our stuff.

As we were walking over the bridge towards where you climbed in, about twelve boys between the ages of nine and thirteen came running towards the water. School had obviously just let out as they were discarding pieces of their school uniforms as they ran.

The first young man climbed up a tree and then out on to a branch over the water, and then he just let himself drop into the lagoon below. The next young man climbed up on top of the bridge and dove in. Each boy performed a feat crazier than the last to enter the water until they were all in the lagoon.

These kids were having the time of their lives.

Rich, meanwhile, slowly eased his way in to the icy waters, while children splashed and jumped around him. It was amazing.

Dinner at the Happy Mango Thai Restaurant

Vang Vieng has a reputation as a fairly wild backpacker town– apparently for years, backpackers would float down the Nam Sung river until they came upon a riverside bar where they would consume a beer or two, then float down the river until they encountered another bar, wash, rinse, repeat.

After a number of backpackers died (eeek!), town officials took some measures to cut down on some of the tomfoolery that resulted from all of this drinking and floating. However, several years later, Vang Vieng still has many more bars than restaurants.

When we saw fabulous Tripadvisor reviews for a place called The Happy Mango Thai Restaurant, we were all in. We went the first night we arrived, then back the second, and then spoiler alert: we also went the third. The prices were incredible; dinner each night averaged $10 total which included two entrees, two beers, and the BEST mango sticky rice for dessert.

Is it wrong to say that I ate my favorite Thai food in Southeast Asia in Laos? If Happy Mango is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Rich posed with the lizard, and then said “Get the check.” The waitress laughed at him and shooed the lizard away.

Day 85: Umm, We Went to the Pool

We considered more hiking, visiting waterfalls, etc., but instead, it was raining so we decided to:

Sleep in.
Eat a glorious resort breakfast.
Read at the pool (once I picked up Crazy Rich Asians I couldn’t put it down– “frothy” was the exact right description on the back cover) when it wasn’t raining.
Work a little whenever the rain drove us inside.
Shower.
Go eat dinner at Happy Mango Thai Restaurant

Productive, huh? It doesn’t make much of a blog post, but it was a great day.

Vang Vieng, Laos: Were We Laid Back or What?

If you can’t tell from how relaxed we look in all of our pictures, Vang Vieng was a breeze. We had delicious hotel breakfast each morning, grabbed mango shakes and egg bahn mi once or twice for lunch, and ate Happy Mango Thai for dinner. We wore work out clothes or swimsuits every day, and I’m not sure I wore make up or used a blow dryer once.

The people in Vang Vieng were super friendly, and the rain gave us a bit of cover not to tackle all of the sightseeing we might otherwise feel like we should attempt. We were as relaxed in Vang Vieng as anywhere else we have been on the trip.

If you visit southeast Asia, have the stomach for a bumpy van ride, and are looking for somewhere where you can just be, add Vang Vieng to your list. We would go back in a heartbeat.

October 2, 2018

Our THIRD 30 Days Abroad: By the Numbers

I sit here in shock that we are ALREADY on our third 30 days post– meaning we have been gone for more than 90 days total! We had a lot of fun putting together our first and second thirty day review posts and hope you all will enjoy reading this one as much as we enjoy working together to crank it out.

Here goes!

Dates Included: August 25 – September 23, 2018

Countries Visited: 4 (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand)

Cities/Towns Visited: 10 (Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Vietvianne, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai)

TRANSPORTATION

Number of Flights Taken: 10

Number of Buses Taken: 12

Number of Taxi/Uber Rides: 3

Number of Vans Taken: 3

Number of Tuk Tuk Rides: 5

LODGING

Number of AirBNB’s Slept In: 5

Number of Hotels Slept In: 5

FOOD

Percentage of Meals Eaten Out: 62% (50)

Percentage of Meals Eaten In: 7% (6)

Percentage of Meals Eaten in Airport Lounges: 5% (4)

Percentage of Meals Provided by Hotels or AirBNB’s: 26% (21)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

So for the past sixty days, as our faithful readers are aware, despite Rich and Amanda spending countless hours together going to all of the same places, Rich amasses MILES more of steps than Amanda as tracked by their FitBits. BUT this thirty days, we had gyms! Amanda ran MILES on the treadmill while Rich lifted weights. Will it make a difference?

