Category: Travel

A amazing experience I got to do in Luang Prabang was yoga at Ock Pop Tok Yoga, which is on the Mekong River. We did yoga as the sun was setting, with a beautiful view of the river. It’s a great place to go on a yoga retreat and I wish I had more time to spend there as the place was magical. I could make a vacation just out of the yoga studio!

Another beautiful place outside Luang Prabang is the Kuang Si Falls. It is a three tier fall and we walked to the top to see as much as we could. There are parts of the falls where you can swim so we did just that. If you are in your bikini you will be photographed by tourists, so be prepared for that…it was a strange experience.

Vang Vieng was our next stop touring Laos. You will notice the hammer and sickle all over there as you can see in the photo I took on the bus ride. It is a communist country and people have a curfew, so places close early so people can make it home on time. Vang Vieng was a rest stop in that we had no planned activities, but complete free time to do whatever we wanted. I wanted to walk around and then relax by the pool. The trip was so “go go” that it was nice to read and relax. The view from the hotel was nice, you can see mountains in the background; it was just beautiful. I also witnessed a couple caught up in herd of cattle, which was pretty funny, and something I didn’t see every day.

We decided to go for a hot air balloon the next morning before leaving. I have never done it, and thought I should try it out. It was a scary and hilarious experience…I’m so glad I survived. A group of us went, and were all crammed into one balloon. I was praying that my hair would not burn off since I was standing so close to the flame that propelled the balloon…it was so hot. I kept trying to move, but we were squeezed in like sardines so there was nowhere to go; plus there was no one that would switch places. I kept moving my head over the edge of the basket.

We took some great photos as the view was incredible. You can see how amazing the landscape is there! The best part was the landing though. We were all falling on top of each other, bouncing back and forth…I could not stop laughing…the men that were stopping the balloon even started laughing. It was definitely an experience. If you are a person that likes to play it safe, don’t go on the hot air balloon…we were living dangerously…But it definitely makes a great story, and was a bonding experience for us all.

While in Laos, we did the most touristy thing you can do in Southeast Asia, we decided to go for an elephant ride. It was my chance to see an elephant up close.  Each elephant has a mahout that works only with that specific elephant. The mahout served as our guide and let us take his position at the front of the elephant…thank God I wore pants since an elephant’s hair is course and prickly. It was hilarious watching my sister when the elephant was going up a small hill, she thought she was going to fall over. I included a picture for reference.

The ride wasn’t that long, but we were able to purchase some food and feed the elephants afterwards.

I know this is an activity that many people find problematic. We asked our guide and she said Contiki picked the place because the elephants are well cared for, and each one has its own caretaker. I’ve always wanted to ride an elephant, and I’d ride a camel if I went to Egypt. So if it’s something you want to do, go for it. At least local people are employed and the elephants are being cared for…

We did the elephant ride in the early morning so we wouldn’t be in the hot sun. In the afternoon, we spent time walking around the town. In Luang Prabang, there is a bamboo bridge over the Nam Kahn River that is dismantled before the rainy season then rebuilt afterwards. The price you pay helps pay for the upkeep of the bridge and the family’s salary that builds it. Spend time walking around and you will run across this bridge…cross to the over side and spend some time exploring. It’s sturdy, so nothing to worry about.

While exploring the town, we saw that there are some great cafes in the area…we had lunch at one that is a book store. These are the places where you will run into other tourists. But nice to sit in the air conditioning, browse through books, and have an iced tea. There is Thai iced tea and coffee sold by vendors on the street for way cheaper, and it is delicious but very sweet. Later, we found a beautiful restaurant that overlooks the river, and I remember we sat on the floor.  I was happy to have a glass of wine…was getting tired of beer.

