The Ride Back to Vietnam...a fairly interesting trip

My time here is going to be quite different than my time in the North as we move down the coast from Hoi An to make clothes, soak up the sun, do some biking around Da Lat and take up some Kite Boarding lessons (hopefully).

The train ride down from Hanoi to Hoi An was nuts. I got the last seat on the train and Jane and I were 2 of 4 white people we saw on the train. My cart, no joke was FULLLL of chickens, kid's colourful character balloons, piercing loud Indian sounding music, broken seats and FAR too many people. So, I found my seat...window side which was the only perk...and was shocked and happy to hear that the old woman in front of my was in the middle of her nightly prayers. Amongst all of the noise, I tuned in over her shoulder and felt surprisingly at ease with the situation I was in. Amongst it all, I was smiling at the whole experience.


The last hilarious part was the Karaoke that was taking place in the munching cart. It was amazing...and very serious - Jane and I contained our laughter.

Some faces of Laos

Nam Kheow, Laos

I knew I needed some time in the mountains in the North where I could get exposure to what Laos life is really like in the more remote areas.

It was stunningly gorgeous here.
Our little bungalow over the river was the perfect spot to listen to Trisha play the guitar, make an attempt at the harmonica, and wait out the intense thunder storm that swallowed the town upon our arrival.


We rented bikes the first day to visit the local caves which were similar to the other 50 caves I feel like I have checked out, but much more in the middle of nowhere.


After our cold and wet day of caving, we treated ourselves to an amazing herbal steam bath/sauna that smelled like wood and cinnamon with breaks for jasmine tea and then an hour long Laos massage.


The next day we went on a trek which was actually a legit trek beginning in a local village of 42 families, through fields, past many water buffalo, and then through the rapids up to the top of the waterfall (which we actually rock climbed up - probably one of the coolest things I have ever done) to arrive at our bamboo pad for lunch. Dewy, our guide, set up an amazing local lunch of sticky rice, eggplant spicy mush, veggies, and cucumbers to eat on a giant banana leaf he picked up on the way. It was perfect.




The highlight of this trip was our invitation to hang out and socialize with the locals who were busy partying since the 10am wedding that took place between a beautiful young bride and her husband that day. Needless to say, that by 4pm, all of them were bombed. Going into this socializing session, we knew that it was rude to not embrace their customs and take whatever they offered. What they offered involved rice, some veggies, and mystery meat, along with bottomless Laos Laos which, for those who don't know, is the local Whiskey. So here we are, sitting at the table with the men, while the women sat at another table watching and laughing at us while we were fed shot after shot. I looked at them pleading for their help to remove me from the situation after about 8 shots, then was finally able to get the message through to that enough was enough and I could not handle any more Whiskey!!! At that point, we were asked to join them in their house to hang out, talk (well, more like gesture), and then 5 minutes into it were forced to drink more shots.


It was an honor to be so welcomed by this village. The kids were fun to play with, the women were so beautiful and nice, and the men were just...hilarious.





On a boat on the Mekong, life just seems so simple and day-to-day. The boat ride back from the waterfall treck was spent...hammered...but checking out the river side villages, laughing with the kids that were playing in the water and racing us in their canoes, watching the men net fishing, and the water spiders dancing about on the river's surface. The land and the sunset were just beautiful.

A Day Filled with the Colour Orange

Jane and I decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. one morning and begin our day of spiritual exploration. The first thing we wanted to see was the Buddhist Monk's on their walk. I was unaware that this would mean anything more than watching Monk's walking to the temple for their morning prayer. When we got up to the street we were instructed to buy a portion of stick rice and some fruit. We were given a mat to sit on, told to sit on our knees and put food in the Monk's silver bowls as they passed by. It was a short, interesting and incredibly foreign custom to take part in. I was unaware that we would be interacting with the Monk's and therefore felt awkward and unprepared by my lack of knowledge in the process. There were a couple of other tourists taking part but the street was primarily lined with older women who I am sure take part in the walk each and every morning.



