On The Way To Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang (Laos Musings, Part 2)

 

Note: I've never actually kept a travel journal, and would only write about my travels after I got back from them. But the Laos trip was different - there was plenty of time to think and write, so I did: at the airport, the cafe, on a boat. I had meant to edit my little drabbles from the road and put them together in one neat post, but there's something more raw and real about reading through the actual words I wrote while I was on my trip, so the stuff you will read below is mostly unedited, and nearly exactly as I had written them on my laptop, my iTouch or my phone while traveling around Laos.

15 Things to Do in Luang Prabang, Laos

My trip to Laos in 2012 had been a very relaxed, come-what-may kind of trip. Jen and I didn't do much planning save for booking accommodations beforehand, and everything else kind of just fell into place almost effortlessly thanks to the many people we met along the way. I think we both didn't want a hectic, intensely scheduled itinerary after all our previous whirlwind trips to other countries. It probably had to do with us maturing as travelers as well. I suppose it happens to a lot of people who travel often - at some point, on your Nth trip, when you're a little less scared and a little more welcoming of the unknown, a little less excited about visiting every suggested destination on the tourist map and a little more interested in trying to live like a local, you realize that a trip doesn't have to be tremendously eventful to be memorable, and allow yourself to experience the magic of a place on the spot, without any expectations or prior research. So I was quite surprised at how long this list turned out, considering we had zero plans. It only goes to show that boredom and travel probably rarely co-exist, especially to those who are happy just to be in a foreign place, regardless of where it is and what there is to do there. For a true traveler, there is always something to explore, something to discover, and something to learn - at the very least, there is always something to do. And if you are by chance planning a trip to Luang Prabang anytime soon, this might help get you started.

The Luang Prabang Local Market In Fine Detail

Whenever I travel, I always get amazed at how some places lend themselves so easily to great photographs. Hoi An, Seoul and virtually any beach in the Philippines are the photogenic places that instantly come to mind from my travels. Though I am by no means a professional,I love taking pretty pictures, the kind that can hold a memory of a moment intact long after that moment and that adventure has passed. I love looking at pictures I took from my travels and being reminded of how it felt to be there, what the weather was like, what I was listening to, who I was with.

Jen and I finding the Luang Prabang local market was by all means a moment of serendipity. Every traveler has one of those - you take a wrong turn in a little alley and find yourself not in the place you were headed for, but in a place you prefer much more anyway. We had just witnessed the alms giving ritual very early in the morning, and were looking for some breakfast and coffee to wake us up. Eventually we found ourselves in a little alley with stalls and stores that sold the most interesting things. Local markets are always vibrant and full of life, which is probably why they make such ideal settings for interesting photographs.

I took so many photos of the Luang Prabang local market but these are perhaps my favorites. They don't capture the entirety of the market, but instead its little details - from writhing live insects, spices with colors as rich as their flavors, to the most delicious deep-fried sausages. 

The 2013 To Go List: 5 Asian Destinations To Visit This Year

In my line of work, I am plagued with to-do lists, and they are both extremely helpful (they keep me organized) but also frustrating (they never seem to end sometimes!). And with this post I come to you with yet another list, but a fun one: not a To Do List, but a To Go List, with five of my top destination suggestions for 2013.

I have fond memories of all the five destinations I've included here - from swimming through a hole under limestone cliffs into secret lakes, enjoying a candlelit dinner on a balcony overlooking a riverside view, to tasting a sumptuous pork dish that could rival the Filipino lechon, these destinations are not exactly off the beaten path, but are maybe just a little ways away from the regular tourist hotspots.

To Travel Like It's The End Of The World: YOLO 2012!

I once said that my 2011 felt like one long, extended beach trip, but that I hoped 2012 would be a little bit crazier, more adventurous. After all, the world was supposedly going to end in 2012. Now that we've survived December 21, 2012 (and celebrated it with an End of the World Party and Mayan-inspired accessories), it seems mankind has been given a new lease on life. But the fact still remains - You Only Live Once. And 2012 was the year of the YOLO state of mind - all the surf trips, the road trips, the concerts and parties, even the staycations and my chillax Laos trip, and of course, our epic Seoul adventure were all witness to that. We only have one life to live, and I want to spend mine on the move, exploring strange places, meeting strange people, eating the strangest food, then coming home, only to do it all over again. So here are my favorite photos of 2012 - have a happy new year everyone! And as always, to my epic travel buddies of the year - the Samsung YOLOs, Carms, Eds, Jen and the Korea Girl Group members, what a year it's been! Here's to more legendary trips in 2013! 

Luang Prabang, Laos: A Lesson on Goodbye's and See You Next Time's

I do quite well with goodbyes.

A person who thinks herself a traveler has to be. More often than not, a place she visits is a place she leaves eventually. Saying goodbye is a necessary part of the adventure, like shoddy toilets, delayed flights and occasional homesickness. It’s just part of the experience.

Airport Daze & Other Drabbles (Laos Musings, Part 1)

Note: I've never actually kept a travel journal, and would only write about my travels after I got back from them. But the Laos trip was different - there was plenty of time to think and write, so I did: at the airport, the cafe, on a boat. I had meant to edit my little drabbles from the road and put them together in one neat post, but there's something more raw and real about reading through the actual words I wrote while I was on my trip, so the stuff you will read below is mostly unedited, and nearly exactly as I had written them on my laptop, my iTouch or my phone while traveling around Laos. 

Contrasting, 04 May 2012, NAIA 

I am sitting beside a man having a video call with his family. I gather that he’s bound for Singapore, most likely to go to work there. I can sense in the way he holds his phone in his two hands tightly, in his intent gaze on his wife and daughter on the screen, that the airport is the last place he’d want to be in at this moment, that he would do anything to come home and stay there. 

I, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to leave. 

There’s always a little tinge of guilt that taints my excitement to travel, right along that question that nags me more often than I would probably care to admit – why am I so eager to leave? Why so eager to go away? The guilt is especially tangible this time around, while sitting beside this man, who I’m sure feels exactly the way my dad does, because he too works away from home. 

The thing is, it’s not that I long to travel so I can escape – maybe I do, to escape the daily grind of everyday corporate life, but certainly not to escape home and the people I love in it. If anything, travelling makes me long for home, and how does that saying go again, about how distance makes the heart grow fonder? 

In a perfect world I would have a career that lets me frequently fly across the world on business-mixed-with-pleasure trips, a friend and family member in every corner of the globe and a home with every one of them, and the man beside me will be able to provide for his family in the comfort of his own country. 

But life is never quite as practical as the humans who live through them seem to be, or perhaps it’s practical in ways we are not always able to see. Doing something you love and doing something for the one you love can sadly mean two different things, and perhaps in those two is how we, the man beside me and I, are different.  

Airport Daze, 05 May 2012, LCCT 

I’ve had my fair share of flights in ungodly hours, of back-to-back, no-sleep flying from one destination to another, and this trip to Laos is no different. I left Manila in the evening on a Friday night, arrived past midnight the next day in Kuala Lumpur, and now have time to kill at the LCCT before my morning flight to Vientiane. I was wide awake at one point, but now everything feels a little surreal – it’s freezing inside the scarcely-populated terminal, the cold seeping through my jacket while it rains buckets outside. My eyes are threatening to fall shut, and it’s only the fast and free WiFi plus MGMT’s “Boogie Down” that’s keeping me up. 

Two Caucasian guys just sat a few rows across from mine, one holding a tiny green guitar (a banjo?), the other carrying a regular–sized one, and a book. I wonder what they’re doing so far away from home. 

I’m so sleepy that I don’t even long for a bed – just my seat on the plane so I can doze off even before takeoff. But it’ll still be a few minutes before boarding time, and Jen isn’t even around yet. 

Even with the lack of sleep however, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. This is the life – sitting sleepless in airports, amid strangers, with nothing but the thought of a strange new destination keeping you afloat.

Snapshots: Our Little Lao Friend, Luang Prabang, Laos

She bravely approached us as we passed by her mother's store, and started whining when we said goodbye. Adorable.

Snapshots: Butterflies, Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang

 

There were so many butterflies gliding around, forming these graceful flowing lines all around us outside the gates to Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang, Laos. It was so hard to take proper pictures of them though!

Snapshots: It's Always Happy Hour Somewhere In The World

It's already past 1 am in Manila on 6th June, and I'm putting up my post for 5th June. Late I know, I couldn't catch a break at work and had a great dinner with some friends I haven't seen in a while, so I went home later than I expected. But I'm still posting this because I figured, somewhere elsewhere in the world, it's still Tuesday, just like at any given time, somewhere around the world, it's happy hour. Hence the Beerlao photo. 

Does that make sense? 

Also, local beer and shirts with local beer brands for designs - I'm definitely not the first traveler who's been caught up in their strange allure, but I'd still like to explore why they're so fun to buy. Remind me to write about that another time.

Snapshots: Alms Giving Ceremony, Luang Prabang, Laos

We had to wake up early for this, but we didn't mind. More about Laos soon. I should really find time to write, but I had to come to work today. -_-

Snapshots: Chitdara 2 Guest House, Luang Prabang, Laos

It's a lazy Saturday, and I can't seem to find it in me to write. It's been a long, but fun week, catching up with my best guy friends! It was strange to not be around them for a week when I was in Laos, having gotten used to them nearly everyday at work. But now that I'm back I realized how much I missed hanging out with them. I had so much fun just talking about stuff with them over beers last night (and the night before that). 

I'll take it easy today, but hopefully I'll be able to write tomorrow. The weekend is just never long enough!

Snapshots: The Baguette Lady, Luang Prabang Local Market, Laos

I miss those baguettes for breakfast. I ought to whip up a typical Indochina guest house breakfast one of these weekends.

Snapshots: A Temple in Luang Prabang, Laos

Just one of the few I was able to visit when we stayed there last week. I miss Laos already!

Snapshots: Spicy Papaya Salad

A common Lao dish - very tasty and flavorful! Will write about our food adventures (including our love affair with lao sausage) in the coming weeks. 

Have a great Friday lunch-out! 

Snapshots: Un Petit Nid Restaurant, Luang Prabang

A cozy little restaurant in Luang Prabang, where we had our first dinner in the sleepy town. The steak was good and the vibe was laidback. The place wasn't pretentious but it had an air of elegance to it. And I am loving how the lanterns turned out in this picture!

Snapshots: Good Luck Bus Rides, Vientiane to Luang Prabang, Laos

A bus ticket wishing its passengers "good luck" doesn't exactly inspire the assurance of a safe trip the bus operators (all with good intentions, I'm sure) probably think it does. We were surprised (and relieved), however, that the nearly 12-hour bus ride from Vientiane to Luang Prabang was a very comfortable one, and one of my favorite parts of the trip. The bus ride back to Vientiane, however - a whole other, kind of hilarious, kind of humiliating (for my part anyway) story. More on that next time.

Snapshots: Monks By The Victory Monument, Vientiane, Laos

Since the first time I set foot on Indochina I've been fascinated with Buddhism. I really ought to read up on it, maybe take in some wise words on life and living. 

Snapshots: The Legendary Laos Trip and How It All Began

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...with budget flights from Manila to Kuala Lumpur, and Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane. I'm back in Manila and will be posting photos from my recent Laos trip all week. Hope you like them!