I was really looking forward to getting to Dalat. Located in the Central Highlands, the climate is cool and not humid. Finally, I could sit still and NOT sweat like crazy. Our bus from Nha Trang was an uneventful 7 hour trip. The bus was comfortable, but in Vietnam, tourist bus companies are given money if they make stops at certain restaurants or tourist shops - so we stopped quite a bit making our journey a lot longer. As I had anticipated, Dalat was nice a cool. Finally I could breathe! I was picturing a small, quaint town but Dalat is actually a fairly large city settled among mountains and valleys. The first afternoon, we checked into the backpacker hotel in town and wandered about. The market was really interesting - it was huge and full ... read more

Ok - so I KNEW that Hoi An is THE place to make clothes and I KNEW that I would probably have something made, but I never thought that I would get THIS out of control! hahah So Hoi An is this cute little fishing town and a world heritage site to boot. Innocent enough you'd think - can't get into too much trouble here! Ah, but oh no! Hoi An is also the home of over one hundred tailor shops and shoe shops that can break the bank of even the stingiest backpacker like me! We arrived the evening of the 5th and no joke, within a couple of hours of being in the town, I had already commissioned myself a winter jacket (wool peacoat) and a 3 piece suit made of Italian wool. Oh ... read more

So after a very peaceful couple of days, I left the islands to come back to Pakse to meet up with my friend Ali. Since I was a day ahead of Ali, I decided to go off on a day trip on my own. To get anywhere in Asia, being able to drive a motorbike is a MUST! In Canada, I'd never dreamed of riding on a motorbike, let alone driving one myself. But here in SEA, I've turned in a motorbiking diva :) I rented a motorbike from my guesthouse from the very skeptical man at the reception desk who asked me multiple times if I had ever driven a motorbike and then made me do a test drive to show him that I could even after telling him I had rented them before! I ... read more

After the remoteness of Laos' northern provinces, Luang Prabang was quite a contrast. Beautiful in a very different way than Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang is a lovely town with lots of history, colonial architecture, temples and of course, MANY tourists. Deemed a UNESCO World Heritage city in 1995, LP has since been pumped full of funding and is now a premier tourist destination - drawing foreigners into it's unique character of contrasting architecture. What I loved about this town was that it promoted many environmental efforts to reduce plastic bottle and other wastes generated by tourists as well as promote fair trade handicrafts from the surrounding villages. Picture this and you will have a sense of the essence of this town - more upscale cafes than Tim Hortons in Hamilton, fancy restaurants serving RED WINE ... read more

So, I'm pretty sure that Gravol was invented because of the roads in Loas. Honestly! The ride from Luang Prabang to the small town of Vang Vieng was the most picturesque drive, but my God is it ever twisty! Every time I take a bus anywhere in this beautiful country, I am reminded of my motion sickness-filled childhood - car trips where I would be pressed up against the window, breathing in fresh air and concentrating SO hard on not barfing (Leah - you remember those horror-filled days!? hahah) Anyway, up into the mountains we drove, higher than any bus trip I'd ever been on. Like I said, it was gorgeous scenery - beautiful mountain peaks jutting out of the cloudy mist that filled all of the valleys that day (it rained the WHOLE day). Although ... read more