LoriMichelle

Some people may think it's pointless to travel to the Himalayas in monsoon season. The rain, the landslides, the fog, the veiled views, blah blah blah. Well, all those things may be true, but you also get hill towns with almost no other tourists, guesthouses with rates cut in half, and just possibly a glimpse of those mighty mountain tops...if you're patient and a little lucky!! We left Varanasi in the middle of the afternoon to start our long train journey across northeastern India into the hill town of Darjeeling. We had an evening stop in Patna where we boarded our overnight train to New Jalpaiguri, the jumping off point for the hill stations, northeast states, Nepal and Bhutan. There are really two (cheap) ways to Darjeeling from here; train and jeep. Since we just spent ... read more

India is not an easy country to love. It is dirty, smelly, crowded, hot, and noisy. It's difficult to know who you can trust because many locals steer you in the wrong direction, toward hotels or shops where they will get commission. Animals that in the US are considered unclean roam the streets with the chaotic traffic, roves of pedestrians, and slumbering homeless. Sanitation and trash collection are virtually non-existent, leaving mountains of trash to build along roadsides, and people to brush their teeth in a river in which dead bodies are regularly dumped. In the US, our poverty is hidden from most of society. The homeless live in the woods along the rivers or in neighborhoods that the middle class rarely frequent. In India, the poverty is in your face. Stepping over bodies that you ... read more

(If you just want to read about my impressions of Laos, skip down about a dozen paragraphs...I wrote quite a bit about our adventurous journey travelling into Laos, mostly just to maintain my own memory of those 3 days...but my descriptions of Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng are here eventually!) Ahhh, Laos. We had not planned on going to Laos when starting this trip. We thought it would be too difficult to enter, Nate was worried about the lack of internet access, and we just didn't think we could squeeze another country into our jam-packed schedule. However a window of opportunity came up, and after reading more about the country we thought "How hard can it be??" Haha. Laos is a country snuggled between Vietnam and Thailand, with Cambodia nestled along its southernmost tip and Myanmar ... read more

When I told people at home that I was planning to travel to Vietnam, most people responded with "Why?", or "They hate Americans". With a little bit of personal experience on the matter now under my belt, I would like to respond in 3 words...Vietnam is Awesome! Vietnam is incredible. It is tiny thatch roof hut villages. It is modern, thriving cities bustling with money making business men and women. It is elderly women hunched over hot boiling pho soup along the sidewalks of Ho Chi Minh City. It is lazy beach towns with mountainous views off the coast. It is a remarkable pulse of history. It is the pride and determination on the faces of the Vietnamese people. And it is a must see on any SE Asian trip!! I started my Vietnam tour in ... read more

Bali is everything I wanted it to be, more than I expected it to be, and just plain AMAZING. It is the foreign paradise island you imagine. Beautiful, strange, hot, chaotic, and relaxing. Here is what I've been up to since landing: My flights were right on time, arrived in Bali a little before midnight Tuesday 2/16 night. Nate was right there at the airport waiting for me! I had heard the airport in Bali was chaotic, with hawkers everywhere offering money exchange and taxi ride. Sure those people were there, but they weren't pushy at all. Getting through customs was a breeze. There was a little mix up with the hotel we booked for our first few nights so Nate got us a hostel room before I flew in. It was cheap, just $10/night, but ... read more