Rich

Total Distance: 329,684 steps (152.3 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 10,989 steps (5.08 miles)
Daily High: 28,060 steps (12.88 miles)
Daily Low: 3,342 steps (1.53 miles)

Amanda

Total Distance: 270,505 steps (121.2 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 9,017 steps (4.04 miles)
Daily High: 22,953 steps (10.03 miles)
Daily Low: 2,511 (1.1 miles)

So, nope, the running did not make a difference. Sorry trainer Meg and Aaptiv.

Our steps are WAY down from our last 30 days where we were averaging over 2,000 more steps a day. Europe is set up for walking as a mode of transportation in a way that Southeast Asia just isn’t. We are hoping to get this activity back up.

INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY

I should really rename this category. #shade

Our reading was down a bit; we had more trouble finding books in English in Southeast Asia. We also had to pay for all of these except Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime. Rich and I had better luck in Europe with taking books that were left behind in AirBNBs and hotels (and usually leaving a few behind ourselves).

Rich

Books Read: 3 (Little Fires Everywhere, Commonwealth: A Novel, The Inferno)

Amanda

Books Read: 5 (Commonwealth: A Novel, The Inferno, Around the World in 80 Days, Crazy Rich Asians, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood)

We found a HUGE bookstore in Ho Chi Minh City. It was great EXCEPT the books were not in alpha order by writer or title. Mind blowing. How were you supposed to find anything?!?

OVERALL COSTS AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL BUDGET

Flights: 28% (13% increase)

Other Transportation (Buses, Trains, Ferries, Taxis, Funiculars): 5% (3% decrease)

Lodging: 42% (2% decrease)

Food: 16% (3% decrease)

Sightseeing: 3% (2 % decrease)

Other (Books, Haircut, Laundry, Toiletries, Trips to H&M): 6% (4% decrease)

Rich getting his hair cut in Chiang Mai, Thailand

FAVORITES:

How do we choose?!?

Favorite Meal:

Rich: Crispy Pad Thai (from the MAYA shopping mall food court) in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Runner Up– Philly Cheesesteak at Vibe Cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Amanda: The Spicy Pork Ragu Noodles at Nu Eatery in Hoi An, Vietnam; Runner Up–Red Curry with Tofu + Mango Sticky Rice at Happy Mango Thai Restaurant in Vang Vieng, Laos (We ate twice at both restaurants!)

Food court crispy pad thai– It cost less than $2! Imagine pad thai meets nachos.

Favorite AirBNB:

Rich: Cozy Stay in Nimman in Chiang Mai, Thailand ($33/night)
Amanda: Vuong’s Riverside Room with a View in Hoi An, Vietnam ($34/night)

Favorite Hotel:

Rich: Riverside Boutique Resort in Vang Vieng, Laos ($64/night)
Amanda: Riverside Boutique Resort in Vang Vieng, Laos ($64/night)

The view from our room at the beautiful Riverside Boutique Hotel

Favorite City/Town:

Rich: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Amanda: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Favorite Mode of Transportation:

Rich: Flying for $15 one way in Southeast Asian cities
Amanda: The van ride from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. We started with one driver, and then midway through the ride, we got a new driver. We drove over the most treacherous roads. The second driver got out to pee on the side of the road three times. But the land was BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of the rolling hills of North Georgia where my family is from, and for about four hours, I could just sit, stare out the window, and take it all in.

