My time in Laos has already come and gone somehow, and oh was it perfect! The last week I spent in the beautiful country I explored down to the southernmost point in Laos to an amazing landscape known as Si Phan Don, or The 4,000 Islands. The Mekong River opens up in this area creating thousands of channels and therefore thousands of islands. Since my arrival in Laos, I'd been following the Mekong all the way down and this was my last hurrah with this beautiful river.

I first took a bus from Thakek to my overnight stop, Pakse, where I shared a tuk-tuk to a hostel with a German backpacker who I met at Green Climber's Home. When we got there, they only had a double room left, and we both said we didn't mind sharing it, so I was sharing a room with a guy I had just met! Kind of an interesting experience... "Nice to meet you, want to have a sleepover?" haha but we were totally respectful of each other's space and we were just content to be saving a few bucks by splitting the room.

The next morning we took a minivan to Ban Naka Sang where we boarded a ferry (or, small wooden boat) and headed to into the river. Most of the 4,000 islands aren't even inhabited, some of them have small villages on them, and there are really only two or three that travelers go to. The two closest to the Cambodian border are Don Det and Don Khon. Don Det is known more as the backpackers hub, where the streets are lined with restaurants, bars, travel agencies, bungalows, and plenty of relaxed-looking backpackers.

I opted to check out Don Khon first, which is known to be less populated and more chilled out overall. I found a nice bungalow overlooking the river with my own bed and bathroom and deck and hammock!

This was honestly a turning point in my travels because there's only so many nights in a row you can wake up in a room full of strangers, sharing space and bathrooms and constantly keeping your valuables in check. It was a huge pleasure to just throw everything out on my personal king-sized bed (more perks of traveling alone) and to go to the bathroom with the door open and to have space to do yoga and to wake up by myself... I realized the first morning I woke up there that it was the first time since India that I woke up alone in my own personal room. That's insane... I went two months waking up to other people. It took me until here to realize the effect this had on me, and I appreciated the personal space so much.

The sunset view from the hammock was pretty unbeatable, and I got to witness a new work of art in the sky and reflecting off the river every single night. 

I met up a few times with another guy I ran into from Green Climber's Home (we're all basically this one big international climbing family now) who was staying with a couple German and Dutch travelers. We would go swimming in the river or eat $1 noodle soup from a woman on the path or drink beer over some card games. If anyone is interested in some new fun card games, ask me about Shithead or Camps! Endless entertainment.

Being on Don Khon was where I felt most immersed in the Laos culture. Every day I either walked or biked through villages of local families and animals and school children, and I saw kids of all ages operating vehicles that I would have been forbidden to at their age, but anything goes in Laos!

 

Oh I had to snap a picture of one of these for my dad... all over Laos I've been seeing people operating these carts with a motor (and usually just one wheel) way out in front, and of course hauling a ridiculous amount of goods or live animals on the back. Pretty cool that this was really the only kind of motorized vehicle I saw on the islands besides motorbikes, made for a pretty peaceful stay.

My most ambitious endeavor was biking around the entire island starting early in the morning, with one heavy, stiff, small, crappy bike. But we really bonded over the rough terrain and the TLC I had to give'r putting her rusty chain back on every 500 yards or so. 

It was a worthy adventure, as I got to a big, long waterfall (which probably had a name) and my Chacos helped me crawl around some rocks and cool off in the water. 

Back on the bike, I headed south only to encounter this...

I swear it looked even steeper in real life. I felt determined to push forward, so I (ambitiously) hiked down the ravine somewhere to the left of this and hike back out, clumsily lunking my bike along.

But it was worth it because the trail took me to the south of the island where there is a beautiful view of the Mekong and, on the other side, Cambodia! I treated myself to a coconut and some shade.

The viewpoint was over an old French loading dock, where ships now launch with tourists to see the rare, nose-less Irrawaddy dolphins.

I rode on, and on, and on, and eventually found a sandy beach and swimming area. Then I rode some more, cooled off with a watermelon shake, and clocked a lot of hammock time the rest of the day.

