Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, was probably the place I was most nervous to visit. Very few of the travelers I met liked it, and it is notorious for motorbike thefts: men on motorbikes will ride by your tuktuk, grab your bag, and speed off. But it was also the place where I could …
Most travelers who explore Cambodia outside Angkor Wat head to the southern beaches or French colonial towns like Battambang or Kampot. But I had had my heart set on Kratie, a tiny town on the Mekong River, ever since I read you could see the endangered Irrawaddy river dolphin there. These funny looking guys are …
There aren’t any official animal shelters in Siem Reap, but when I googled around I found Siem Reap Pagoda Cats, a one woman show run by expat Josette Vanneur. Josette goes each morning to a local pagoda to take care of the many cats living there. I contacted her and she got back to me quickly and …
The temples of Angkor Wat blew me away. But I was also looking forward to spending time in Siem Reap. From my research, it seemed like a cute little town with good shopping and tasty food. I planned for a week in Siem Reap so I could have some days off from temple hopping to …
Cambodia breathed life back into me. It was easy to fall into a pattern in Chiang Mai. My Airbnb was cozy, quiet, and dark. I would sleep in, roll out of bed and over to the coffeemaker and hammock, and read or write. A few blocks away, I became a regular at the Chiang Mai …
To be honest, I was a bad tourist in Chiang Mai. I never ended up doing any of the typical day trips around the city, and I was there nearly two weeks. Blame it on my election depression fog and a general lack of interest in doing anything other than writing and eating khao soi. …
I arrived back in Chiang Mai on a high from my week at Elephant Nature Park. On my first night back, a group of the people I’d met while volunteering made plans to meet for a drink, and it was so lovely to see everyone back together that evening after wandering the Sunday night market solo. …
Thailand has been on my bucket list for over a decade. When I originally dreamed about visiting, the picture in my mind’s eye was always of me riding an elephant. How great would that be on Instagram? But that was before I learned about the dark side behind what it takes to put a human …
After a grueling, bumpy bus ride back to Luang Prabang from Phonsavan, I checked back into my hostel and immediately set about changing my plans. I had originally planned to take the slow boat to Thailand the next day, but my travel exhaustion and my reluctance to leave Luang Prabang made it clear: I was not waking up …
Although I am loving Laos, the other classic destinations on the backpacking trail, apart from Luang Prabang, did not interest me much. Tubing and drinking in Vang Vieng, no thanks. The capital of Vientiane, sounds ok but maybe not worth the trip. Phonsavan, though, a less touristed town in northern Laos, piqued my interest. It …