It is finally time for Jen and Naresh to join us in Thailand! The flight from Siem Reap was really smooth, and it was interesting to arrive into Bangkok for the second time in eight weeks. The first time was at the very beginning of the trip, when everything was so new. This time, we understood Thailand much better and could get around with no problem (including avoiding the ever-present taxi rip-off). We got to the hotel at around 11PM. We confirmed that Jen ...

On our last day in Nong Khai, we took a sang-thaew (basically a gutted pick up truck with benches in the back) out to Sala Kaew Koo, an amazing sculpture garden ceated by an artist who has a bit of his own mythology. The sculptures were enormous, made out of concrete, and depicted scenes from Hinduism and Buddhism. The sculpture park was set amongst tons of trees and flowers, so it was really a treat for the eyes to see the contrast between the concrete sculpt...

Happy Valentine's Day! We are in Nong Khai on the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos. We are relaxing for a couple of days before we head out across the border to Laos. We really enjoyed the town of Nong Khai, particularly the stretch right down by the Mekong River. It is so peaceful and relaxing here! We changed guest houses from the Ruan Thai guest house (with a really comfy room) to the Mut Mee guest house which had smaller (read: cheaper) rooms but w...

Short Version: Our guide while we were at the village, Andy Phanno, invited us to his home outside the village for a few days after we were done teaching. His whole family welcomed us with open arms and showed us even more Thai hospitality. We learned so much during our time with Andy's family, including Thai customs, Thai language, and the business of selling homemade products. Andy's mom makes Thai desserts and sells them at the local market. During our visit,...

Short Version: Our next stop was a village called Ban Nong Hoi Yai, one hour south of the town of Nakhon Phanom in Isan, the northeastern part of Thailand. Isan is a rural region with an agrarian economy based primarily on rice. The region is the largest producer of sticky rice in the world. Few western tourists regularly visit Nakhon Phanom, as it is a bit off the typical tourist track. As most of the residents do not travel far from home, getting there was ...