Buddhist Chants

Last week I decided to drop into the San Francisco Buddhist Center, where I have attended meditation classes in the past. I was excited to learn that a class was just starting as it was Sangha Night (Sangha is the Buddhist word for spiritual community). The class started of a 25 minute group meditation followed […]

Tubing down a dirty river in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a small backpacker town surrounded by mountains & rivers. The main attractions are tubing, caves, and the natural mountain scenery and limestone hills. Almost all the restaurants have large televisions playing American sitcoms (usually Friends), episode after episode. We found this to be quite strange, but had no complaints as we watched […]

Plain of Jars & “The Secret War in Laos”

Most visitors come to the Xieng Khuang province to visit the mysterious Plain of Jars, a large group of historic cultural sites containing thousands of stone jars, which lie scattered throughout plain. *Archaeologists believe that the jars were used 1,500–2,000 years ago, by an ancient Mon-Khmer race whose culture is now totally unknown. Most of […]

Brown Water – Laos

Aine and me cruising on a boat through “brown water” (the Mekong) in Luang Prabang, Laos. Aine did not know her song was being recorded.

Luang Prabang: makes it all worth while…

After a very hard first week traveling in Laos, our efforts were finally rewarded in Luang Prabang. Nestled between the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, Luang Prabang is one of the most charming and sophisticated cities I have visited in Southeast Asia thus far. Streets are lined with French bistros, fancy restaurants, and expensive shops. […]

The Slow Boat down the Mekong, Laos

As if we hadn’t suffered enough already, Nicole, Aine, Jill, and I decided to torture ourselves slowly for two days by taking the “Slow Boat” down the Mekong River from HuayXai to Luang Prabang, Laos. Aine was game for taking a “speed boat”; however, Nicole and I were scared after learning that the boats are […]

Laos baby boy beats me with his teddy bear!

Crossing the border to hell (aka. The Gibbon Experience)

After spending five weeks in Thailand, it was time to explore another country. We planned to take a bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong, Thailand, where we would then cross the border into Lao. The only bus option available was a public 2nd class bus that departed at 6:30 am. We were the only […]