Geo: 19.8841, 102.142After a dockside farewell (knowing full well that Luang Prabang is a relatively small town and we would see everyone again wandering the streets at some point), we had to find our hotel with only a map I had sketched from the Internet. The obvious answer was to flag down a tuk-tuk but the dockside tuk-tuk mafia had all conspired to quote ridiculous prices to the newly arrived fresh meat. The Aussie family of 4 piled into one of vehicles only to be driven about 100 feet to a hotel they could have easily walked to. I was having none of it, so DH and I strapped our gear on to make the relatively short trek to our hotel (my guess was about 2 km's but DH had us closer to 10 miles). True ... read more

Geo: 20.2612, 100.405Today was our day to leave Chiang Rai and start heading toward Laos. Our first stop today presented one of those dilemmas we run into every now and again. We really wanted to see the much talked about 'long necks', a Karen tribe of northern Thailand more formally known as Mae Hong Son, but any experience with this group is often likened to visiting a human zoo. This labeling is usually done by overly pompous travelers who fail to recognize that just about every experience with a new culture or country has a human zoo-like element. That said, the 'long necks' are like a number of displaced tribes in northern Thailand who are very restricted by the lack of formal Thai citizenship and, as a result, have come to use the significant tourist interest ... read more

Geo: 18.8, 98.98With a newfound fan club, DH now has Pulitzer Prize aspirations in the way-too-popular category of 'best travel blogs for family and friends'. Getting the pen back is no longer in question- getting stabbed by the pen if I get too close probably is. DH continues with War and Peace- backpacker style.Today required a quick pack for Chiang Mai leaving two bags (filled with beachy type stuff) behind in storage to be picked up by us end of January as we complete our circle back in Bangkok. A one hour flight and $80 later we find ourselves in Chaingmai . As the second biggest city in Thailand, it's a much bigger place than we expected. We dropped our packs at the "Mini Cost Guesthouse"- it's a really nice place owned by an ex cop ... read more

Geo: 13.7308, 100.521We have a new authour- DH has taken control of the pen:The day had come when we had to leave the paradise known as Hawaii. A short flight from Maui to Oahu and then two more flights- 10 and a half hours to Seoul Korea, couple of hours lay over then a 5 and a half hour flight from Seoul to Bangkok. Our bags were to go directly to Bangkok which is always a mystery to me. No matter how long we travel, there is always such a sense of relief when you see the bags on that carousel at your final destination. Especially when the first bag is mine. On these long flights, you really have to go to that place in the deep recesses of your mind and write off the time ... read more

Geo: 21.3069, -157.858After the Big Island the ship did dock at Lahaina in Maui for a day but since we were planning on returning to Maui after spending some time in Oauhu, we didn't go activity crazy and just wandered through the town. There were a couple of historical sites (including the jail which gave DH a little policing jolt), the usual souvenir stands, and a surprising number of high end art shops (just who comes to Hawaii looking to spend tens of thousands on a piece of artwork.). I did, however, find some inspiration in a shop selling surrealist photographs- if Martin W falls short in his duties and we return home destitute, I think I'll utilize my newly discovered, somewhat feminine, artist (read Photoshop) skills in order to create some similar wow-type photographs and ... read more