Bagan is a magical place. We have not been to the valley of the pyramids, or Machu Pichu, or Angkor Wat (we skipped it to go to Bagan). But Bagan has to rank among the ancient marvels still remaining on this planet. It’s incredibly photogenic – we have more content from Bagan than some countries…
Tag: adventure travel
Mandalay, Myanmar
After the overcrowded streets of Hoi An where tourists far outnumbered locals, Mandalay was a refreshing change of pace. We came to Mandalay from Vietnam to get off the well worn tourist track and it took just a few hours in this country to validate that we had. Mandalay feels relatively untouched by western influence….
Volunteering in Oudomxay, Laos
If you are asking: where is Oudomxay? Then you are asking the same question we had for several months. The answer is: it’s where very few tourists go. Oudomxay is a province in northern Laos centered approximately around the city of Muang Xai, which is 55 miles northwest of Luang Prabang near the border of…
Kuang Si Falls, Laos
The are waterfalls and then there are really epic waterfalls. Kuang Si Falls is in the second category. It’s deep blue waters emerge from a limestone cave and almost immediately cascade down the side of a mountain in a series of tiers and pools. The limestone deposits build up on anything they touch to create…
Pai, Thailand
Pai was not a place we planned to visit when we departed Seattle. Eli, Ethan’s former Evergreen teacher, turned us on to this bohemian town near the northern border of Thailand. It was mid-December and we had to lock in our early January travel plans so Ethan took the lead in planning these few days…
Journey to Freedom – Elephant Nature Park
There are few times when you can reflect back and pick a week that was fundamentally transformational. For this family, Journey to Freedom was one of those weeks. Journey to Freedom is part of the Elephant Nature Park, an organization dedicated to the preservation of elephants. We picked this program because it had a service…
Bangkok, Thailand
We rolled into Bangkok road weary, battered, bruised and suffering from a range of maladies: food poisoning, bed bug bites, mosquito bites, a cold and lots of scrapes and bruises from canyoneering. We had a week’s worth of laundry to do and were in much need of an internet connection. Bangkok is our gateway to…
Cebu, Philippines
In our search of “what to do in the Philippines”, Cebu and the surrounding area stood out for nice beaches, some interesting geographic sites, and the whale sharks. Originally we planned five days in the area, but this leg of the trip became compressed between the Elephant Reserve in Thailand and expanded travels through Korean…
El Nido, Philippines
We flew to El Nido directly from Tokyo. You can’t pick more complete opposites from a size, cleanliness and social norm perspective. Tokyo is one of the largest cities in the world while you can walk across the town of El Nido in 15 minutes. Japan was obsessive about germs, waste, and toilet hygiene and…
Thrilla in Manilla
Yes – this title is based on the Mohammed Ali fight slogan. We had different drama. Our next stop after Japan was the Philippines. This country was a late addition to the itinerary after we opted not to go to Australia. Having never been here, we chose our destinations and routes very diligently: we googled…