Nong khiaw — The whole village had gathered. The men constructed a raft with little clay figures on top—some animals, I remember, plus a smoking man sitting in front. The women brought food and decorated the family’s balcony. Two weeks ago, a tourist had committed suicide in their hut1. To get rid of the bad spirits, the symbolic raft was about to be shoved down the river in a relieving ritual. While the pe...
Luang prabang — There is a trinity of travel modes. You might think of these 3 styles as 3 corners of a triangle. Rest. Do. Change. One corner is Vacation. In this mode, you are trying to optimize rest. You seek out...
Luang prabang — The worst thing that could happen when you got to leave your hostel dormitory at 5 am to get your train ride are people who got to leave the same hostel dormitory at 3.30 am to get whatever they need ...
Thakhèk — For the sake of saving some cash, I decided to skip professional climbing 1 beginners’ lessons and instead asked a fellow—who claimed to be familiar with vertical practices that include ropes—to be m...
My beautiful wife pregnant with our second child, enjoying the sunset over the Mequon River with our beloved Haikili.
I reached Luang Prabang after a reader to my travel blog provoke to go and see Luang Prabang 10 years ago. I did not know where it was then....
Always look up. (Ongoing series.)
The soup is a morning prayer.
Ha! Told you 'twasn't true...
The Great Levitating Table is at cross-purposes with the corners
Select the three modes of travel: Rest, Do, Change
I get a kick out of the geography and the sheer unlikeliness of it all. Right now is this: a beautiful font in a wooden cabin, Mekong-side.
The Backpacker Hostel Dormitory Nightly Ritual
Meanwhile, Jonathan from Brussels was drowning.
They used to call me 'spider'. (Because of my tiny arms)
I turned the corner and there it was: the morning market. Goods from the hills, fields and Mekong popped onto the street, a surprising abundance.