Journey up the Mekong: Luang Prabang

It would be really easy to get stuck here. Really easy. I've already been here for six? eight? no...nine days. And I could stay a few more weeks. Or months. And in all honesty, I haven't really been doing much.  I did bike 40 miles out to a waterfall (for some reason I thought it was going to be flat...but no), so I think that makes up for my eight days of not doing anything.

Excellent coffee, magnificent views, baguettes, real cheese...but the real gem is the people. So far, people in Laos (I suppose I'm generalizing - people in Luang Prabang) have been the most welcoming, friendliest, and kindest I have ever met. 

Swimming here was awesome. Especially after the longest bike ride of my entire life. 

The wall between foreigner and local seems to be a little shorter here. I celebrated New Years with the family that runs the guesthouse (and they refused to let me compensate them for the copious amounts of beer I drank), spent the day yesterday exploring caves and temples across the river with a local student I met while volunteering at an English conversation center, and even bargaining at the night market is always done with a chuckle.  The tuk-tuk drivers are not as aggressive - maybe they're all stoned? (They sell much more than just tuk-tuk rides).  The other day I accidentally gave 1000 kip (about 12 cents) too much for a bottle of water to a woman who runs a small shop outside of her home - and she came running down the street after me to hand me my 12 cents. Again, I'm generalizing, but I don't think that happens much in Thailand (or China).

Only one more full day in Luang Prabang. I really wish I had more time to explore more of Laos - obviously my view is limited being in this touristy, ex-French colonial town (hence the baguettes) - but without a doubt I am returning.

Goodbye good food, friendly faces and people not trying to rip you off at every opportunity. Hello, China.

Forgot to mention the 10,000 kip ($1.20) vegetarian buffet at the night market. Best. Thing. Ever.

A Green Christmas: Northern Thailand

Wat exploring with hostel friends in Chiang Mai,
Sharing mentos with a monk on the minibus to Pai,
Barbecued duck and searching for the perfect tree,
It wasn't quite Christmas like home but still filled with glee.
After parting ways with my Danish travel buddy,
Hopped a bumpy bus to the border and slept quite ruddy,
Thanks to the karaoke bar next door.

Floating lanterns on Christmas Eve

Temples and Crickets: Cambodia

Cambodia was beautiful and heartbreaking. The temples of Angkor were best explored on bicycles with friends. Ruins only slightly spoiled by bus loads of tourists, but I suppose we were part it. Parting ways with Keelin and Ian was strange, part of me felt like I should have been on the plane with them back to Seattle, celebrating the holidays in the cold and rain and with family.

Early morning at Angkor Wat

After parting ways I hopped on a bus to Phnom Penh, ate some crickets (tasty snack, as long as you don't look at them for too long before putting them in your mouth), and braved crossing the streets (you just have to commit).  Two days in Phnom Penh was enough - big cities aren't really my thing, so I took a bus to the south coast. Really, though, I wanted to go to the Northeast and cross into Laos from there.  Dodgy border and unreliable transportation made me wish I wasn't traveling alone, so I took the safe route. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.

Cambodia was difficult at times - shoeless children trying to sell you their bracelets, land mine amputees begging everywhere - it's hard to know what to do. The wounds of the Khmer Rouge are still fresh, but even the beggers and amputees, after just smiling and wishing them the best, find it in them to smile, genuinely, back. Except for the five year old who tried to sell me a bracelet that called me a "tight ass white girl" after I (kindly) refused.

Next stop is Northern Thailand. Bangkok for one night was enough, but I'm glad I got to experience Khao San at midnight on a Saturday: eighty cent pad thai, drunk Westerners passed out, literally, on the street, tuk-tuk drivers trying to get you to go to 'ping-pong shows' (don't even want to know), loads of lady-boys, and endless trinkets, clothes, bags, shoes, etc. to be bought.

Same Same but Different: Ton Sai

Life is simple here...

7:45am - Keelin and Ian wake me up by knocking on my bungalow door and we have some breakfast.
9:30am - We climb. Usually getting to the route is half the fun (wading in neck-high water, scrambling through the jungle, etc.) Sometimes we skip the morning climb and just sit on the beach.
1:00pm - Lunch at our favorite "restaurant" called Chicken Lady 2. It's really just a food stall with three bamboo tables. The same guy takes our order every time, which usually includes him laughing at us about something or giving us a mini lesson in Thai.
2:30pm - We climb some more, meaning that Ian climbs up like a pro, Keelin does a good job, and at multiple points on the route I just hang there and wonder how the hell I am supposed to reach my hand into the pocket four feet above me.
6:30pm - Dinner at Chicken Lady 2 and the sunset. The BBQ chicken is bomb. Don't eat too many mangoes and too much curry. I did have a not so pleasant deja-vu moment in the jungle (only those of you who were in Ko Samui eleven years ago know what I'm talking about). We've been forced to take "rest days" consisting of toast, bananas and rice.
8:00pm - We retire to our bungalows. Often I am greeted by giant cockroaches, frogs, and other unknown creatures...there are a few holes giant in the floor (hooray for cheap accommodation!)

Most days also include playing with kittens on my porch, watching baby monkeys, reading on the beach, and complaining about the mosquitoes.

Keelin and I on the sailboat!

Today, however, we spiced things up and went on a sailboat that took us to a sweet deep water soloing locale, then sailed a bit through the islands. It's not very often that you get to dangle from a stalactite then drop twenty feet into the Andaman Sea.

From Pacific to Atlantic: Cordoba, Seville and Portugal

Cordoba turned out to be a city that I meshed with - a slower tempo, not many tourists, and lots of tiny cobblestone streets to explore. Was greeted by a parade for All Saints Day the evening I arrived - lots of priests, Virgin Marys, and kids with instruments.

Stroll through Cordoba's side streets

Met some fellow West-coasters in Seville and spent an evening watching an impromptu flamenco show. I was a little disturbed by THREE Starbucks within two blocks of eachother by the cathedral, and found myself longing for a smaller town and the coast...

Which is a small part of why I ended up in Portugal. An old friend had been camping near the coast, and equipped with only the name of the town he was camping near and a little faith, I made the journey to Sagres, Portugal to track down the most un-trackable person I have ever met. Somehow things fell into place (thanks to the Swiss girl on a bike, the Spanish guy who gave me a ride, an old Portuguese woman who offered me a room, and the British guy I met on the beach who, after I explained my story, told me it sounded like Sleepless in Seattle), and I found my friend.

My lone backpack and the cliffs in Sagres, Portugal 

Too bad I only had a couple days in Portugal, because it is amazing. Huge cliffs, beautiful beaches, and genuine people. Spent Sunday hiking along the coast, deep water soloing, swimming in caves, and picnicing. Monday morning we took a bus to Seville, and then I hopped on a plane to Rome. Almost didnt make it on the bus out of Sagres (for a solid twenty minutes I convinced myself that I could just camp there and stay forever), then almost didnt make it on my plane to Rome (completely different reason - and now I know not to drink a bottle of wine before catching a bus to the airport).

Next post will be from Thailand. Ciao, Europe. You taught me to live in the present and that things always work out in the end.