Laos.  It's a landlocked country.  Vietnam to the East, Thailand/Burma to the West.  Cambodia to the South.  China to the North.  The great Mekong River flows from the north to the south of the country, making water a central feature here despite the lack of sea access.  It's a gorgeous country, with a small population (6 million). 

We heard good things about Laos from other travels so we decided to check it out as part of our SE Asian adventure.  We left Northern Thailand and grabbed a boat across the Mekong to the Laotian town of Huay Xai. From Huay Xai we caught the slow boat to the UNESCO Heritage city, Luang Prabang.

I need to say a little about the slow boat trip.  It's 2 days, about 6-8 hrs/day.  The tickets cost around $22 each, which is a lot for our $33/day total (not each) budget.  It really is the most beautiful way to get to Luang Prabang on a budget and the bus wasn't really cheaper. 

The boats carry 80+ people and lots of luggage.  On our first day, all the seats were ricketly small wooden benches.  The discomfort was eased a bit by the beauty of the Mekong and its surroundings.  What made the Mekong so unique were the large whirlpools and other interesting patterns in the water.  What is underneath we wondered? 

We made it to Luang Prabang and stayed a couple nights.  The food there was amazing and we fell in love with sticky rice (made Lao style) and laab.  Our favorite moments involved food - sitting by the Mekong eating, drinking fruit shakes, and checking out Tamarind, a restaurant that is geared toward tourists and explains the food on the menu (what/how it's made, the tradition behind it, etc.).  In the evenings we strolled the night market, buying nothing, but tucking away ideas for gifts and future home decorations. 

We skipped the Pak Ou Caves and waterfalls trips that seem to be standard tourist activities and went to Phou Si hill right in the middle of the town.  There are a couple of Wats up there, as well as the Buddha's foot print.  Wats are Buddhist temples.  From the top of the hill you can see the town and both the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers.

We slipped out of Luang Prabang early one morning and grabbed a tuk tuk to the bus station.  We saw some monks collecting alms on the way, thereby witnessing the other major tourist attraction here.  At the bus station we attempted to buy local bus tickets and failed.  I am a fan of local buses.  Mostly because I like the fresh air and being closer to all the action - it makes the ride pass by quicker.  I am not sure if local buses exist or if they just won't sell tickets to falangs (foreigners.. you heard the word a lot here... it's good to know when you're being talked about).  We boarded the "King of Bus"" - a big Greyhound like bus with AC complete with loud Lao music  The environment outside our tinted windows was stunning, perhaps the most beautiful we've seen in our travels and a reminder to us of how beautiful the Northwest USA is (another big reason to miss Seattle).

Vientiane is our last stop in this blog post.  There isn't much to say about it.  I didn't like it or dislike it.  It was a decent place to stop for a couple nights, recuperate from the long bus journey, catch up on emails.  We went to one Wat that was cool - Wat Sisasek.  Loads of unique Buddha statues there.  Sufficiently recovered from the 11 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang, we caught a 10 hour sleeper bus to Pakse.  That's the next post!

It finally happened.  We've been out of the US for nearly 4 months, 3 of which have been in Asia.  We anticipated tummy problems and being the "doom-ologist" (as Brandon calls me) I imagined vicious fights for the bathroom, and let's say I was happy to see that every bathroom in India came equipped with a bucket.

None of this happened. 

In fact, we've been remarkably healthy so far (knock on wood).  Sure we've had minor digestive problems but nothing of concern. 

The real problem with holding down my stomach contents has turned out to be the bus.  And yesterday, I broke my 4 year no-vomiting streak.  On the bus.  Yeah!

Me and windy twisty roads, especially on fancy pants AC buses do not mix.  Brandon does a wonderful job of holding a pressure point on my wrist that helps.  I've now resorted to good old fashioned drugs to help me - Dramamine.  I think it works too.

From now on, I'm taking a pill before getting on a bus.  And no matter what anyone tells us, we are taking the cheapest bus available.  The school bus style is best for me -- lots of fresh air and it's closer to the ground.  No weird hydraulics, just good bumpage.

EDIT:  I've been informed that Nita's shop is now closed. If I find out if she has another shop, I will post it here!

We've spent about five days total in Chiang Mai, walking around the little "Old City" and looking at a lot of stuff (and not buying anything!  ok, one thing).  There are lots of markets here chock full of the usual Thai souvenirs.  There's the Night Bazaar, open everyday.  I met a lovely woman named Po there, who had been to Pun Pun.  She was really stunning - I should have asked her to take her photograph.  She had the most beautiful long silver hair, bright smile, and very fit body.  Every minute or two she'd mention how "old" she was.  She gave me the name of her "guru," who I still need to look up.   We also went to Warorot Market, which is mostly food and stuff locals want; a market right at Tha Pae Gate (mostly touristy stuff); and the Saturday Walking Market, and the walking really is a key part of that experience.

As the title of this blog post suggests, we did a little grooming here in Chiang Mai.  I spoiled myself and got another massage, justified by my 2 hours/day of manual labor on the farm.  I walked down the street to Green Bamboo Massage (Moon Muang Soi 1) and I got the oil massage this time, which was amazing.  The therapist used some thai massage techniques but none of the airplane rides from last time.  A $10 well spent. 

I then went next door and got a $3 hair cut.  I've needed a cut for a while and despite my creative asks of Brandon, he just wouldn't cut my hair for me.  I googled extensively to find a hair stylist in Chiang Mai but mostly found horror stories about hair cuts gone awry.  I asked my massage therapist where to get a haircut and she said that she heard good things about the woman next door.     

