• Laos

    Northern Laos (Luang Prabang)

    May 31, 2014 - By 

    The 6-hour bus ride up into the mountains from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was not a fun experience! As usual, I got a bit carsick, but even Chris had never gotten carsick before…until this ride. We arrived by late afternoon and spent the remainder of our day settling in and figuring out what we were going to do for the next four full days (May 22-26). We lucked out on our lodging—for $15 per night at Salakphet Guesthouse, we scored the most comfortable bed and pillows we ever slept in during our entire trip, which was fantastic during all the…

  • Laos

    Central Laos (Vientiane and Vang Vieng)

    May 26, 2014 - By 

    Our flight out of KL on May 15 was bright and early, which put us in Vientiane, Laos by around 9:00am. We were the first people in the visa-upon-arrival line, and $35, a full page sticker, a stamp, and 10 minutes later, we were at baggage claim! Laos, People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is appropriately dubbed Laos, Please Don’t Rush. Life for locals and travelers is laid back, which I think is due to the intense heat. Already at 5:30am, the temperature straddles between 85º-90ºF and quickly soars to 105º-110ºF by afternoon. Even a meager breeze from the Mekong hardly helps.…

  • Malaysia

    Quick Kuala Lumpur

    May 16, 2014 - By 

    With less than a day and a half in Kuala Lumpur (KL), we crammed as much as possible into this strange metropolis where east meets west. A part of me felt like I was back home in San Francisco as we scurried through fancy malls with high-end brands, rode on packed trains and monorails, and gazed at the bright lights in intersections, absorbing the hustle and bustle of a thriving capital. And yet between all the first-world modern features, alcohol is scarce and expensive (relative to its Southeast Asian neighbors) and pork cannot be found because of its religious ties to Islam.…

  • Malaysia

    Semporna

    May 12, 2014 - By 

    The funny thing is Malaysia was not a planned destination for our SE Asia trip. The truth to why we even came to Malaysia is kind of sad – AirAsia had a sale for $30 1-way plane tickets from Kuala Lumpur (KL) to Laos, and that was way cheaper than a $200 flight from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to Laos. It also sounded more appealing than a 20+ hour bus ride from Vietnam to Laos. I asked Chris, “Hey, wanna go to KL?” “Sure!” Why not, right? We didn’t have anything else planned. I purchased tickets from Hanoi to…

  • Vietnam

    Cat Ba Island – Our Final Vietnam Days

    May 7, 2014 - By 

    After Phong Nha, we spent a couple days back in Hanoi to hang out with friends. I even had an old Vietnamese American friend from high school visiting Hanoi at the same time, so we made time to hang out too. It’s always fun hanging out with friends from back home in a foreign country. I even bought an entire outfit to go out in – a hat, shirt, and pants, all for a total of $9 (no bargaining needed)! For the next 3 days, we spent our final days of Vietnam on Cát Bà Island, the largest and only inhabited…

  • Vietnam

    Phong Nha

    May 4, 2014 - By 

    Our train from Đồng Hới to Hanoi was scheduled to depart at 7:30pm so we had the entire day of May 1st to spend in Phong Nha. Our single day in Phong Nha ended up being way more entertaining than we expected…definitely many #onlyinvietnam moments. The story goes below… Ever since I arrived at the hotel the week prior, I had the urge to go for an open water swim in the river along our hotel. Now I finally had the chance. Not long after 8am I changed into shorts and a swim top, put on my flip flops, grabbed my…

  • Vietnam

    Hang En and Hang Son Doong

    May 3, 2014 - By 

    *Note: For an amazing set of Hang Sơn Đoòng photos, please check out my photographer friend Kiwi Chris’ photo album here. My story goes below: We left Đông Hà on Thursday, April 24 via local train to Đồng Hới for our Phong Nha transfer. They were sold out of the hard seats with air conditioning, so we had to take the shittiest seats possible – the hard seats with fans. It was a hot, sweltering day, but with the windows ajar and the fans at work, it was barely tolerable. If you think BART or Caltrain sucks, think again. Most locals brought straw mats…