A saunter through our travels in and around Luang Prabang, Laos… Continue Reading…
Destinations, Laos, Musings, Photography
Discovering Laos: On the River, Through the Streets, In the Moment
December 12, 2012We entered Laos by water, crossing the Mekong River at Chiang Khong in Thailand and coming to the banks of Huay Xai, Laos for passport stamps and paper shuffling. Eyes open, minds curious, we toted our bags aboard a long boat and began our eight days in the country with a two-day drift down the Mekong toward the ancient city of Luang Prabang.
Time unfolded slowly, as it has along these banks for eons past…
Humbling to think these quiet forests and isolated village have watched the water flow for centuries. Continue Reading…
Destinations, Featured Places, Food, Thailand
Creamy-Sweet and Salty-Hot Cooking Lessons in Chiang Mai
December 9, 2012Q: What’s the next best thing to growing up in Thailand and learning to cook Thai food from your mom?
A: Taking cooking lessons in Chiang Mai from a local Thai chef, learning secrets she learned from her mom and tricks of the trade she’s picked up as a pro in Thailand…and around the world.
Celebrity Thai Chef “Yui” Siripen Sriyabhaya, at her home-based A Lot of Thai Cooking School
Here’s the thing. Much like any spot in the world open to eager tourists, Chiang Mai is chalk full of touted “authentic” experiences. Elephant rides and cooking schools, for example. Continue Reading…
Destinations, Featured Places, Food, Landscape Architecture, Thailand
The Travelling Soul: In Search of the Northern Thai Spirit at Tamarind Village
December 7, 2012The most beautiful glimpse into Lanna culture came from an unexpected turn down a lantern-lit walkway. After admiring handicrafts and tasting our way through local dishes during a warm evening wander through Chaing Mai’s Sunday Market street stalls, Ted pulled me aside.
“What’s down there?”
A bamboo grove lit by spotlights and floating lanterns beckoned us onward, away from the noise of the street and toward the promise of a grand discovery. The flags said something about Travelling Souls… Continue Reading…
Time rushes by, changing the shape of life, leaving traces of history in its wake.
Wat Lok Molee, Chiang Mai, Thailand: Lanna Architecture dating to the 14th and 16th Centuries
Chiang Mai, Thailand. I knew it by reputation only from other travelers who ranked the ancient city according to its satisfying food culture, internet connectivity, and ease of access along “the route” through Southeast Asia. In my mind, I supposed it existed as a fortified outpost of location-independent entrepreneurs and thoughtful sojourners sustaining themselves on cheap street eats and sharing the buzz through online media.
In many ways, it proved gratefully so.
In other ways, Chiang Mai revealed itself differently to us, giving unexpected gifts of retreat and solitude, a healthy disconnect and an appetite for observing, learning, and living well.
Naively we entered the former capitol of the Lanna Kingdom.
I readily admit I’m only just beginning to learn the outlines of Thai history.
I’d never heard of the Kingdom of Lanna.
We came based on Chiang Mai’s reputation as a worthwhile stop on the traveler’s circuit and instead stepped into a culture with roots deeper and wider than the boundaries of Northern Thailand and ripe with meaning to discover. Continue Reading…
Destinations, Thailand
Avoiding Wat Weariness in Asia: Temple of the Reclining Buddha
December 2, 2012Like symptoms of an overzealous Cathedral Craze in Europe, too many visits to too many Buddhist Temples in Southeast Asia soon cause Wat Weariness.
wat [wɑːt]
n(Non-Christian Religions / Buddhism) a Thai Buddhist monastery or temple
[Thai, from Sanskrit vāta enclosure]
Yes, the “seen one, seen ’em all” attitude runs the risk of missing beautiful spots, but the “must make a stop at each recommended site” leaning leads to lunacy.
Throughout Southeast Asia, we took the following approach: When feeling energetic and curious, we’d poke around places and give them our attention and appreciation. When we weren’t, we didn’t.
Hence, no visits this trip to Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Saket, Wat Benchamabophit, Wat Traimit, Wat Prayoon, Wat Suthat, Wat Mahathat, or Wat Arun (well, unless you count our balcony overlook across the river at sunset).
