The month of June was a special one. My girl, the lovely and talented Abi, made her way from Wyoming to Singapore. Yeeee! I showed her the ways of the hawker center, brought her to my favorite economics class (she endured two hours of my lecture, eeek), and introduced her to my Singapore crew. But we both had the itch to explore more of southeast Asia. And off we went for a two week journey through Thailand and Laos.
Abi appreciating our introduction to southern Thailand (Ko Samui).
Yes, this is the balcony to our room at Au Muong. Mango Bay, Ko Tao.
The view from our room. Ridiculous.
Scuba diving in Ko Tao!
Thai cooking class. We made a mean red curry! And a motley of other tasty dishes.
Abi enjoying our curry!
A quick tour of Vientiene, Laos...
A $4 feast of food and Beer Lao.
Fun at the market in Luang Prabang. Many fun and "interesting" smells, colors, sights, ...
After Vientiene, we made our way to Vang Vieng...
We had an amazing cave exploration outside of Vang Vieng. It was absolutely pitch black (though we did have some flashlights) as we waded through water and ducked under crevices. It was a fantastic adventure that neither of us really anticipated. We were very thankful that we had a guide!
Here are a couple of great shots (the light is due to the camera flash).
Crossing the river, post-cave.
After Vang Vieng, we ventured to Luang Prabang. LP is the cultural epicenter of Laos and Abi and I quickly became enamored with its charm. The architecture blends traditional Lao wooden houses with European flavors (influenced by its French colonial history).
Abi killin' it at rock climbing. It was my first legit rock climbing experience. So fun!
And here's a sample of our view while climbing... amazing.
We rode bicycles in the rain with some cows.
We had an amazing cave exploration outside of Vang Vieng. It was absolutely pitch black (though we did have some flashlights) as we waded through water and ducked under crevices. It was a fantastic adventure that neither of us really anticipated. We were very thankful that we had a guide!
Here are a couple of great shots (the light is due to the camera flash).
Me and the guide.
Our guide's daughter that we met after caving.
Crossing the river, post-cave.
After Vang Vieng, we ventured to Luang Prabang. LP is the cultural epicenter of Laos and Abi and I quickly became enamored with its charm. The architecture blends traditional Lao wooden houses with European flavors (influenced by its French colonial history).
Fun at the market in Luang Prabang. Many fun and "interesting" smells, colors, sights, ...
The products of our Lao cooking class!
Teamwork in preparing the rice.
Monks receiving alms (typically rice) from townspeople in Luang Prabang. This happens every morning around 5am.
Hey buddy...
Sunset from a hill in LP.
Abi, monk, temple.
These little girls were too cute for Abi and I to resist buying bracelets from.
A monk about to ring a bell. A bell made from an American bomb that was dropped during the Vietnam War. Wow. What a bizarre juxtaposition.
A beautiful waterfall outside of Luang Prabang.
at the top!
Monks chillin by the water.
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