The next morning we were up at 5am to give alms to the monks at sunrise. A local family prepared sticky rice for us, and set up mats for us with these scarves to wear across our bodies. We made sure to be dressed appropriately as well. We had some strange moments with some Chinse tourists that were taking pictures of our group. Our guide got really annoyed and started taking pictures of one of them, who did not want his picture taken…go figure. Taking part in the giving of alms was a great experience. The monks are supported by the town; they collect enough rice to feed them for their two daily meals. So at sunrise they walk through the town to get their rice…they also receive fun items like chocolate bars and other things. There is a great range of ages since young boys to older men can be monks. As I mentioned before, being a monk is not a lifetime commitment…a boy or man can do it for certain periods of time like a few months or years. It was worth getting up at 5am for this cultural experience, and it’s hard to describe this with words alone. It’s unlike anything I have ever witnessed before, and it was great to be able to be part of the experience.

After Chiang Rai we left for Laos, where you do need a visa…it can take a while to cross the border since they look over these documents, so it’s best to go early to avoid the crowds.

We started our journey in Laos by traveling on a beautiful, wooden boat owned by a Lao family. They made us lunch, so we got some homemade ginger chicken and other treats. I also got to try Beer Lao, which is similar to Chang since the family sold it on the side. We were only allowed on the top of the boat, since it is the family’s primary residence. There was an awning they removed so people could sit and bake in the sun. Otherwise, there was tables and chairs where we able to journal, play cards, and talk to each other.

The weather was beautiful and showed off the landscape, and we had a local guide that explained a brief history of the country. He told us that much of the population died during the Vietnam War since Laos was the most heavily bombed country so the majority of the population is young. The US was trying to get at the Viet Cong, but ended up devastating the landscape with landmines…many are still there and people still die or lose limbs to this day.

 

Once we got to Pakbeng, where we were spending the night, Kristina paid a local kid to take her bag up the hill to the hotel. It’s a thing the children do to make extra money for candy, and the kid was cheeky and made us laugh. The town is really small and pretty much a backpacking stop. The hotel was pretty simple, but the food was good. We ended up staying at the hotel since there wasn’t anywhere we could really go. In the morning we had a great view of an elephant bathing at the river as the sun was rising. We had to be up early to hop back on our boat.

 

The next morning on the way to Luang Prabang we stopped at the Buddha Cave or Pak Ou Caves…I did not know a cave could be a temple, so no shoes. These caves are filled with various sizes of statues of Buddha…you can go up the stairs and take a look at all the different ones. The view from the caves are beautiful since it is right off the Mekong. The caves give you a different perspective on spirituality and how nature can be incorporated into this. It’s definitely worth taking a boat ride to.

 

Luang Prabang is a beautiful city, in fact part of the city is a UNESCO world heritage site. The city is amazing, and after visiting, I understand why our guide said she’d live there. There are beautiful temples and monasteries. Plus western comforts like cafes and bakeries since you can get homesick for silly things like a chocolate chip cookie.

Wat Xien Thong, (the Golden City) is temple that we visited. My sister was part of a bike excursion there while I took a tuk tuk with a friend. The site has around twenty structures and we visited many of them.  It was built in the mid-16^th century. If you like dragons, there are some neat sculptures as well as representations in sculptures and paintings.

 

We climbed a million steps on That Phu Si & Wat Tham Phu Si park which is considered a sacred site that overlooks the city. I was pretty proud of myself for being the first person from the tour to climb to the top. The views are stunning! We watched the sunset and got to see the doves set free (I think they do that for the tourists).

Afterwards we tried a local delicacy, snake whiskey. It tasted exactly like you would think: terrible! But when in Rome…

 

 

 

We ended the night by going to the Night Market…and I have to say Luang Prabang’s was my favorite. The things I saw there I did not see anywhere else on our tour. There was hand painted packages of coffee and tea, beautiful tea sets, earrings made with thread and silver, and I can go on and on… We ate dinner at one of the street vendors where a woman made us a spicy papaya salad and some meat on a stick. We stayed until closing time since the market there is massive and there is so much to see.

 

 

 

The next day we headed to Chiang Rai, and stopped at the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) which was absolutely amazing. It was created by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat on the site of an old temple, and he opened it to the public, with free admission all year round. The artist financed the project with his own money, and only took small donations. The really neat thing is how the artist included modern figures like Batman, George Bush, Michael Jackson, etc. in the paintings in the temple, as well as some sculptures on the outside. Since I couldn’t take a picture of the inside, I included one from the outside. Did you notice Batman’s head hanging off a tree branch?

