Sunday, 19 July, 12:33 As I make myself comfortable on the hard motorcycle seat, I prepare myself for the 65 kilometer journey to spend the next three days at the Tam Wua Forest Monastery in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. I just had a wonderful breakfast this morning with Mark and coincidentally my friend Kerry, who was already at the restaurant, a great man who I met on my previous visit to Pai. FYI: I decided to spare you the details on my trip back from Luang Prabang, Laos to Pai, Thailand, which totaled to be exactly 27 hours [View Full Entry]

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Sabai di ("hello" in Lao)! After a 12 hour (night) bus journey to Udon Thani, a 45 minute taxi ride to Nong Khai, exiting Thailand, crossing the Mekong River with a 10 min shuttle bus to the Lao border, and a 20 min tuk tuk ride, we (traveling with another friend) finally arrive in Vientiane. First impression of Laos: Magnificent (and very green)!! For some reason it looks greener than Thailand, but it may just be me... Vientiane Vientiane is the capital of Laos; it's a really nice city with many things to see. Although we only spent a [View Full Entry]

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I cannot believe it's been a month since I arrived in Chiang Mai - time truly does fly! Since my last blog, I have been simply working, planning a rough itinerary for the last stretch of my trip and soaking up all the different experiences, sounds, smells and tastes found in Chiang Mai (Bryan - hold the joke haha). Last weekend was really great. My friend Katie, and I were invited to one of our co-worker's house for lunch. We got a late start and left for her house right after breakfast, arriving mid-morning, around 11:00 (...is that considered mid-morning??) only [View Full Entry]

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I can hear my dad sing that same song every time we pull out of the driveway: "....on the road again...", and that's exactly what I was thinking when I took off for Pai this past weekend. I left Friday afternoon with two friends; 128 kilometers/80 miles and probably about 431 twists and turns, we finally arrived in the small, somewhat hippie town called Pai. Friday: We arrived late in the afternoon, around 1600 hours and with no reservations we take off to find lodging. We agreed to have it be as cheap as possible so we head to THE river; [View Full Entry]

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Imagine: Being 18 years old, the world at your feet, ready to experience things a young adult should, but then being thrown in jail for four years. This is the story of one of the women I currently work with. Women's Education and Advancement and Empowerment (WEAVE) was founded in 1990. Their main goal is to provide human services/rights to displaced women and children from Burma. They have all sorts of projects and programs such as the Early Childhood Development program, Economic Empowerment and Development project which provides income and empl [View Full Entry]

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So.....one slight detail I forgot to mention in my last blog was that after all that diving (I'm ASSUMING this was the cause), I did...something...to my left ear, an ear infection! And the fact that I was just getting over a cold yet still decided to dive, did not help either. ALTHOUGH the dive shop did say it was fine as long as I can equalize my ears (notice me trying to save face)! Anyway, I'm feeling much better now but that's probably only because I spent the weekend (Sat night - Monday morning) in the hospital! I'm fine now, well [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Boracay last Saturday was a lot easier said than done. There are two airports near the island: Kalibo and Caticlan, the latter being closer (only 5 min from the airport to the harbor and the one at which we were supposed to arrive). Our flight was supposed to come in at around 16:30, giving us enough time to get to the island and search for a place to stay. Didn't happen though... Because of bad (rainy!) weather, our flight was delayed so we didn't leave Cebu until 17:30. We also ended up flying into Kalibo Airport, about an hour [View Full Entry]

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A little behind, but better late than never... WEEKLY UPDATE: Saturday: I tried Durian, a unique fruit known to many countries in SE Asia. It's one of a kind because of its strong smell and size. It can get pretty big (30cm/12in long and 15cm/6in in diameter) but the smell is like nothing I've ever smelt before! haha it's real intense! The taste...? Not for me. Sunday: Visited Davao's China Town - hung out with some of the local kids! Monday: Our adventure begins; we had a briefing in the morning, ate lunch and off we went. In two mini vans, [View Full Entry]

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Updates updates!! How was your week? Mine flew by!! This week I was a class assistant for the Religion: Peacebuilding in Multi-Cultural Society class and it was absolutely amazing getting to know my classmates and hear some of their stories. I shared space with people who have had guns pointed at their heads or have had RPGs or M-16 Rifles forced into their hands. Yet, in the same space, there are people from India, who are on complete opposite ends on the Caste System, coming together and sharing meals. WEEKLY UPDATE: Monday: The new George Mason University gro [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone! I feel so grateful to be writing to you again from the Philippines. Last summer was an amazing experience, and I knew I was going to be back, I just didn't think it was going to be within a year!! The "outbound" trip (Washington DC - Chicago - Hong Kong - Manila) went by a lot quicker than last years. This summer's traveling is a volunteer trip to the Philippines and Thailand. I am also planning on backpacking Laos and possibly Burma. Right now, however, I am in the Philippines. Arriving late Monday night (around 23:45), my friend Samantha [View Full Entry]

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