But…we did decide to explore the temple grounds at Wat Phrachetuphon Vimon Mangkararam Ratchaworamahawihan (let’s call it Wat Pho, for short), and absolutely enjoyed the calm, unhurried visit. Continue Reading…
Hey friends, welcome to Asia! We’ve sunk completely into New Zealand life after completing a five-week tour of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. At long last, with a bit of reasonable wifi and more than a few cups of tea and toastie sandwiches to fuel the photo sorting and story gathering, we’re finally set to start sharing the new series. Hope you enjoy the tales as much as we enjoyed the adventures! Cheers, Bethany
Aspects of Asia intimidated me. Challenging alphabets, unidentifiable ingredients, eastern traditions of dress and worship and dwelling. Mayhem on the roadways. All so decidedly different from my upbringing as an English-speaking westerner living in calm-as-mashed-potatoes Oregon.
Bangkok, Thailand made sense on the map when we worked out our RTW route: an easy jump into the shallow end of Southeast Asia, a hub for accessing neighboring countries. We bought the tickets and committed, and I fully expected to do more research and trip planning while we were in Africa. Reality took a different shape: our wifi access was expensive and limited during the string of months leading to arrival, and quite unlike our preparation for beginning-of-the-trip South America, we had little on hand in terms of guidebooks, itineraries, or resources.
Thankfully, our friend Lindsay posted Love at First Sight about her summer visit, and Meg and Tony, our pals at Landing Standing, shared their (promising!) First Impressions of Bustling Bangkok. Others, like Bethaney at Flashpacker Family, wrote about Tough Times in Bangkok. After experiencing our own bouts of travel fatigue and more than a few cravings for stability and calm, we honestly didn’t know what to expect. Continue Reading…
Destinations, South America
Beautiful Ideas Help the World: SOUTH AMERICA {Knitting Peace Giveaway}
November 26, 2012This Cyber Monday, let me introduce you to a different deal. While stores are luring spenders with sales and northern hemisphere folk are preparing for winter holidays, imprisoned women in Bolivia are crafting beautiful artisan goods to support their families and better their lives, empowered by local La Paz based social enterprise Knitting Peace.
Over the past few months, I’ve been featuring organizations I personally love in the Beautiful Ideas Help the World series. These project are impacting lives all over the globe through beauty, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Since I can’t bring back souvenirs for everyone, I’m hosting giveaways along with each post, to offer each of you a little chance at something special from overseas.
Feature Three: Knitting Peace: La Paz, Bolivia
Enter to win this gorgeous hand-knit alpaca wool throw (valued at $180.00!) by leaving a comment; read below for the full story.
The photo above features Knitting Peace’s alpaca wool throw worn as a wrap. The fiery orange was such a hit that it’s sold out already for the season! Giveaway winner to choose between available bone and heather grey colors.
I’m not a fan of gimmicky giveaways, so I’m not requiring tweets or follows, but I’m providing links to Knitting Peace, and I’d love to invite you to follow the project’s story and think about purchasing from them the next time you want your dollars and cents to go toward something beautiful.
To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below answering one of the following questions. (Leave a second comment answering the other question if you’d like to enter twice.)
A) What comes to mind when you think of Bolivia?
B) What handmade gift have you been most proud to make or most honored to receive?
Giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere. (That means you lovely international readers as well!) All you need is a mailing address. Winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected and notified. See here for full giveaway terms and details.
Giveaway closes at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (that’s Oregon!), on Thursday, December 6th. Continue Reading…
Time for another semi-random Weekend Update!
Since 2004, I’ve been scheming about one particular thing.
The plan? “Some way, some how, get back to New Zealand.”
On October 31st, 2012, we touched down at Auckland International Airport, and for the past nearly-three weeks we’ve been in a wonderland of sorts, starting in the city, then disappeared into the rolling green hills….
Waitakere Ranges Regional Park Continue Reading…
Destinations, Food, Zanzibar
Flavor on a Dime, Luxury on a Dollar: Favorites From A Dozen Days in Zanzibar
November 16, 2012
During our dozen days in Zanzibar, we managed to find delightful meals, new friends, comfortable accommodations, and perfectly pulled espresso shots, some for the price of a few pretty pennies, others at cost of shiny gold coins. For those planning a visit to Zanzibar, enjoy our mini cheat-sheet of favorite activities in Stone Town and beyond, and for those of you reading along for armchair travel, enjoy the peek at life on this colorful island. I so wish we could’ve packed you along in our suitcase!
Colorful Street Food – Fodorhani Gardens Night Market
Favorite fare: Coconut potato soup with fry bread dumplings: 1,000Tsh ($0.62 +/-)
This outdoor market on the Stone Town waterfront crawls with visitors looking for a bite and vendors looking for a mark. Strike one on the grilled octopus (especially compared to octopus later in the trip), but absolute home run on the coconut potato soup Ted learned about from a friendly fellow named Ahmed.
Freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice; grilled octopus and seafood galore Continue Reading…