Luang Prabang

So after Pai Rachel and I took an 8 or 9pm bus to the Thai-Laos border, and crossed the river in the morning to get into Laos.

The plan was to take 2 days taking a boat up the Mekong, but once we got there and learned that there was a one day bus to Luang Prabang we opted for that since we were a little short on time.

The town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and really mellow and lovely.

Here are some street shots::





The Mekong wraps around the town, and there are restaurants and cafes that line the road looking out on the river::





I also had real, genuine strong-brewed coffee every morning that we were there, and some yummy croissants and things at breakfast::



There was a temple at the top of the hill looking out over the town::





And lots of gorgeous buildings and a few sweetsweet cars --



Loved it.

and love to you all!
-Paige

Spring Break Redux: Pai

Hellooo loved ones!

Hope you're all wonderful, and that April is starting well.

Had a REALLY great week in northern Thailand and Laos. I'll take a few days of posting pics to go over it.

The trip started on a train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and the only photos I have from the train ride were taken right after our table collapsed and our drinks spilled all over Alanna (and then created a river down the train car).

As having cleaning supplies readily accessible is not a top priority on trains, our lovely kathoey train attendant Natalie helped us clean up our mess with toilet paper posthaste.

Here are Rachel and Alanna after the cleaning was done:



We got into Chiang Mai, and met up with Meg and Costa. We had a tasty lunch at a juice bar/ organic sandwich shop, and then got on a mini-bus to get to Pai.

The ride to Pai was through the mountains, and very green, winding and pretty.

Pai is a backpackers haven, and very geared towards things foreigners might want/ will buy (eg: hamburgers, lots of fruit shakes, motorbikes, bars that play exclusively Bob Marley and Jack Johnson).

We decided to give motorbikes a go:



And three incidents, and one flat tire later - we were still all able to walk away from the experience.

We also found a music festival:





and played some balloon darts:



I should mention that Pai is beautiful. I should also mention that all of these photos were taken by Meg.





Pai was soso great, and unfortunately I had to say goodbye to Costa who went back to Austria...



...and also to Meg, who left for a month in the US on Monday -- but not before she won the Only Member of Trip Competent Enough on a Motorbike that She Should Consider Investing in a Vespa Award.



Love to you all and please visit Pai when you come to Thailand!
-Paige

Spring Break!!! (except it's summer here)

Hellooo!

I'm alive and going to Laos next week!

I don't have it in me to do a censored web-friendly report of how it's been working at an English summer day camp recently - but suffice it to say that I'm currently drafting thank you letters to both my parents for never sending me to Spanish or French or Japanese summer day camp. Crimony.

Really it's ok though, and I am very excited for my upcoming trip with my friend Rachel. We'll be going to Chiang Mai, Pai in northern Thailand and then Luang Prabang, Phonsaven, and Vientienne in Laos.

Love to you all,
Paige