You cannot miss the hands reaching out in front of the bridge to the temple, which look creepy and beautiful at the same time. I also liked the contrast of the monk’s orange robes next to the white of the temple, as well as the gold structure.

The White Temple is an amazing site that will make you want to capture as many photographs as possible since there is so much to see!

Our next adventure was to see the Hill tribes people, one of the most recognized is the Karen (known as the “long neck”). They left Myanmar to seek sanctuary in Thailand. The tribe people have land reserved and schooling for their children, but they are on display as a way to make money. Many people do not like that it is a sort of zoo, but my sister and I wanted to see how some of the indigenous people live.

The tribes’ people also sell their own handicrafts and other trinkets. I bought a green and blue scarf that is so delicate that it can only be put on display to preserve it. The Karen people are the ones whose women wear the rings around their necks, which push their shoulders down, causing their necks to look elongated.  The process is painful and keeps the women from doing much; they basically weave and clean. It’s sad to see the rings on the little girls. The men farm. It’s a very rural landscape…you’ll see children playing with things like wheels. The women played some traditional music for us as well, and even had us help with the heavy instruments. Our guide also showed us maps and gave us information on where the tribes people came from.

That night we went to the night market (as usual) and had our typical fare of coconut water…the girl was really nice, and had this device that shaved the coconut on the inside so we could snack on it.  I wandered around and found a café with Wi-Fi where I had the most delicious pineapple fried rice. All the fruit and vegetables tasted so fresh…the pineapple was so good! There were bars where you could grab a drink, or even sit outside at the market and people watch. The weather was perfect for being outside! It was a nice and low key night to end our stay in Thailand.

Lastly, I had to include this store since it is so neat, and I love its message. It is called Cabbages and Condoms which promotes, you guessed it, condom usage. I included a photo of their condoms.

They do sell food and souvenirs as well. I did buy the most delicious coconut chips there, which only a true coconut lover would enjoy.

They also have a café there where you can get Thai iced tea or coffee…both are really good, but very sweet since they are made with condensed milk.

That ends my stay in Thailand, which I enjoyed so much! I plan on returning and spending more time in the south and seeing the islands. Next stop: Laos, a country I knew nothing about before I went, but fell in love with.

 

As we were exploring, we found the night market in Chiang Mai, and it was great! So many beautiful things. I bought the guy I was dating a silk tie (I knew he’d get a kick out of getting a tie from Thailand…yes, we were corny like that…).

A couple of my best friends are guys, so they got the beautiful silk ties as well. The coolest thing to me was this artist that made things out of rope. He had all these amazing dragons in varying sizes.  I couldn’t decide between a unicorn or a dragon.  My sister decided by getting me a dragon. I still display it in my living room, which probably looks like a Hallmark with all the different things I have brought from around the world. This is one of my favorite things I have brought back home.

Another great thing about the market was the food! I had basil chicken with egg, and drank coconut water from the coconut itself. It tastes so much better than the stuff you buy in the store. There is no comparison. The markets have all this amazing food, and you can get delicious smoothies made with all kinds of exotic fruit…I had a thing for dragon fruit, maybe because of the name. We definitely made it a point to go to all the night markets in every city we visited.

Thailand has a high population of trans-gendered…men that get sex changes or are in the process of becoming women. We found a cabaret that featured men dressed up as women. These women were gorgeous! There was a guy who performed as half man, half woman that was really good. The best part was when they picked this tourist from the audience, and one of the performers gave him a lap dance. He was loving it!  The show was right in the night market so we were able to browse, and get some more stuff before we headed back to the hotel. There is a picture of us with all of our bags on the table that makes me smile.

Our next stop was a monastery called Doi Suthep (Wat Phra That Doi Suthep), which is another sacred site for Thai people. It is said to have been founded in the late 14^th century. Doi Suthep is the mountain it is on, so you can imagine the view, as well as the stairs we had to climb…so worth it if you can do it (around 300 steps). The interesting thing about Buddhism is that you don’t have to be a monk for the rest of your life, but you can do it for certain periods of time. We were excited to visit this place since we were able to receive a blessing from a monk.