The dedication these women have to their religion and this sacred, what I saw to be sacred, walk was very powerful. It was interestingly two sided. The Monk's role was to dedicate their life to prayer, prayer for themselves, but also prayer for their neighbours, their land and their community. In return, these women dedicate themselves to their own daily prayers in addition to making food and offerings to the Monk's each day.

It was a quiet and humbling process to have taken part in and unfortunately for me, it was too short to really register what was going on.

The Stupa up top of the hill that sits in the middle of Luang Prabang was beautiful. The walk up led you past many different Buddhist relics and ended at the top of the hill looking over the whole area.


At 5:30 p.m. we went to a Buddhist prayer at one of the temples. Jane and I have both spoken about our desire to go to a meditation but unfortunately there were none being held that week. Prior to the prayer session I was taking a walk through one of the temple grounds to find out the time of the prayers. I ended up speaking with a monk who was in the middle of studying his English. I spent a bit of time with him just trying to understand a bit more about the way they spend their days. The religion and customs are fascinating to me. Throughout their prayers, I had so many questions running through my head.


Here I come Wikipedia...but I don't think that will be enough. I am waiting for my time in Nepal and India to grasp a better understanding of the religion.

Luang Prabang, Laos

What a perfect town full of vibing cafés & restaurants, beautiful quaint guest houses, an organized night market, stupas on the hill, monks walking the streets, and a surrounding river. Jane and I got stuck here for quite a while and were in no rush to leave. We got a great crew of people going here that just kept expanding and expanding.


One of the best days I have had on our trip began with a Joma coffee, a trip to the waterfalls, then we made the move to Utopia Restaurant for a bloody mary at sunset, an early night beach volleyball game, and then a jam session...a HUGE jam session.



The waterfall was inexplicably beautiful. I didn't think that after the falls in Costa Rica and New Zealand that I would find another waterfall that impressed me as much. Well, I was proven wrong. The water, unlike the Mekong, was bright blue and the levels of the waterfall seemed to go on forever...until we got to the top. The craziest part, was how loud all of the insects, birds, and gecko's sounded at the top - they overpowered any of our voices by far.

TUBING! Vang Vieng, Laos

Typical 2 day trip in Laos. I recommed following the tourist track on this one. Floating down a river, drinking beers in the sun, drinking shots out of bottles with snakes soaking in the bottom, listening to music, flying into the water off zip lines and waterslides is probably one of the more fun ways I have spent a day. The locals who run the gig are hilarious and everything is cheap cheap cheap!

Vientiene, Laos

Maybe not the best city I have been to, but when you find what you want to do, figure out your mood and make it happen, any city can be great. They are what you make of them.

Recommended yoga studio: http://www.vientianeyoga.com/
Breakfast and Coffe: http://www.joma.biz/Joma/Welcome.html
Yummy eats and greattt veggie fresh rolls: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/laos/vientiane/64861/full-moon-cafe/restaurant-detail.html

Renting bikes, as in any city, proved to be the most fun and efficient way to follow the Mekong and check out the city.

Laos - A new country

(I am writing this entry late, after leaving Laos). Laos was a whirlwind of a country – beautiful beautiful landscape and people. Genuine beauty and kindness everywhere. The biggest difference in my experience here was there there was NO BEGGING. Thank god. At most times, it breaks my heart to see kids up at night being directed at tourists by their parents to sell plastic dragonflies, but it just got exhausting avoiding people everywhere in Thailand and Vietnam.

Listening to Your Body

It’s what everyone tells you from family to doctors to books and the voice in the back of your head. But what about when your body and mind are not synchronized?

When you get into a routine or mode that you enjoy and makes you feel good, you often, well I often, find it hard to hear my body speaking to me. When I finally hear it, as history has proven, it’s YELLING at me.

I am the kind of person that feeds off the places I am or the people I am with. I am always looking for places and feelings that inspire and energize me. This, here, is the crux of the problem. It’s hard for me to take the days to chill out and watch movies or nap when I am on the other side of the world and wanting to make every minute count. But, I’ve hit a point where I am tired. I’ve been ‘on the road’ for almost seven months now. I have had some incredible times and seen some really unbelievable things that have kept me energized and wanting more. However, with the influence of those around me, I am finding myself pushing beyond a pace that I can keep up with. It is time to check in with my body every day – not upon the arrival in a new place. Moral of the story is that I have acknowledged what my body is telling me and I am going to slow down the travels a bit – Chang Mai should’ve been skipped.

