So I am supposed to be in Vang Vieng right now. Vang Vieng is the party capital of SE Asia where thousands of college and gap year kids come to tube down the river and drink (and sometimes drug) themselves into oblivion. It’s about all there is to do in Vang Vieng. So that’s where I was headed. Ready to relax and hang out, drinking with the kids and playing on the river. I was in. I may be old, but I was ready to, at least for a day or two, let ...

As many of you know, I love my routines. I love the familiarity and comfort of them. They make me feel like all is right with the world. And, as luck would have it, I tend to fall into them pretty quickly.In just a few short days, I have developed a nice quaint routine in Luang Prabang. It goes a little something like this. Wake up and go for a walk along the Mekong River. The mornings here are cool and clean and perfect. Watch the kids splash and play in...

Back in Hanoi post overnight train….the original plan was to chill out by the lake, get breakfast, chill some more, and then head over to the airport for my early evening flight to Laos. In hindsight, this was a dumb plan. I had underestimated several factors. Just how early 4:30am actually was. Just how dark it would be. And just how tired I would be from not sleeping well on the train. Okay…it was time to activate plan B. I didn’t actua...

Sometimes when things seem to be going wrong, they are going right for reasons you are yet to understand.I was headed to Lao Cai and Sapa on the overnight train. I considered walking to the train station. But it was dark. And I was tired. And my pack was heavy. So I took a cab. It was the best $1.25 I have possibly ever spent. And the taxi driver didn’t even try to rip me off (something they are well known for). Brilliant. The plan was to take the ...

Don’t tell my mother, but I am lucky to be alive. Halong Bay did not start out well. The four hours that it took to get there were pure hell on earth, made even worse by our drivers kamikaze approach to driving the minibus. After the first hour, I stopped counting the near miss high speed collisions and just closed my eyes and prayed. We did all make it eventually, but before I get to Halong Bay…..Here are a few more examples of my continued cult...