The dragons at the gate are amazing, made with beautiful colored designs. When you get to the top, the golden mount at the temple is gorgeous, as well as all the beautiful statues of Buddha. You are surrounded by gold there!

We learned that there are different Buddha’s for the various days of the week (i.e. Sunday is contemplation)…your Buddha is based on what day of the week you were born. Buddhists also burned oil there which I had never seen before.

This place was really special to me since we got a blessing, and received blessed rope to wear on our hands. Monks cannot touch women so another man put them on us. I had never received a blessing from a monk, so this was a completely new experience for me.

Kristina and I shook these containers with sticks in them, and the stick that fell out of the container had a number on it that was matched to a paper with a fortune. I included a picture with our fortunes on it. A trip to Doi Suthep is a really beautiful experience that I recommend if you are in Chiang Mai.

After this, we went to visit the Tiger Kingdom. I know many animal lovers have a problem with this place since they do tranquilize the tigers if they get too aggressive. We both wanted to go since we felt like this was our only chance to be up close with tigers (I know it’s a white people thing as my friend Terrence Gant, owner of Third Coast Comics, pointed out). We spent a couple hours there. We purchased time with the medium size tigers. We wanted to be able to see the baby tigers, but the wait was a couple of hours. Going back, I’d just go for it, and see the baby tigers since we walked by the area they were in, and they were the cutest things.

For some reason, the medium size was not popular so we got to see them pretty quickly. For the record, I was terrified. The medium size is pretty large to me. If a tiger snapped and bit me, I would have no one to blame but myself for being stupid. The whole time we were with the tigers, we were afraid to touch them…the pictures are hilarious since we are nervously smiling, not touching them. One even got tranquilized while we were there, so that did not inspire confidence in our situation. If you want to be up close and personal with tigers of all sizes, then go to Tiger Kingdom.

When we returned back to the city, we decided to explore a bit after cooling off in our hotel pool (which was lovely). We tried banana and chocolate roti from a street vendor, and it was delicious! I have a rule: no diets on vacation…just try anything you can, and enjoy. Just watch what you eat back home.

Preface: We did not research this, but you need visas to go to Laos and Cambodia. If you are going anywhere outside of Europe, you probably need one. Luckily they do not have to acquired beforehand, but can be purchased at the borders of those countries. You also need passport photos for this. We had to spend some time trying to find a place, so my advice is to have all this prepared before you go.

As a treat afterwards, we ate some street food. A woman made us the most delicious Pad Thai. My sister is allergic to peanuts and had never been able to eat Pad Thai, but they make it less sweet and peanutty(I know that’s not a word). We were able to communicate that my sister would pass out into convulsions if she ate peanuts, so the lady got it, and held the peanuts. I cannot express how delicious it was, or the joy my sister took in trying Pad Thai for the first time: priceless. The egg rolls were fantastic too. Our hotel also made the most delicious Thai iced tea, which was double the price you paid on the street, but enjoyable to drink in an air conditioned café. We were on a roll for gastronomic experiences that day…

Of course when you are in Thailand, you must get a Thai massage. There are places everywhere, so we picked a place close to the hotel. Disclosure: it is very different from a massage that you would receive in the states…we do not view privacy the same way. Kristina and I undressed (just our tops) in front of the masseuse, and laid next to each other with no curtain separating us. I could barely contain my laughter when the massage therapists were walking on our bodies and slapping us. They turned us around and had our heads lay in their laps…this was awkward…Kristina had a guy giving her massage. Plus, they were talking to each other, not creating a relaxing environment. However, it was one of the funniest experiences I ever had. I regularly get deep tissue massages here, and the atmosphere is totally different. It cost us about $10 a massage, and was totally worth it since it was a hilarious experience. You can go to a beautiful spa for privacy, as we did in Cambodia, but it will be more expensive.

That evening we had to catch the overnight train to Chiang Mai. This was another hilarious escapade since there were 30 of us lugging our suitcases, and lining them up in the train hallway. We had to create a work chain to get everyone’s stuff a board.

