I often get asked about the biggest culture shock I ever experienced while traveling solo. People’s eyes gleam with curiosity, expecting me to tell tales of overcrowded streets in India, plates piled with steaming offal in China, marriage proposals and heartbreaking poverty and squat toilets. No. Nothing like that. But the biggest culture shock of […]
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One of the highlights of spending extended time in Southeast Asia was that I got to see so much beauty, and so many different kinds of beauty. Here are the most beautiful places in Southeast Asia: Thailand’s Andaman Coast Clear turquoise water, limestone cliffs, white sand, longtail boats — this is the Thailand of postcards,
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One of the joys of traveling Southeast Asia is the children. In Laos and Cambodia, however, they were very special. Little kids would run up to me and give me high fives. Older kids would shyly come over to practice their English. Whenever I rode my on a motorbike, kids of all ages would wave
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I adore Southeast Asia — and I especially treasure my favorite places in this part of the world. But not every place captured my fancy, though I found something to love about every place I visited. Here are my picks for the most overrated places in Southeast Asia: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand Koh Phi Phi was
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You know how much I live for adventures! My six months in Asia were filled with them, and I don’t regret any of them. I’ll be telling these stories forever. But some of the adventures were a lot better than others. Here are my top 10 adventures in Southeast Asia: Fighting Muay Thai in Koh
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Since coming home — and even before coming home — I’ve been asked one question more than any other: “What was your favorite place?” I could never narrow it down to one! To me, my destinations are like my children — I could never say I love one more than all the others! That said,
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If you thought my border crossing from Laos to Cambodia was problematic, it had NOTHING on my crossing from Laos to Vietnam! Vietnam is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that requires a visa in advance – you can’t get it at the border. So I ordered it from a travel agency in
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I may not have been a fan of Luang Prabang, but I did have one excellent experience: traditional Lao Barbecue at Lao Lao Garden restaurant in Luang Prabang. Lao Lao Garden claims to have the only traditional Lao barbecue place in the city. (Again, this is what bothers me about Luang Prabang – if it’s so traditional,
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Ah, Luang Prabang. The jewel of Indochina. The city about which everyone raves. Naturally, I could only love it, couldn’t I? Well, here’s the truth: Luang Prabang made my skin crawl and I had to get the hell out of there. Blasphemy, eh? It might as well be, because just about every travel blogger in
Confession: I can’t stand Luang Prabang. Read More »
When you’re the top party destination in Southeast Asia, you attract a lot of people. Specifically, young and very hot twenty-somethings. After leaving Vang Vieng, I realized, with laughter, that most of my pictures were of me with various hot guys from around the world. With no further ado…here are the hottest guys in Vang
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