Lady Boys

SONGKRAN: Chang Mai, Thailand

Not too much to say here but that it was a ‘shit show’ that I enjoyed but was certainly not prepared for in the long run. Immediately upon arrival in the ‘Tuk Truck’ from the bus station, we were soaked with water guns and buckets of water. The first plan of action was to head out to buy a SUPERSOAKER 5000 and then spend our days running around the street getting soaked and spraying fellow festival goers. The festival was fun, but at the end of the 3rd day, let alone the 4th, I was definitely over it.



One relatively cultural experience I had was attending the Muy Thai Boxing. Not really my thing, but it was entertaining. The highlight for most was the fight between two girls, a three man blind fight, and the fight between a 'small' person and a child.


My only real cultural experience in Chang Mai was the public singing of the national anthem in the middle of the market. Everything stopped. The only other time I experienced something like this was in the movie theater in Bangkok. "Long Live the King".

A Dreamy Cabin in the Mountains: Suppong, Thailand

After Pai, I headed up to the sleepy mountains and caves three hours north of Pai. I had gotten a couple of recommendations to head up to the ‘Cave Lodge’ (http://www.cavelodge.com/) which is 9km from Suppong. This is one of the best recommendations I have received. The cabin was absolutely perfect.


I arrived in Suppong just after dark and had to beg a guy to take me and my oversized bag on his motorbike to the lodge...hmm, in hindsight, I should’ve planned that one better. In any case, I met some great people very quickly as there was only 6 of us there, ate a yummy local dish (no idea what it was), then went to our dorm of mattresses and had quite the slumber party. The wooden lodge was a beautiful place to wake up in, tucked into the trees peeking out over river and mountains.

Some granola, yoghurt, a bamboo hammock and the cronicles of John Smith’s life who started this place, made it quite the perfect morning. His adventures designing this life for himself in the mountain village are fascinating.

After prying myself away from the hammock, we headed down the river to check out some caves.




If you make it to Suppong one day, don’t plan to rush it the way that I did. Just sit back and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the place.

Up to the North: Pai, Thailand

Pai turned out to be exactly what I needed after a pretty rough week in Bangkok and then a great stint with my Mom in Vietnam. It helped me to get myself back on track after an overwhelming last couple of weeks. This quiet hippy town of dusty streets, a solemn river, sleepy bungalows and endless live music, is a yoga enthusiasts dream.


I spent my mornings sleeping in in my treehouse. A treehouse was, in theory, much cooler sounding than the bungalows on the ground and much cheaper! However, the unspoken detail was that my house was not just up in the trees, but the tree, and animals that come along with it, were in my house and scurrying all about.



After the sleep in, I headed to my morning yoga session at Mam’s Yoga with Ma and her daughter who were quite the dreamy duo. Yoga with them was much different than any yoga I was experienced in the past. She explained to us that many North American’s don’t like her yoga because it is not a fast pace, sweaty work out like Moksha or Bikram, but her mix of Hatha and Ashtanga is the true way that yogis practice in India. Think what you will, but from her 25 years of experience and the beautiful eclectic décor of the place, I could only smile, relax, and sink into the intensive concentrative mind state she led us into. The best part was the fruit and ‘hang out’ session that followed the 2 hour class.


After yoga, I spent the better part of my days reading and eating yummy veggie food at "The Good Life" restuarant...(I could not post a higher food recommendation...it was great.)



walking the streets and shooting around on my scooter to the nearby canyon, waterfall, hot spring and obviously ending my day at the tacky Fluid poolside bar that I was invited to “hang out on a hot and humid day”. Unfortunately, the dry season brought little water to the falls and poor visibility at the canyon due to the constant forest fires.


Finally, each night ended at a different live music joint, The Edible Jazz bar being my favorite of all.

Pai is a great spot, quite touristy, yet as I said before: a perfect getaway from the craziness of Southern Thailand.