The food was terrible, and my sister ended up having a reaction to the pineapple she ate, and had to go to the washroom to give herself a shot. So try to buy food before and bring it on the train since you will not eat well. The time on the train was a great time for journaling, reading, and talking…some people brought cards games to pass the time.

Later, our seats converted into bunk beds. I ended up squeezing into Kristina’s bunk at the bottom since we made a fort with our bags and stuff. The strange part is we both had the most amazing sleep on the train…maybe it was the motion…The best part was in the morning when they started kicking people off their beds, and converting them back into seats. We thought it was funny since some people were still sleeping, and they just started pushing them off the bed.

After this journey, we arrived at the Empress Hotel in Chiang Mai. A great spread awaited us for breakfast… I waited in line for my custom made omelet that was so worth it…sometimes you need something from home. It wasn’t check in time so we had to shower in the bathroom by the pool, which wasn’t the best experience, but also worth it to wash the funk of the train off of us. After all, we had some major sightseeing to do that day, as you will soon find out…

It was crazy hot so we decided to cool off after the market with a swim at our hotel which had a nice pool. Afterwards we went to the Macaroni Club, a restaurant almost next door, which has a beautiful pond with koi, and statutes on the grounds. I tried Chang beer for the first time, and actually liked it. The beer is light since it is so hot most of the year. My theme in Southeast Asia would be to stick with the local beer since it is cheaper, and tastes pretty good.

We met our group at 6pm, and I immediately liked our guide Tara who surprise, surprise was Australian (almost every Contiki guide is). She was very positive, filled with excitement, and had come back from retirement to go on this tour that she had helped develop years ago. I was sure she would have great recommendations for us (this turned out to be true as you will find out if you keep reading).

We ate across the street from the hotel so we could get to know each other. I was there to spend time with my sister, and didn’t really put too much effort in making life-long friends as some people did. Plus there was this annoying guy that was thirsty to hook up with whoever he could that kept asking all the females weird questions…I will have some good stories about him and his escapades coming up. During dinner, random Thai people would come up to your table to try to sell you scorpions to eat. I passed but you’ll see what I ate later. We also got a lot of offers to buy goofy hats and all kinds of knick knacks. The night life made for great people watching, but I had no desire to go to a sex show (look up ping pong show if you are curious) with the group, which most people did. I enjoyed walking around and soaking it all in. We missed out on bonding with the group since we didn’t go…so don’t pass up on a sex show if you want to get close to your group.

I highly recommend that you go to the Grand Palace in Bangkok even though it is a clusterfuck of crowds, and you will have rude, Chinese people shoving you…so be prepared for that. There is a reason that places like this get boat loads of tourists. As a sign of respect, you must wear sleeves and cover up your knees, so I wore the elephant pants we bought at the market, plus a cardigan since I brought nothing with sleeves. I strongly recommend that you bring some clothes with sleeves if you want to visit temples, as most normal people want to.  I also had a hat on…so you can imagine how I was feeling. The discomfort was so worth it.

We had a local guide that took us around the grounds and explained a ton of history to us. The capital Bangkok was established in 1782 by King Rama I, as there had been two other capitals beforehand. Construction of the palace also began in that same year. Wat Phra Kaeo is the most important Buddhist site and every good Buddhist must make a trip there to pay their respects.

We also looked at Phra Kaeo Morakot, which is carved from jade; it is where the kings of Thailand are buried. The current king does not live there, but it is used for ceremonial purposes. I also learned that there is a Buddhist Bible that is housed there. At the temples you also have to remove your shoes before you enter, like when you see the Emerald Buddha. The grounds are just filled with gorgeous structures, temples, artwork and statutes. There is gold everywhere.

After the palace tour, I was much happier since I could take off my sweater. We took a canal tour on the river Chao Phraya. We passed Wat Arun, a beautiful Buddhist temple made with Chinese porcelain. We also took part in a tradition where you feed the fish for good karma. The canal was a nice way to cool off and chill after the craziness of the palace. Once we disembarked you could buy all kinds of juices and fruits. I tried freshly made pomegranate juice, which was amazing, so much better than what you can buy at the store. Walk around and try the fruit, smoothies, and juices since they are much tastier. They made them in front of you.