The next few days I rented a taller, lighter, and overall nicer bike to get me between the islands. I spent the last few days in 4,000 islands at a chilled out hostel on the sunset side of Don Det.

Sunset from the swimming hole next to the hostel:

My German/Dutch buddies told me about a little restaurant on the other side of Don Det run by the crazy Mama Piang! She took goood care of us :)

She also owns an eagle which lives under the restaurant so that was pretty neat.

Mama and Papa own a small boat and Papa offered to take us on an adventure for an evening. We went to a nearby island and walked through villages to... you'll never guess it... a waterfall!

 Another unnamed beautiful waterfall :)

Here's Papa, looking out over us pups as we swam above the falls.

And some burning countryside... tis the season?

Then Papa was hungry so we stopped at a small hut and had some noodle soup (ever heard of Pho?) and I played with some Lao babies (typical). Then we found some bike-water-pump-contraption... they do things in very interesting ways over hrr.

We boarded back on the boat and Papa took us upriver for a while past other islands and homes and temples and boats (some of which were being operated by children, of course).

The Laos life is a laidback one!

We finally pulled over in the middle of the river on this island with rows of cucumber plants and a small hut where a few people were cleaning and bagging fresh cukes. They even gave us some, and they were SO good... Fresh and river-grown! Kop jai lai lai!

We went for one last swim of the day, jumping off the boat and drinking beerlao with the locals. Floating there, looking back at the mesmerizing sunset, colorful clouds, and moon overhead... it was one of those magical I-want-to-keep-this-with-me-forever moments.

On my last evening, I biked over to the Li Phi Waterfall—biggest in SE Asia! It is way bigger than my camera could even capure, and it was such a beautiful sight to see, hear, and feel. 

I had some yummy curry for dinner with a friend I met in Pai, Thailand! It's always so surreal to continually run into people I've met from other places along my travels, makes the world feel that much smaller.

I woke up bright and early to catch a "ferry" over to the mainland where I'd be heading to Cambodia!

And of course I befriended some small Lao kiddos at the bus station who were fascinated by my phone's front camera...

It's taking all of my self-control to not adopt a little Asian baby right now! 

That sums up my time in Laos, more to come on Cambodia soon! 😊

I found a home... Green Climber's Home! About 15km outside of Thakhet, Laos is an epic little climbing area where a badass German couple established a camp set up and bolted over 170 incredible climbing routes. All are within about a ten minute walk from the main camp, which is a circle of bungalows and a central hut with a restaurant and lounging area. And NO WIFI! People actually TALK to one another, and the conversations are the best conversations. Everyone is so passionate about climbing, and adventure in general. It's an inspiring atmosphere.

Spot the climber! ⬇️ This is taken next to my bed out the window... Seriously this place is too good to be true

Oh and they have lots of sweet kitties 

The first day I got in, I had a delicious salad and watermelon lemon shake as I read through the guidebook. I chatted with some Germans and went to watch them climb that evening before dinner. One area has this massive roof with the coolest formations and it is absolutely incredible to see someone climbing it. 

The rock here is unlike any I've ever explored, and it is just begging to be climbed. I set my alarm for 5:45am to get out on some routes with a few guys I met. I hadn't climbed for a long time before that so I top-roped to let my body and mind adjust back. And it felt so so good! I felt alive being back on the rock, and even though it was some of the sharpest rock I've ever climbed, I felt comfortable on it and knew I could push myself to get to the top of each route.

I took a fall in the last one and because of the rush I didn't even realize I had cut my foot until I made it back to the ground. I also had tiny cuts all over my hands and knees from the rock but it actually made me kind of happy :) I am more motivated than ever to pursue climbing both on the rest of my trip and when I get back to the states.

 SPEAKING OF... I have a return flight. My adventure finally has an endpoint, which is hard to come to terms with because it immediately makes me think of where I am in relation to the end, instead of just being happy in the present moment.

