Relaxing in Luang Prabang

Since I was in Laos to renew my Thai visa, I decided that I might as well visit more of the country than just the capital, Vientiane. There are many destinations that seemed appealing but I couldn’t stay very long in Laos, just a couple of weeks, so I chose Luang Prabang because it is …

Weekly Photo: Sun Bear

Near Kuang Si Falls there is a Sun bear reserve established to help Sun bears that have been mistreated and cannot be returned to the wild. They are vegetarians and seem rather lazy. All they did was sleep. They even slept in hammocks, which was rather amusing. Sometimes, they just people watch, like this Sun …

Weekly Photo: Cobra Lao-Lao (Whiskey)

Lao-Lao is the name of the local hooch in Laos. It’s a rice whiskey that nearly everyone drinks. I tried a shot of this from a vendor who also had lao-lao with scorpions and other such creatures. This stuff is strong! I felt it, and I’m not a lightweight. The cobras were once thought to give …

Weekly Photo: Kuang Si Falls

The Kuang Si Falls just outside Luang Prabang in Laos are really beautiful, even during the dry season when I went. The falls cascade down through the hills leaving small pools behind, created by the calcium in the water (that also gives the water a bright blue color). You might expect the water to be …

Weekly Photo: Prayer Flags on the Mekong

April in Laos is one of the hottest times to of the year. It’s just before the rainy season and the temperatures get well into the 100s F, exposing large sandbars on dry the Mekong River. For Buddhist New Year in early August, Buddhists build symbolic representations of Mt. Meru, the center of the Buddhist …

Inthein, Inle Lake: Nyaung Ohak & She Inn Thein Paya

Nyaung Ohak was one of my favorite places to visit around Inle Lake in Burma. A typical visit to Inle Lake involves a day or two visiting the villages around the lake and the floating market. Nearly all of the sights around the lake are treated as fairly equal by the Burmese, though that is …