About our 17.5 hour 155-mile bus ride: It *typically* takes about seven hours to travel the 155 mountainous miles from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. Except when it takes 17.5 hours (after mapping out the hours, we realized our earlier estimate of 16.5 hours was optimistic). Here’s what a 17.5-hour 155-mile bus ride looks like: Our bus […]
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Vang Vieng is an odd little town. It is in an incredible setting, bordered by beautiful limestone karsts and the Nam Song River. Amazing caving, kayaking and trekking opportunities abound. Vang Vieng is also a big backpacker party town, the kind of place where some travelers have hung out for months, partying at the ‘waterpark’ during […]
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Many of the best experiences we’ve had on this trip were unplanned. There is no tour or guide; they just arise out of being in a certain place at a certain time. Serendipity follows. Today we were in Luang Prabang, walking the perimeter of the peninsula and just taking things in. The peninsula is created where the Nam Kham […]
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We’ve been traveling through Laos the past week; it’s hotter than either of us ever have experienced (100 degrees + with the humidity of Florida), and the pace of life is about as fast as you’d expect it to be given that everyone is melting here. Most days involve deciding whether to have a Beer […]
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Some family history: Mark’s dad, Don, served in the “American” war as a flight surgeon in 1970-71. He was a medical student finishing up at UCSF in the late 60’s and was given a choice: he could enlist and be allowed to finish school then serve in the Air Force as an officer and flight surgeon, or […]
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