My original itinerary included a couple more continents after Asia, but unfortunately I have to postpone those for the time being. Traveling is expensive because all you do is spend money, and more than you can always account for. Every penny is worth it, but I'm at the point where I would need a LOT more pennies before I could make it in Australia, NZ, and South America. When I realized this, it was utterly heartbreaking, but I didn't let it get me down. I knew that if I cut out these more expensive countries, I could extend my time in SE Asia. I also promised myself that I can always travel to these other places, with more money and preparation, and I may have an even better experience of them than just tacking them on to the end of this amazing adventure in Asia.

SO my flight is set for May 7th, from Singapore to Denver. Once I get back I plan on hanging out with Emma who is visiting Boulder for the first time, then packing up my car and moving to Oregon! Traveling has helped me realize how much of my heart is still out west, and even though Colorado will always be home, I am being called back to Oregon for now. And who knows—this plan could all change in a month but for now I am feeling optimistic about it.

Meeting people along this journey has helped me realize that these opportunities to travel will always be there... I've met folks who are on a yearlong leave from their job, or quit, or are retired, or find work as they go, or travel with their significant other, or maintain a long distance relationship while they travel, or straight up travel with their young children, etc... All of whom have a wide ranges of age and acedemic status. Traveling is always a possibility, even if you just stay in your own country. And it's so important. You just have to make it happen!

Now I am south of Thakhek in a town called Pakse for a night. I left Green Climber's Home this morning with a heavy heart... I could have stayed here for so much longer. I had an epic week of climbing (got back into leading!) and bouldering and slacklining and yoga and spelunking and making frands and eating good and drinking better and falling in love with this world all over again!

On a rest day I went into town for wifi in the morning (fishermen on the Mekong), and in the afternoon I  joined the guys in the cave for a movie ☺️

It's been hellishly hot in Laos so GCH answers with an epic cave and swimming hole just beyond the camp. We spent a lot of time here swimming, cooling off, climbing around, taking pictures and making fires on the shore at night... You could see how I didn't want to leave! But I know I'll make it back there someday, it is truly climber paradise. I already miss the crazy characters I met there, but they've given me lots of stories to share upon my return!  

This morning I went to the station to catch the 6hr bus to Pakse, which turned out to not be running so I had to wait two hours and take an 8hr local bus down. Which meant being cramped, immobile, and sweating for the entire day as people shuffled on and off the bus, and women tried to sell us disgusting-looking meat or eggs on sticks through the windows every stop. I just listened to music for hours as I stared out on landscapes similar to this—

It actually turned out to be a pretty intense ride... about halfway through a man next to me leans across the seat to look out the window. In a flash I see what he was looking at... A man and a motorbike in a lifeless bloody post-crash snapshot. And then we're gone. Holy shit. I hardly breathed for the next ten minutes. How long had he been there? How long would he be there? The Lao folk didn't seem too phased. But for me it was all too real. That's the second dead person I've ever seen.

I sent a prayer his way and made a promise to myself that I would never, ever get on a bike again without a helmet. It set an interesting tone for the long ride. It didn't help that my stomach was already in pain from a hangover and lack of food for hours. 

When I finally got into Pakse I stuffed myself with noodles and fries. I booked a ticket for my last long bus ride in Laos—to the 4,000 Islands in the Mekong River! I set off tomorrow morning for the island-dwelling, hammock-swinging, book-reading, waterfall-gazing, sunset-kayaking, dolphin-viewing, beer-sipping good life 😊

Lovely Laos! I'm in love with another country... This keeps happening. 

I closed the Thailand chapter (for now) with one last night in Chiang Mai, and dinner with Audrey, then a long van ride to the border city.

We stopped in Chiang Rai on the way, home to the strikingly beautiful White Temple. The entry to the temple has a short bridge over a pool of small sculptures of demonic hands and faces, then massive dragons on either side of the ramp to the temple, and then appears the beauty of the temple itself. The entire thing is white with small interlaid pieces of mirror, giving the temple an incredible simmering liveliness. 

We stopped for the night in Chiang Khong on the Laos border, then took a van to the immigration crossing in the morning. Got my Thailand visa stamped out, caught a bus over the river to the Laos side, waited in a poorly-planned immigration office, finally got my visa on arrival, then bought myself a nice cold Beerlao with a couple friends! Made it! 