I had been wanting to go to Southeast Asia for ages. My sister-in-law is from Thailand and my brother had gone a few times, and raved about it. I also got cool souvenirs from them, and was told how fun it was to haggle and get stuff way cheaper than here. I have mainly toured with Contiki since it tours for 18-35 year olds, since the one time I took a tour with another group, I was one of three people under 55. So I went back to Contiki, and I found a tour called Asian Adventure that takes you to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia…like you, I was thinking what the heck is going on in Laos. But trust me when I tell you that you will fall in love with the place and people. Cambodia has Angkor Wat, which was always on my bucket list (it’s quite extensive).

The journey to get to Southeast Asia is not pretty. I arrived at the airport around 9am on a Friday, and did not reach Bangkok until 1130 pm Saturday, so a day was lost  in travel. The good news is that you will time travel when you return. It took 14 hours to get to Seoul and then another 6 to arrive in Bangkok. Maybe I should have taken a sleeping pill and drank some wine, but I didn’t, so I barely slept. I had a book and movies to pass time(The Fury: good, and Dracula: The Untold Story: bad). Plus I sat next to these ladies going to the Philippines that kept offering me snacks, and they were nice and chatty. I had to wait for my sister in Bangkok since she was arriving an hour later (her journey was even crazier since she had three connections). We had paid for a car service to take us to our hotel since I wasn’t going to get into strange cab at midnight. The airport was pretty far from our hotel the Viengta, and you can imagine how crazy the city is on a Saturday night. Our driver couldn’t even get through, so he circled around and went in the back way through the garage. It was 1:30am by the time we got there so we decided to go to bed (yes, we are exciting people)…I don’t know how we did that with all the music blaring from the streets.

 

The next day we woke up refreshed and ready to explore. We started with an amazing hot breakfast buffet to get us going. It was fantastic because it was a combination of American breakfast with Asian staples, like veggies, rice, and noodles. It was Sunday, so we decided to check out Chatuchak Weekend Market. We got a tuk tuk, which I’ve included a photo of…now even in February it was hot so we wore our best Jackie O hats since you can never be too careful about sun burns. Riding a tuk tuk was lots of fun, and especially weaving through the crazy traffic of Bangkok. I wish I could pay $3 here and have someone take me wherever I want to go… Now we fell for a tourist trap thing where your driver takes you to a store…he did knock off the price of the fare, and we bought pretty silk scarves, which of course  were much cheaper at the market. We fell for his sob story…lesson learned, so don’t do that.

The market was so huge you could get lost in it…you could also buy anything from food, oils, clothing, luggage, etc. We also got a lot of our souvenir shopping done since silk scarves make great gifts and are easy to carry. Of course looking back, I wish I had bought a tea set, but the idea of carrying it around for a couple weeks didn’t appeal to me (I have a thing for tea). I was also in paradise since I could drink delicious Thai iced tea for under a dollar. And we had coconut ice cream that was eaten out of a coconut shell, which we topped with corn and pineapple (sounds weird but it was amazing). Did I mention that I have a thing for coconut? Love the way it smells and tastes…people either love it or hate it. So if you like coconut, Thailand is your place.

Kristina was really into clothes shopping,  and this is a snippet of a conversation between us:

Kristina: Is that Spiderman on that shirt?!

Maria: No, it’s a heart with a mustache (both start cracking up…)

That’s the kind of crazy that typically passes between us as you will learn if you keep reading… I  had no plans to buy clothing since I do not have a thin, Asian physique. I have a much bigger ass and hips than is standard there, so the only thing I got was the elephant pants everyone wears since they are stretchy and made a little larger for the tourists. The great thing about the clothes is how light the fabric is since nothing can prepare you for the heat. I still wear the pants back home since they are comfortable and remind me of the trip.

After we loaded ourselves with as many scarves as two people could buy…and Kristina went nuts when she saw a purse with an elephant. We both loaded up on magnets as well, which by the way, is the best souvenir you can buy people. It’s light and easy to carry, and people look at their fridge every day, and our reminded of what a great friend you are, and how exciting your life is since you get to go to these exotic places. So its win/win.