Thursday, February 9, 2012 SLOW BOAT to LAOS—Slow and steady... gets you to Laos alive The journey to Laos was an incredible one. On our first day in Thailand, the Canadian boys and I got suckered into purchasing a package of things to do in Thailand which included a deal for a hotel stay, food, and 2 day Slow boat to Laos. After a not-so-great hotel stay in Chaing Kong, I was a bit nervous for our boat trip and wondered if we had made the ri...

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Chiang Kong, Thailand CHIANG KONG, Thailand The next day, after breakfast and some shopping in Burma, I picked up my passport no problem and walked back to Thailand. Grabbed a bus to Chiang Rai and then another to Chiang Kong. Made it there around 4pm and read poolside at my hotel before settling in for what I hoped would be an early night. Turns out I got NO sleep instead since it was cold and the "man" next to me snor...

Monday, February 6, 2012 "And I don't eat meat 'cuz I'm a veterinarian" Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai If it were up to me, I would have stayed in Pai as long as I could. Okay, technically it was up to me, but you know what I mean. But, my time was cut short because there was much of the world to still see. After about 5 days, I set off back to Chiang Mai. It happened to be Chinese New year which meant two things. One, it was tough to find a ro...

Monday, February 6, 2012 The Life and Times of Pai Pai Chad, the Canadian guys and I set off for Pai the next day. The road to Pai is VERY curvy. The t-shirts around town state that there are 976 curves from Chiang Mai to Pai...and that may be an underestimate! Luckily, the "bus" system here is mainly private minivans so it was a bit less scary than being in a big bus. Also, it allows the freedom to ask for bathroom stops and only your friends ...

Sunday, February 5, 2012 Jungle Trekking-Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, Jungle Trekking The next day, Chad and I set off for Chiang Mai and met back up with the Canadian boys there. We hung out a few days in Chiang Mai, tasting all of the international foods there. Our hotel was quite nice and had a fabulous "Nice Kitchen" restaurant next door with delicious organic foods. Best green curry I've ever had, fresh fruit salad with mueseli and yogurt, fr...