Favorite Beach/Pool:

Rich: The hotel pool at the Riverside Boutique Hotel in Vang Vieng, Laos
Amanda: Our hotel pool in Vietianne. While it wasn’t the most glamorous pool, inexplicably, for one day at the pool, there was a giant unicorn float when we arrived. Read more here about how that went for Rich.

unicorn float in Vientiane — So much love for the unicorn float

Favorite Book Read:

Rich: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Amanda: Either Commonwealth: A Novel by Ann Patchett OR Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. Although Crazy Rich Asians was really fun too…#nerd

Least Favorite Moment:

Rich: We had a great night out in Siem Reap enjoying a delicious dinner and two amazing cocktails at Miss Wong Cocktail Bar. We had a nice walk home and then…tragedy struck. OK, not tragedy just an unfortunate accident. Our Airbnb in Siem Reap was a really cute little place that had big glass doors opening to a small lobby. First, let me start of by saying the large glass double doors had been open the entire two days we were staying there. Second, they were really really clean. I am starting to tell this story like Amanda. I will get to the point: I walked face first into the glass doors as if I were walking through an open door. My nose and mouth started gushing blood, followed by lots of cursing and a call home to my dad to ask if my nose was broken (it wasn’t). This “clean glass door” incident led to lots of ice, Neosporin, and Bio Oil to help my face heal. I am happy to report that two weeks later I am 90% of the way to being scar free.
Amanda: That’s a lot to follow. We took a van from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, and in a strange turn of events, the driver dropped us off at a location that was NOT the bus station because “of the police.” We had a tuk tuk scheduled to pick us up at the bus stop, and since we had no idea how to communicate our new location, we decided to walk to the AirBNB. Little did we know, this walk, in the dark, involved crossing a VERY rickety pedestrian bridge over a river carrying all of our belongings. I’ll probably write more about this in my post on Luang Prabang, so for now, I will just admit to having a complete and total meltdown, just short of tears, in the middle of said bridge of death.

Did we mention that the day after the glass door incident was our visit to Angkor Wat?

Most Favorite Moments:

Rich: The four days exploring the Nimman neighborhood in Chiang Mai, Thailand, lounging by the pool in Vang Vieng overlooking the limestone mountains, and our day working at The Workshop Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City. Oh, also hiking a waterfall in Luang Prabang. We will blog about these soon!
Amanda: Visiting Angkor Wat . It was like being on another planet. I cannot believe such an incredible place exists. When we first entered Angkor Wat shortly after sunrise, most of the visitors were going straight, and we took a left. About 100 steps in, and we were all alone, in this huge section of the temple. It was amazing. I also loved bicycling to see temples in Chiang Rai and then coming “home” to the hotel to read at the pool. oh, AND I loved being at a lagoon in Vang Vieng when all of these middle school aged boys got out of school. Watching them jump out of trees and off bridges into the water was incredible. I ALMOST FORGOT THE CAT CAFE. OF COURSE, THE CAT CAFE.

DELTAS:

Looking back on the last thirty days, here are a few things we want to commit to doing moving forward.

Use the 7-11. Hear me out. In Europe, we stayed almost exclusively in AirBNB’s with kitchens, and going grocery shopping was a must-do in every new place. Here in Southeast Asia, it is actually cheaper to buy food out, especially from street vendors or mall food courts, than to cook. Still, there were many times that we were one or two snacks away from being a little less hangry if we planned ahead better. We did a good job with this in Chiang Mai, where the “Sev” (as Rich calls it) was on our street, and it made a big difference.
Do more research on the places we are visiting before we get there. I am going to admit that often I learn a ton about a historical place like Siem Reap when I blog about it after we have already visited. Several times, people who have vacationed in a place we are visiting have told us that we “HAVE” to get a guide to explore an area, but honestly, that’s just not financially practical on a trip as long as ours. Still, I want to commit to doing a better job at researching historical sites before rolling out the door so that we don’t miss anything while it is happening.
Schedule our time on a calendar. At our jobs, Rich and I were both super type-A schedulers with serious calendars. For better or worse, we have relaxed those tendencies. There are ways that not being so scheduled allows us to enjoy the moments we are in, but we also can see a pattern of not getting all of the things done that we wanted to do (i.e. blogging, planning, working out) because our “plan” for the day evolves the day of, often after an hour or two in the morning lost to playing on Insta or Twitter. We both love feeling productive so we want to try to start scheduling out the four or five days we will spend at a place on our calendars on the travel day when we arrive. We can let you know how it goes.

