Through the eight hours of mountainous twists and turns between Vang Vieng, Laos, and Luang Prabang, we asked ourselves: “Would ‘The Most Beautiful City in Southeast Asia’ live up to the hype?”
And there has been a LOT of hype about Luang Prabang. The most poignant, perhaps, was a friend on one of those whirlwind All-of-Southeast-Asia-in-30-days package trips who had a mere twenty-four hours to see the city. “I just [...Read More!]
There is a place in this world for true beauty, and truth be told, I have a massive crush on Sankara. Walking into Mui Ne’s newest venue, you gasp in awe and your heart passionately races. You have the urge to whip out a camera and photograph every billowing white drape, every sensual pool of water, every soft shift of rainbow lights against the palm trees. With [...Read More!]
Bayon… At first it looks like a mountain-sized pile of stones. Then you realize– holy heaven!– there are over two hundred faces watching you from every surface of the temple!!Look carefully at some of the photos or click to enlarge them. Can you see them looking back at you?
The four massive gates guarding the entrance to Angkor Thom complex also contain four faces looking outward in different [...Read More!]
At four thirty am, my cellphone alarm exploded me awake in my ridiculous supply attic room (pictured left– no joke).Was a torrential lightning storm going to foil my plans like yesterday morning? There are no windows in my supply attic room, so I padlocked the door and barefooted down to the second floor to peer out the grated balcony. Clear! Dark! This meant ten minutes to throw [...Read More!]
Because so many of the spectacular temples in Bangkok are along the river, a night boat along the Chao Phraya is a feast for the eyes… and a feast for the belly, too, if you opt for the dinner cruise. Check it out!
As you peruse these pics, let us ponder a major question for a Round the World Traveler: WHERE ARE THE AMERICANS?? A profound cultural difference is laid bare [...Read More!]
There’s a certain point when the thick heat and pollution of Bangkok make your head swim so hard and your clothes stick to you so wetly, that all you want is to collapse onto a shady doorstep and yield.This is what I was doing as Adie fruitlessly pulled my arm to stand back up.
“I don’t wanna go in!” I whined, leaning back onto the pavement. “We’ve been walking around the [...Read More!]
There comes a time in every traveler’s path when she must cease and desist freeloading off a kind benefactor’s floor. To this end, I spent 9 hours of last night “sleeping” on the night bus from Tokyo to Osaka. Read: Night bus = cheap place to stay, and cheaper transport than the bullet train. Also read: I am perhaps the only six foot tall human in this country.
Long [...Read More!]