Stories From Month 8

Food in Southeast Asia is delicious. Our stomachs have grown large as evidence to this fact. Picture the Chinese Buddha with his round robust tummy happily protruding and his smile of contentment. Thi

The sight of two small boys floating down the river, clutching bamboo poles to help them float, greets us. The current quickly carries them out of view. It has late afternoon and we just arrived in Pa

We heard one traveler say, "I've come to the conclusion that the air in Pai is lazy." I couldn't describe the town more clearly m

Elephants are huge. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that was one of two thoughts running through my head before the

A trickle of sweat rolls down the spine of my back. It tickles a little. The afternoon sun, high above, makes the white pages of my book glaring bright and I have to squint to read. I sit on the bunga

Though we have enjoyed our month in Chiang Mai, it is time to say good-bye to our familiar surroundings and move on to new places. On today's 7.5-hour bus ride - a ride plagued by the choki

I was curious why the boatman from the slow boat to Pakbeng insisted on putting our bags on top of the boat during the ra

Yesterday, as we journeyed east on a bus toward the Thai/Laos border it was evident it was the dry season. Fields were yellow and brown and the ground parched and cracked. But we crossed over several

Photo check-in.

The That Chomsi Stupa is a Buddhist monument perched on top of a 100 meter hill in the middle of picturesque Luang Prabang. At night the golden stupa can be seen from far away and, by day, makes an ex

It is late afternoon by the Mekong River. The setting sun descends behind a tooth shaped mountain and spreads a crisp warm glow down to the dark earth of the riverside. With each of my steps, the soil

The Mekong River and the people of Laos. Children fly kites from on

I live in the city, so I love the convenience of the sporty small car. The smaller the better. In fact, my dream car used to be my neighbor's Cooper Mini - a tiny British toy that should have been us

Slow. Steady. Peaceful. These are my impressions of the Mekong River and equally of the country of Laos. Most of our two weeks here has been spent floating on top of the river, walking on its banks, o

Some pictures from Laos... Monks looks out a window at a temple:

Photo check-in.

It is early morning in Bangkok's busy central train station. We have just arrived on the night train from the border of Laos and have 11 hours to kill before the next train takes us to southern Thaila

It's six in the morning and I am awake to watch the sunrise. We are on a train, heading south to Chaiya. There, we will participate in a ten-day silent meditation retreat at a Buddhist monastery. I li