LOVES:

The confidence gained knowing that we are doing this. Rich and I have been gone for more than 90 days. We are traveling the world. We are not by any means perfect at it, but when we run into challenges, like glass doors (too soon?), we are able to keep on keeping on. Neither had us had ever been to Asia before and now we have both spent more than thirty days in Southeast Asia. When we first discussed traveling the world for a year, we weren’t quite sure it was possible. But we are doing it! That feels great.
All of the support from our friends and family at home. There are sweet friends who I had fallen out of touch with who because of this trip I am back in touch with as they reach out with kind messages, emails, and likes on pictures. We both feel like we have a whole big team of cheerleaders, rooting for and encouraging us on our way. And we have made new friends with other traveling couples through Instagram who provide us tips on places we are going next or even feature us on their blogs. THANK YOU for all of the support. It is awesome.
Spending time together. Still. Even when we melt down on bridges and are hangry. Having this time to travel, explore, learn, love, and process is an unbelievable gift, and we are having a blast.

September 30, 2018

Days 80-82: Visiting Vientiane, Laos

So before I even really start this post, I want to own up to something. If it is not already clear, it should be: I am no history or geography expert. A year ago, I’m pretty sure I could not have named Vientiane as the capital of Laos or labeled Laos on a blank world map.

Rich could have and that is one of many reasons that he does ALL of the planning. I show up, I learn, I frequently have my mind blown. Having this opportunity is one of the greatest gifts of my life.

All that to say, I had no idea what to expect in Laos, and my impressions ended up being overwhelmingly lovely. We liked Cambodia, but in the end, we may have ended up liking Laos better.

Day 80: Travel from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Vientiane, Laos

Bangkok is really the geographical hub of Southeast Asia. We flew from Siem Reap to Bangkok, then from Bangkok to Vientiane. We landed in Vientiane pretty late in the evening but luckily our hotel arranged an airport pick up for us. It was a pretty straight forward travel day (read: the opposite of traveling in Sicily).

Map with Vientiane — For a little Southeast Asia context…

In Vientiane, we stayed at a hotel that Rich had found online. The hotel was fine, but it didn’t quite live up to the online pictures or reviews. Our impression was that Vientiane may not experience quite the tourism boom of some of the other cities we had visited (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai) and so the bar just wasn’t quite as high. Still, no horror stories– the space was just a little banged up.

Day 81: Checking Out the Sites of Vientiane

Despite the hotel being a bit mediocre, as a city, Vientiane felt much more modern in comparison to Cambodia and much of Vietnam. Vientiane had large paved roads filled with more cars than motorbikes and lots of restaurants and coffee shops. The sidewalks were clear and easy to navigate!

Pool Time

But first, the pool. After any travel day, we almost always move a little slow. We decided to read by the hotel pool and head out in the afternoon.

Great call because when we arrived we had the pool all to ourselves with the exception of a GIANT UNICORN FLOAT.

This was not my first float rodeo. I also know that my gracefulness has its limits and wisely had Rich hold the float while I climbed in. I enjoyed floating and reading for a bit, then got hot (it’s Southeast Asia), and cooled off by swimming for a few minutes.

Rich: We should probably leave soon, but I think I’ll get in the float first.

Me: Cool (gets out camera).

Rich’s version of the following events is that he helped me get in the float, so I should have offered to get out of my lounger to help him do the same.

My version: I have never seen a man approach a situation more confidently than I watched my husband approach that giant adorable unicorn. It was pure “hold my beer” territory.

You have to see how this is going to end.

Rich confidently plops his body down on the back of the unicorn. He and the unicorn immediately flip over backwards, and he lands upside down underwater. If you are not following us on Instagram, heck, if you are not even on Instagram, watching the video of Rich and his unicorn friend flip over will make it worth your while to change that NOW.