We took a bus to the launchpoint for our slowboat, loaded up on snacks and then climbed aboard! 

The boat wasn't terribly crowded and I was able to float between tables with various people to my own reclining seat to the open back area. 

This was such a fun way to see the country, and the views throughout the day were stunning (along with the locals and boats and animals around every turn)

I was lucky enough to sit near these three—a Mexican, a Canadian, and a Korean—who were all excellent musicians! They just started jamming together and switching off instruments and talking about different styles of music... it was beautiful.

We arrived at our overnight stop, a little hillside town called Pak Beng, just at the sun was dipping behind the mountains.

I split a room with a cool woman from the UK to save some money (kip!). Had a delicious Indian feast with some friends from the boat, and some more Beerlao of course.

Went to bed only to be awoken around midnight by a screaming man outside, claiming that his girlfriend's cell phone had been stolen... The words "WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS FUCKING TOWN" were repeated along with some other horrible shit that probably woke up the entire town. Finally the girlfriend pipes in, but instead of calming him down just fuels the flame with sobbing and accusations and more f-bombs. At some point they shut up, and apparently tried to get the police involved the next day but never got the phone. A good lesson, both to keep an eye on my valuabes, and to NOT act like a disrespectful manchild if something doesn't go my way.

PHEW- anyways, by the time I was reunited with the river in the morning, I was all smiles. I snapped a shot of these travelers overlooking the Mekong in the morning haze.

As a group of us from the first boat approached the launch, we realized there were significanly less boats there than the previous day, and our was gone. Everyone was just packing into one boat, so we did the same and it was a much tighter squeeze than the day before. I had a window seat next to a sweet American girl, but this was the scene of the back of the boat..

Not too bad, at least some folks were getting some sleep throughout the 7 hour boat ride.

Had to take a picture of (part of) the exposed boat engine, constanly cranking away, for the Pops.

As we went south on the Mekong, we got more into the heart of Laos and watched the landscape become greener and huge limestone cliffs began shooting up left and right. I would have been more enthralled by the scenery had I not decided to start Gone Girl on my iPad at the beginning of the ride, HOLY PAGE TURNER... (yes I already finished it, killer read! 😉)

That afternoon we arrived in Luang Prabang, or 10km outside of Luang Prabang, a scam that I had read about a few days prior.  A while back the boat captains started ending the slowboat trips upriver so that the locals could make a quick buck taking all the tourists into the city... a little frustrating but forgivable.

LP is a cool little town (and World Heritage Site) that is nestled south of the river with plenty of things to to and see. I checked into a very inexpensive hostel with a few friends from the boat and we kept the Beerlao flowing. I also got to walk the beautiful night market which is about 5 blocks long in the heart of the town and opens every evening, with delicious food available all around. They have these buffet-style dinners where you pay about $1.75 and can load up a plate with your choice of foods from about 30 massive bowls of fresh cooked dishes. BOMB.

Thanks to Facebook, I was able to meet up with some friends from Pai! We went to a Belgium Bar for real beer for once, and then some local moonshine to cancel out whatever class we had aquired. I called it early so I could rest up for an adventure day!

In the morning I did a little yoga at the hostel, grabbed some food, and loaded up into a van for about 40 minutes taking us to the Kuang Si waterfall. I followed a path up a river that had all these mini waterfalls and swiming holes with the most mesmerising blue color.

After swimming and hiking up some more, I saw the big momma!

Possibly the largest and definitely the most beautiful waterfall I have seen in Asia... It had so many layers and seemed to never end, and the bright blue green color was just incredible. I noticed people sitting on a ledge about halfway up, so I was determined to head there next.

I hiked up this steep trail, dodged around a tree with a sign that said "DANGER: Do Not Enter" and came across this little oasis in the middle of the falls.

There was two layers of pools, and I climbed onto the higher one where I noticed a space behind water hitting the rocks. I swam through the water and found myself treading water behind the falls. There was even a small cave behind me that I swam into and hung out in! It was such an electrifying feeling to be IN a massive waterfall. 