I walked into Nita's hair salon/internet cafe and immediately fell in love with the place. I think it was Nita's personality and warmth that drew me in.  She listened to what I wanted (just a clean up, and thin the hair out, it's getting too heavy!) and within 15 minutes I got one of the best cuts I've ever gotten.  We talked a bit and she lamented that she didn't have a website, as she'd love to promote herself more.  Website?  I can do that!

The next day and I stopped by and we worked on a website for Nita's business.  Check it out:  thaibeautyandinternet.weebly.com.  I've been using the Weebly interface and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a simple website.  It felt good to do something worthwhile, something I've missed out on since leaving McLeod Ganj.  So if you need a haircut in Chiang Mai, check out Nita at Thai Beauty and Internet.  One last thing - I love that she has an internet cafe and hair salon in one.  What a great use of space.   Ok - a 2nd last thing- Brandon got a haircut too and he loves his cut.  2 happy customers!  And he's much harder to please than me. 

We're at the Arcade Bus Station in Chiang Mai waiting for our lift north to Chiang Rai.  Signing out for now.  Tomorrow, Laos! 

A couple years ago I somehow clued into "natural building" -- the idea that you can build your own home/structures using materials that are available in the environment around you.  I'm pointing my life in the direction of picking up some of these skills and when I discovered Pun Pun Organic Farm, Brandon and I decided to check it out.

Pun Pun is a magical place.  It is a couple hours north of Chiang Mai (by shared truck with lots of stops) with mountains in the distance.  The air is clean and as I'll comment on further, there's a lot that's alive here.  The land is alive and fertile.

We worked 2 hours/day and paid a little bit in exchange for our room and board.   

The farm has over a dozen of handbuilt structures, from houses, to shower facilities, kitchen, meeting hall and more.  Most were built using adobe.

When Peggy and Jon (the owners) bought the land 7 years ago, it was completely razed and nothing would grow on it.  They've rehabilitated it and it's quite fertile now.  We saw starfruit and passionfruit trees, peppers, gourds, rice, bananas, papayas, limes... and we helped to plant tomatoes, okra, beans, loofah, cabbage, and more.  This by no means an exhaustive list.  One day we went foraging for mushrooms in the nearby forest.  All of this food feeds the live-in population of approx. 10 and assorted volunteers/students who are on site.  I believe it also supplies their organic vegetarian restaurant (Pun Pun) in Chiang Mai.   

In the evenings, we'd go back to our house and enter the sanctuary of our mosquito net, which became what we called our "insect safari."  This is rural Thailand and there are a lot of bugs (note to family - I did really well). 

There were spiders:

Disclaimer: these spiders were outside the house.  The female weaved a web with an "X" pattern on it.  We did see smaller versions of the famous McLeod Ganj spider in our bedroom however (no photos).

The insect population was controlled in part by the very large Tokay geckos called that lived in the house.  They are called Tokay because that's the sound of their call.  We watched them from the safety of our net while they chomped on insects.

We really enjoyed our time at Pun Pun and learned a lot during the week.  We also ate incredibly well - the food was beyond description.  To all of you who know me really well and are aware of my hatred of bananas: I had the most amazing banana flower salad. 

This is just the beginning of our efforts to pick up some building and growing skills.  What a great way to start and be inspired.

Traveling in India is not for sissies.   In fact, the challenges are what make India so rewarding and completely unpredictable.   There are, however, some things that I have missed.  Like ice and cold food.  

So when we landed at the glitzy, clean, shiny Bangkok airport, we splurged and ate sushi.  I have said to Brandon that when we get back to the US, one of the first meals that I want to eat is sushi.  I'm sated for a while.  


Arriving in Bangkok felt like a vacation from India.  It felt like coming home, to a mix of Vancouver BC & NYC, with an Asian flavor.  We stayed in the super touristy Khao San Rd area, at a cheap guesthouse with an amazing bed that encouraged us to stay for 4 nights.  


We ate amazing street food.

We went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market (no photos) and browsed around.  If I was leaving Thailand tomorrow and didn't have to carry stuff around, I would have bought a bunch of cool souvenirs.


We checked out the Erawan Shrine, on a busy corner in downtown Bangkok. When prayers are answered, people hire dancers to perform.  

We visited the Shrine to the Goddess Tuptim, a fertility goddess.

We visited an exhibit at the Thailand Creative & Design Center called "Spirits: Creativities from Beyond."  It was free!

We ate Rambutans!

We visited a Giant Reclining Buddha.

And saw a bunch of statues that reminded me of my father.

I got a $6 Thai Massage.  Thai Massage is a little different from the Swedish Massage I've gotten back home.  It's a very interactive experience with the therapist.   It's a combination of pressing and stretching.  The therapist got up on the bed, stood on my feet, twisted me in all sorts of crazy positions.  The strangest one started with me sitting cross-legged.  The therapist sat behind me, put a pillow between us and then she gave me an airplane ride.  Keep in mind, she was a lot smaller than me, and much stronger.

We had 4 wonderful, exciting, budget-busting days in Bangkok.  Time to board the train for a 14 hour ride to Chiang Mai, in the North.  As we waited at the station for our train to depart, I lost a little bit of my love for Bangkok.

After a couple days in Chiang Mai, we are heading just north of the city to an organic farm named Pun Pun that specializes in natural building and seed saving. Not sure if we'll have internet access out there so the next update might be a while!