The Patuxai War Memorial

Ironically, despite resembling the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Patuxai War Memorial celebrates Laos gaining independence from France in 1949.

The arch stands at the end of a long boulevard extending from the presidential palace. A large and beautiful park surrounds the arch. For less than $1, you can climb the stairs to the top for a nice view of Vientiane.

The monument’s five towers represent the five Buddhist principles of thoughtful amiability, flexibility, honesty, honor, and prosperity.

I am struck by the principles of thoughtful amiability and flexibility. In the United States, Would being amiable would make it into the top fifty American values in 2018? Being kind, gentle, or pleasant can be interpreted as being weak. In Southeast Asia, losing your temper is not just rude– it’s an affront to national and religious values.

The Patuxai Park was an easy walk from our hotel and a really beautiful space. We enjoyed our time there.

World Peace gong in Vientiane — The World Peace gong. Isn’t that lovely?

War Memorial in Vientiane — Rich at the Patuxai War Memorial

arch in vientiane — It looks like the Arc de Triomphe but was designed by a Laotian architect

The Pha That Luang

The Pha That Luang is a very large gold-covered Buddhist stupa that serves as a national symbol of Laos. Several other large temples surround the stupa. We found the whole area really breath taking.

Other temple in Vientiane — Temple beside the Pha That Luang

Coffee at the Amazon Cafe

So Laos is hot, and when we finished at the Pha That Luang, we needed a drink. Rich and I ducked into an Amazon Cafe, a Starbucks equivalent of Southeast Asia.

Inside, we could have been in America, but our favorite part was a table of high school aged students still in their school uniforms working on what looked like pretty hard math homework on their laptops.

These kids were focused, had Excel up to enter data, and kept swinging around the table to share ideas with one other. Rich and I are educators. I really hope this doesn’t sound creepy, but watching kids really engaged and grappling with hard content is like watching babies sleep for me. It is super fulfilling even if I don’t know the kids and didn’t assign the work– rigor looks the same worldwide.

Pizza for Dinner

In Laos, we ate pizza at Pomodoro Pizzeria, an Italian restaurant run by a gentleman originally from Pakistan. It was delicious, and if that’s not globalism, I don’t know what is. The end.

Pizza in Vientiane — When the pizza is so delicious, you forget to snap a picture until there are only two pieces left.

Day 82: Visiting the Buddha Park Outside of Vientiane

Xieng Khuan, unofficially known as the Buddha Park, is a beautiful space about 45 minutes outside of Vientiane filled with more than two hundred religious statues.

We LOVED exploring this park and looking at all of the statues which were full of personality. The park was really beautiful and only moderately crowded while we were there so we felt like we could wander at our own pace and explore.

You could even climb up on one of the tallest structures to get a view of the whole space.

Together at the Buddha Park. A view from the top.

The reclining Buddha was really amazing.

We enjoyed homemade coconut ice cream at the end of the tour. One of my biggest regrets of the whole trip may be the spoonful that slid off my spoon and onto the ground! The ice cream was so delicious and hit. the. spot.

Broad Generalization and Reflections Comparing Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam

I refer you back you to the intro to this post in which I readily admit to being no sort of expert. This is just my own personal impression: Vientiane struck us as having greater infrastructure and generally being more commercially developed than many parts of Cambodia and Vietnam we visited. The kids in the coffee shop were not the only school kids we observed. There were schools and students in uniforms everywhere.

And what I wonder is this: Is what we observed Laos’s fortune of not facing the national tragedies of war and genocide that Vietnam and Cambodia faced? Immediate effects of national tragedies show themselves easily. Does Laos provide a quick juxtaposition for the wealth, comforts, and educational system Vietnam and Cambodia might have experienced if not for the horrors faced in the 1960’s and 1970’s? Were we watching long term effects play out?

More from Laos coming soon! Beautiful Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.