On the morning of Tuesday, March 20th, Mark and I were signed up to head in to the Bokeo National Park in northwestern Laos for 3 days of ziplining, trekking, and sleeping in a treehouse. Also, in this protected natural area, gibbons make their home and bounce from tree to tree. At 8am, we met at the head office in Houay Xai, and with the rest of our group watched the safety video instructing us how not to injure ourselves while zipping around the jungle cano...

We've been having a pretty relaxed week in Laos. We departed Nong Khiaw Thursday morning to head west towards Luang NamTha. To reach our destination, we took a 1 hour bus ride to a tiny village of Pak Mong, where we changed to another bus that would take us the rest of the way. We met a French traveller, Tim, who was taking the same route, and spent the bus ride and the 2 hour layover in Pak Mong chatting with him and hearing about his extraordinary experien...

We are still in Laos, and still so happy to be here. Our last couple of days in Luang Prabang were great - the night of Tuesday, the 6th of March, we met up with Chris and Marleen at the Hive Bar in town. We had been informed about some good entertainment there every night, and were not disappointed. At 7pm, local students put on a fashion show displaying outfits/costumes of the numerous hilltribes that live in the area. The costumes took over a year to co...

As I write this blog, I am sitting on a bamboo balcony overlooking the Nam Khan River in Luang Prabang, Laos. In the distance, I can hear the echoing rumble of a big drum from the nearest Buddhist temple. It is 4pm and it is the signal for evening meditation and chanting. Everything about this place is magical - from the smiling friendly locals, to the colourful monks parading around the city. But let me back up a minute. What a journey it was to get here....