http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Casey-Lary/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Casey Lary en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:20:33 +0000 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:20:33 +0000 It was awesome to be back in Luang Prabang. Itrsquos such a charming city and magical with the monks and temples all over the place. I was happy to be here again and found a little guest house right on the main street with the cutest owners. I still had a few days until I had to be at the Gibbon Experience and this was the perfect place to chill out. I spent some good time on the computer g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-275700.html I decided to treat myself to a bit more of fun and head back with Nilam Hazel and Beverly BACK to Vang Vieng. I know most travelers our there reading this are scolding me for returning to Spring Break instead of venturing further afield in Laos. Trust me as you read on you will see that I had my fair share of getting out and immersing myself in the culture as I head further north into Laos an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-253290.html It was time to make a move from LaLa Land so I woke up and boarded the bus bound for Phonsavan. Spring Break was over. Phonsavan is famous for its mysterious Plain of Jars and infamous for being the most heavily bombed region of the world. It was going to be a very educational experience. All Aboard literally One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing all the different modes of tran http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/East/Phonsavan/blog-253277.html I heard so many stories about Vang Vieng VV before I got there that I felt like I almost didnrsquot need to go. What used to be a very quiet peaceful and empty village nestled next to the Tam So River with amazing Karst Cliffs abounding in the distance as a stopover between Luang Prabang and Vientiane has turned into a backpacker haven that Laos people despise. You get travelers who step o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-253266.html Dad ldquoSo Casey what exactly are you going to do or see in LaosrdquoCasey ldquoWell actually I donrsquot really know. Everyone just keeps telling me how much I am going to like it.rdquo This perfectly describes my time in Laos. I admit I was a bit scattered and unplanned at this stage of my trip. I did a lot of backtracking and missed some real gems of the country but overall http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-253256.html This is just a short entry to share my unforgettable experience at the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi. It reminded me how much I hate dealing with government sectors no matter which country I am in. This was also the one time I was not my savvy wellbehaved traveler and instead became the loud American that I often try to hide. I am sure that other travelers have great consulate stories that could to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-247025.html My overnight train arrived in Lao Cai at 5am and I was immediately bombarded by touts wanting to drive me the 1 hours to Sapa. Trying to deal with touts in daylight is annoying enough. Now that I was doing this in the dark and half asleep I was far from a happy camper. I teamed up with Ildy a Hungarian girl that I met exiting the train. Together we randomly chose a tout offering a decent http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-195349.html Halong Bay is majestic and a definite mustsee when coming to northern Vietnam. While cruising through the bay you are surrounded by nearly 2000 limestone islands rising out of the sea. I was told it is one of only three locations where this phenomenon takes place the others Phang Nga Bay in Thailand and somewhere in China but Halong Bay is the gem of the three boasting the most impressiv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-195347.html Oh how wonderful it felt to be back in Vietnam I first came to Vietnam in December 2006 with my travel buddy Jeff and I fell in love with the country from the moment I stepped off the airplane. Never before had I been to a country with some much chaotic energy. After talking to other travelers it seems that Vietnam is a country you love or love to hate. Yes its dirty people are trying to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-195345.html Learning to Bow at Kabe Senior High Schoolldquokiritsurdquo ldquoleyrdquo ldquoonegaishimasurdquoThese are the 3 words I hear before I start every class. I remember my first class standing in front of 20 firstyear Japanese high school students clad in blue uniform absolutely petrified. The translation which I learned very quickly is ldquostand uprdquo ldquobowrdquo l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hiroshima/blog-138092.html When I first arrived in Japan I taught lessons about traveling since it is my passion in life. I told my students about all the incredible places I had been and intended to go including places like living on a boat for a week in the countryside of England eating the best baguettes in the world in the south of France hiking the Swiss Alps scuba diving in Mexico drinking Czech beer in Prague http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-138091.html Unable to afford another day of diving I decided to leave Semporna ie the armpit of Malaysia a day early and spend a day in Kuala Lumpur experiencing city life. Plus I got a great offer to couchsurf with this guy Gupreet how could I turn it all down I must admit it was tempting to splurge and spend more time under the sea but since it was only 10 days into my trip and I have to watch my m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-195344.html To be honest I didn't even know what Sipadan was until this past May. My friend Jonathan went there during Golden Week and came back raving about the incredible diving. At the same time I was with Mr. Germany in Bali getting my PADI openwater realizing that I wanted to do some more diving in southeast Asia before returning to America. While in Bali I was thinking of going to peninsular Malay http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Sipadan/blog-195343.html I left Kota Kinabalu the day after I got off the mountain en route for Sandakan then the next day I would head off to my next stop Uncle Tan's Wildlife Camp. I thought I would get some much needed shuteye on the bus but then I remembered that I was in southeast asia and sleeping on buses doesn't really happen. Eyes widened as I entered the bus because I was the only foreigner. Of course t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kinabatangan/blog-195341.html Believe it or not my time in Japan came to a close and I was set loose to embark on my dream trip through Asia Casey's Asian Invasion. Ever since I came to Japan I started to envision my trip post JET. It is hard to believe that it has actually begun...and started out with a bang I was sad to leave Japan. I consider myself the antithesis of Japanese culture yet over the past 2 years have http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Mount-Kinabalu/blog-194951.html It all started as a telephone conversation on a cold and dreary Tuesday evening when Lisa and I realizing we didnrsquot want to stay in Hiroshima for the long winter weekend. Our disposable cash flow was running low putting us in quite the predicament. Times like this we wished we didnrsquot live in one of the most expensive countries in the world. Reviewing a map our list of places to s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nagasaki/Nagasaki/blog-138045.html UbudFor the next part of our trip Marc and I pulled ourselves from the coastline and headed into the center toward the cultural capital of the island Ubud a great town full of beautiful architecture some swanky stores and topnotch cuisine a huge outdoor market surrounded by beautiful jungles. Ubud is famous for its art galleries and traditional Balinesian dances at night.Upon arrival via pri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Padangbai/blog-163030.html Japan in the springtime is like stepping into Heaven. All over Japan cherry blossoms sakura are on display. As you wander the streets sakura petals fall from above. The bitter cold from winter has abated and people take to the streets and parks to meet with friends and admire the blossoms. The Japanese take full advantage of this magical time of year. Businesses families and friends participat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hiroshima/blog-163028.html The mysteries of geisha and maiko have intrigued me even before I came to Japan. When I first got here daily I would get all excited to see women wandering the streets of Hiroshima in kimono in the back of my mind pondering why they were wearing kimono and if they were somehow related to the elusive geisha. Silly I know but still it did cross my mind I quickly learned that many Japanese women http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-179069.html My Golden Week trip to Bali was EXACTLY what I needed I dabbled in going to many places Mongolia for some urks and Gobi Desert action volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Bangladesh Malaysiarsquos Perentian Islands for some beach time and scuba diving or heading to Bali for a week of diving beaches and partying. After some research Bali was the winner Going to Bali was unlike most http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-163029.html