The Loop and Kong Lo cave...

Sabadee! (Hello in Laos). Wow so much has happened since my last post. Alec and I went on an adventure of a lifetime. It's called The Loop! The Loop is a motorbike trail that starts in a small city located in central Laos and takes you about 200 miles through remote villages and the most dense jungle in Laos. We left around 8 am from a city called Tha Khek and filled up our gas tanks. The journey begins! We stopped at a cool springs after the first 20 miles and swam for an hour...it was hot around 90 degrees. We continued on and explored a couple caves along the way. After driving through some beautiful mountains we arrived at a guesthouse in a village around 6 pm. It was completely dark. We had a good nights sleep and continued on the next morning. The next 35 miles were the rockiest/bumpiest roads I've been on while in S.E. Asia. I snake maybe 6 feet long crossed right in front of me.along the way. Pretty cool. Then came the jungle...my favorite part. My mind felt free and nothing else mattered at this point. This is what I came to see in Laos. It was unreal (picture). After driving through the jungle as well as several remote villages I understood how well off we truly are in the US. I thought about all my "worries" back home and realized how small they really are in this world. After settling down in another guesthouse along a river I fell asleep around 9 pm. I was exhausted. I woke up at 7 am and drove to a cave called Kong Lo cave. You must take a boat to see it because water runs through it. The cave is about 4 miles long (picture). What an experience! After being lead through the cave by a local we continued on back to our starting point, which was about an 80 mile drive. I ran out of gas with 20 miles left. Luckily I wasn't far from a petrol (gas) station. We returned around 6 pm that night and fell asleep early from the long ride. It was the best way to experience Laos and understand what the country has to offer. Beautiful mountains, rivers, caves, and jungles. The next morning we took a bus 8 hours to a city called Pakse. Ps...I've taken enough buses to last a lifetime. I'm still in Pakse about to take another bus (4 hours) to the most southern part of Laos called the 4,000 islands. It boarders Cambodia where I will be traveling next. I'm excited for Cambodia. Both Laos and Cambodia are among the worlds 20 poorest nations. It's been quite the journey/adventure whatever you want to call it. I just ate breakfast and read a quote I want to share with you. "If you are in a bad situation, don't worry it will change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it too will change." I loved this quote. It tells me to roll with the punches and take things day by day. Don't get to high or to low. Things change. It is inevitable. Enjoy the journey. Well, it's time to walk to the bus station and buy a ticket to the 4,000 islands. Oh ya! I forgot to tell you, Alec and I stopped to get some food on our last day if The Loop and were invited to an after party of a Laos wedding. Of course we went lol. We drank a couple Laos beers and danced for an hour. Thought you might like that. I hope you enjoy my posts. I really miss my friends and family back home. Until next time...love.

Laos and motorbiking "the loop"...

Hey guys! Sitting around a fire pit in a city called Tha Khaek, Laos. We arrived here today around 4 pm. Wait wait! let me tell you about what I've been doing the past few days. I stayed in Luang Prabang for 5 days. It was town with a laid back vibe and a lot of rich culture. It was a bit touristy, not too bad. There were monks everywhere. On the last day I even woke up to see them receiving alms from the towns people. They wake up at 5:30 every morning and walk down the main streets at 6:00 am. Quite the experience. The night market in Luang Prabang was full of local hand made textiles. Laos is filled with pride. The people here are friendly and ready to help out if needed. We went to a bar called Utopia one night. Super chill place. Over looking the Mekong River on mats to lay on the floor. Before I ramble on anymore I have to tell you that most cities and towns in Laos have a curfew. Can't be out past midnight. I thought that was a fun fact for everyone. After saying good bye to Luang Prabang we jumped in a sleeper bus to the Vientiene, the capital. It's one of the more developed cities I've been to so far. I found a local gym in my travel book and walked to it from the guesthouse. I think it was $4 to use. It had a weight room, pool, and spa. Anyways, we left vientiene this morning and took a public bus to Tha Khaek where I am right now. We came here for something called "the loop." It's a trail that stretches about 200 miles through villages and dense jungle. We rented motorbikes for the next three days and are going for a ride! We're leaving at 8:30 tomorrow and are going about 45 miles to our first stop. We might do a home stay in the town. There's a famous cave called Kong Lo cave we're going to check out. It's about 3.5 miles long! I guess it has huge spiders in it too. We the next few days as well and have different stops along the way. I'm super excited for the loop. There's a few more pictures than usual on this post so I hope you like them. It's only 9 pm here and I'm feeling a bit on the sleepy side. It looks cold back home. Stay warm! Until next time...love

Crossing the border into Laos...

My visa had run out and it was time to catch a bus to Luang Prabang, Laos (central Laos, it's a landlocked country). I bought my ticket from the people at my last hotel in Hanoi. $49. The people I bought it from said it takes about 18 hours. I knew that was a bit shorter than I expected because I read a few blogs saying it's more like 24-30 hours. I was picked up at my hotel in Hanoi by a guy driving a motorbike at 5:30 pm. He took me to a minibus and then I took the minibus to the big bus. We left at 6:30 pm and drove for two hours then stopped for a break (10 min) and then drove until the Vietnam/Laos border. We got there at 7:30 am. Applying for our visas and doing all that took about 2 hours. Then we walked across the border to the bus waiting for us (picture). We drove another 2 hours into Laos and ate lunch in a town I didn't know. Then it was the long haul...we didn't stop until arriving in Luang Prabang at 11:30 pm. It was about a 29 hour bus ride. The last couple hours were rough. my iphone battery died and i just wanted too jump out and run around. No bathrooms on the bus either. We took a taxi into the town center and grabbed the only guesthouse that was open and crashed out for the night. The last few days I've had the chance to look around and try out some of the Laos cuisine. They have a heavy French influence here in Laos. They have excellent sandwiches on the street and delicious fruit shakes too. I had a papaya-mango shake and a pineapple-papaya shake today. We walked up this long hill in the city and could see across the whole city. I took a couple pics that ill post from it. Tomorrow I'm going to a huge waterfall that is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. You can jump in and swim in it too. Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. I heard the family went out to Kobe's for dinner. That's awesome! Happy birthday pops! You know how much I love ya! Until next time...love

The beautiful Ha Long Bay...