I eventually swam back out, hung out on the ledge, gazed up at the falls for a while, then set off for the top. I crossed the river on some bamboo supports at the top of the waterfall and had the most incredible view across the entire valley.

From the top, there is a ~3km hike to a cave, and not knowing how far it was I began heading towards it. Luckily a local man driving some folks to the cave pulled up on the dirt road and offered me a ride, taking me to and from the cave which would have taken me another hour probably, if I even figured out the correct places to turn. SO grateful for his act of kindness.

This is the buddha outside the entrance to the cave, which snaked along for quite a while with low ceilings and cool air. I got to a point where I was short of breath from the lack of oxygen flow so I headed back out.

The driver was sitting at the picnic table with some other locals, and they invited me over for some snacks and Beerlao out of a cup cut from a plastic bottle! 

That night I went out for some food with friends then to a riverside bar with a volleyball court and lots of white people. It closes at 11:30 so everyone goes to a bowling alley afterwards because it's the only place still open in town haha

After a fun round of bowling, we hung out under the stars in the parking lot for a jam sesh, then caught a tuktuk back to the hostel.

On my last day in Luang Prabang, I went to a school where I met a Lao guy named Saylee about my age and we talked for a while. His english was amazing and he explained to me that he teaches at a local school every night. He told me that night they'd be playing english games and invited me to come and help teach! I was so excited and spent the day brainstorming games, even got some great suggestions from Facebook friends (kop jai!)

I spent the evening alternating teaching with Saylee and my friend Alexi who I met at my hostel. We did some reading and conversing and game-playing and the whole experience was so fun and eye-opening. These kids had been learning English for only about 3 months and they were already amazing at it, plus you could see their eagerness to learn it.

I have felt extremely spoiled throughout my travels having come from a place with Engligh as my first language. Every place I go, the people who live there work to try and speak my native language, and I can only offer up a butchered "hello" or "thank you"... It has made me extremely appreciative and motivated to learn more languages throughout my life.

The next morning I set off for Vang Vieng on one of the most beautiful bus rides I have ever experienced. The landscape in Laos is so unique and every turn presents another breathtaking view.

Saw one of these signs every minute or so though...

It was worth every turn, Vang Vieng is a beautiful town that sits in a valley along a river with magnificent cliffs shooting up all around 

I got settled into a hostel where I met my new friend Erin from Montreal. She and I have a lot in common and instantly clicked over our love of outdoor adventure and ice cream! We had dinner at a MEXICAN restaurant with some more friends, played some games, and rested up for a day of the infamous tubing adventure.

The main attraction to the town is tubing down the river and stopping at bars along the way to drink and play games. We got an early start, met friends along the way, got free drinks at each place, played volleyball, beer pong, ping pong, and had such a blast the whole day. Erin and I floated all the way back to town with our birthday boy buddy Patrick. At one point a little Lao kiddo sneaked up on us underwater and jumped up onto our tubes! He joined our little float brigade and we played and splashed around the whole rest of the way down haha he was so adorable and awesome.

The next day we had a rest day, watching Friends in a cafe because they have the show playing for the travelers all over town. On our last full day Erin, Patrick, and I rented mountain bikes and went on an adventure to a swimming hole and some caves.

It is so fun exploring the mountains of Laos because they are so beautiful and different than any I have ever experienced before.

The view on the hike down from the first cave-

Another, better lit, cave-

Above this cave was a practically vertical hike up to the top of a mountain, with incredible views of the valley and the surrounding cliffs and mountains!

So stoked to find some adventure buds halfway around the world!

After a final fun evening, the three of us caught a bus to the capital Vientiene in the morning. It was sort of a pit-stop before we went our separate ways. Stayed at a sweet hostel with A/C and a nice shower and the three of us had an amazing dinner of burgers and quesadillas and fries haha cravings were satisfied!

I am now in a town called Thakhet where I will be spending some time rock climbing! I have missed climbing so much and these mountains have just been calling to me, so I will be staying at this cool little climbers camp in the mountains for the next few days at least. There's no wifi there which I am actually looking forward to a lot. Updates to come afterwards! ❤️