I can't believe it's already November 10th. Time flies. My Vietnam visa is up on the 12th and I'm been trying to decide what border into Laos would be the best to cross. Once I get to Laos I'm thinking 2 weeks there and then moving down into Cambodia for 2 weeks. Anyways, I've been in Hanoi the past few days. It's the capital and has a population of about 7 million people. A couple days ago Alec, the Norweigen girls, and I visited Ha Long Bay. We took a mini bus (3 hours) to the bay and boarded our boat (picture). There were 16 people on the boat. Lunch was prepared for us when we arrived and then it was off to explore. We sailed to a beautiful cave (picture) that was found in 1993 and walked around it for a bit until it was time to move on to my favorite part of the cruise...kayaking (picture). The weather was calm and cool and the water was glassy. I kayaked for an hour and then returned to the boat. After dinner the sun began to set and everyone moved to the top deck of the boat for some drinks and to chat it up. It's always fun talking with other travelers about where they have been and where they plan to go. We shared a couple bottles of Hanoi vodka and it was off to bed. Morning came sooner than I wanted but if you wanted breakfast it was at 7:30 sharp. After goofing around for a couple hours on the boat we sailed back to land, ate lunch at a local restaurant and headed back to Hanoi. It was definitely a highlight of Vietnam and something I'll never forget.
I'm sitting outside my hotel on the busy streets writing this thinking about the past 4 weeks in Vietnam. I've definitely stepped outside my comfort zone. I've visited maybe 8 or 9 cities here. The less touristy cities are where I have experienced the most. I remember walking down the streets of Can Tho and being starred at by everyone I walked by. I'm guessing because I'm white and they were probably thinking why is he here. Not to mention I'm taller than 99 percent of everyone. Opening a menu and seeing zero English is also quite the experience. I've learned there is a risk you take when a local Vietnamese person asks where you are from. Saying the US, America, or the states is an experience in itself. Often times the response is nothing at all or very little. Animosity towards the US is still alive and well in Vietnam. I don't feel unsafe here but I make sure to observe my surroundings wherever I go. The past couple days I've tried an experiment to prove my point. When I've met someone, say at a food stall or in a restaurant I say I'm from somewhere else...I've used South Africa, Australia, and Canada. You can laugh. Sometimes they were the first countries to pop into my head. The responses and conversations were much more enthusiastic and welcoming than if I would have said the US. This is not the case with everyone here, in fact most of the Vietnamese people I come in contact with are friendly and helpful...thank god because I've been lost a few times.
On a side note, milk is impossible to find in Vietnam. I love milk and I've found it twice since I've been here. Anyways, I'll put some pictures up with this post as usual. Sorry there won't be any of my booty this time haha. I miss all my family and friends back home and can't wait for Christmas! My favorite time of the year. Until next time...love

Marble mountains and a full moon...

I have decided I like Vietnamese food a tad but more than Thai food...I just ate dinner and was thinking back about all the different foods I've tried. I had street food twice today and decided to go for more of a western meal for dinner. Chicken burger, two eggs, and toast with water.
We spent the past 4 days in a city called Hoi An (picture). It's located central Vietnam and has been my favorite city so far. It's population is around 120,000 and the city is clean and well kept. It had a hipster vibe to it but without the hipsters. We took another overnight bus (11 hours) to Hoi An from Nha Trang. In the Lonley planet book I brought, it says Hoi An is the number one place to visit in Vietnam. The weather was around 80 degrees with little rain. Yesterday we rented motorbikes and rode around 15 miles to marble mountains (picture). It had gigantic caves inside the mountains as well (picture). There might be a special picture in this post...
When I was in Hoi An the past few days I asked around for a food stand selling egg sandwiches. Both times I asked, I was pointed toward the same old lady. She made the best egg sandwich I've had so far in Vietnam (picture). Someone told me she had been on the same corner making them for the past 25 years. She was around 70 years old and took so much time into making them. I would order 3 eggs in a baguette for $1. I went to her 7 or 8 times while I was there.
This morning we took a 4 hour bus to a city along the coast called Hue. It's more of a pit stop for our long ride to Hanoi tomorrow. I think it's around a 16 hour bus ride. We only have until the 11th until our visa runs out so we'll be kind of hustling these next few days.
On a side note I just finished a book called "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. Excellent read. It's about thinking without thinking...when instincts take over and people have to make snap judgements in moments of crisis or extreme stress or pressure. I just bought "Catcher in the Rye" to read next...I'm excited for it.
P.s. the last couple days I've been craving some random foods from back home. Pudding (pudding pack or pre made haha), Mom's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and protein shakes haha. P.s.s. I'm bummed I'll be missing Thanksgiving and my Dad's birthday but hopefully I'll be back in time for Christmas...my favorite time if the year! Until next time...love