Luang Prabang Adventures Our first evening in Luang Prabang was very low key, which basically describes this UNESCO World Heritage town. We stayed at 3 Nagas by Sofitel, which is located on the Main Street of town. We checked in and ventured down the street to the night market. STREET is closed down every night to motor vehicles and women pack the street from one sidewalk to the other with stalls of hand made goods. They mostly sell hand made scarves, but you will also find some wood carved crafts and elephant slippers! They do sell the normal SE Asia elephant pants attire as well. At one of the ends there is a side street that is loaded with street food stands. There is everything from fried or fresh springs rolls to noodle dishes, soups and BBQ skewers. They also have plenty of whole fresh fish on the grills as well. We enjoyed some spring rolls, green papaya salad, BBQ pork, fried rice and coconut rice balls, all for $8. There are some stalls that have …

On our arrival at the train station in Chiang Mai, we were to no surprise immediately approached by several tuk tuk and taxi drivers. As obvious tourists, the price we were quoted for a short ride to the hotel was exorbitantly inflated. Don’t be afraid to bargain and/or walk away. Taxis and tuk tuks are easy to find. In Chiang Mai, there are songthaews, also known as red trucks. For about 30-50 bhat per person depending on the distance you can catch a ride just about anywhere in the city. Tuk tuks tend to be a bit more expensive but you can always try to haggle your price down. After a bit of bargaining we came to agree on a reasonable price for a red truck to lie hotel. During the ride, we spoke with an Australian ex-pat who recommended we check out Nimmanheminda road. We dropped off our bags and caught another red truck to Nimmanheminda and found ourselves drinking Thai milk tea at the Dulcetto cafe. While there we spoke with a man from …

Just that morning we had booked an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We were on a second class sleeper with air condition, and had one upper and one lower bunk. When we boarded the train, the seats he not been configured into the beds. We left the station about twenty minutes behind schedule. As our journey began, and we heard the clanking of metal as the train travelled down the tracks we both wondered how in the world we would be able to sleep through this. At around eight o’clock, the train attendants came by and signaled that it was time to convert the seats into their sleeping position. In a matter of seconds, the seats were pulled together and later flat. Next, the upper bunk was released from its stored position. A thin mattress was placed on each bed, with a pillow and fresh linens. Curtains were hung for privacy and we were all set for bed! Jess and I both sat on the lower bunk, facing each other with a flashlight …

If you ask almost anybody what do in Chiang Mai, your bound to hear about elephant riding. How could you not! I mean, how cool does it sound to ride an elephant through the jungle for a day! Sounds pretty *%#*ing cool! But it’s not! It’s cruel. Elephants are very intelligent animals, and while they are used by humans, they are not domesticated. A domesticated animal has different DNA from its wild ancestors. The Asian elephants used for tourism, which were previously used for logging before the ban of logging in Thailand, have DNA that is identical to wild Asian elephants. As such, to ride an Asian elephant, they must be controlled. They are taught to submit to humans during a process called Phajaan, which roughly translates to “crushing”. Phajaan is an ancient ritual that typically lasts six days, during which a young elephant calf is separated from its mother, caged, and tied down to prevent movement. During this time, the elephant is subjected to sleep deprivation and beatings. While not all elephants are crushed …

We were told to be ready anytime between 6:30am and 7:30am to be picked up by Mekong Bus Company for our bus to Bangkok, Thailand from Siem Reap, Cambodia. Of course, they arrived at 7:30am. The Sarai Resort and Spa concierge had helped to book the bus for us. This allowed for us to pay with a credit card. The tickets cost $25 a person, which seemed to be about $5-$10 more than some of the other bus companies. Well…I guess you get what you pay for. We were picked up in a mini bus that had VIP written all over it. We drove into town to the Mekong Bus Company and quickly learned that we were the only people traveling to Bangkok, Thailand that day. We had the WHOLE bus to ourselves!  Even if the bus was packed full of people, we still would have been very comfortable. The seats were comparable to what you would find on a business class flight. They reclined all the way back so you could lay completely flat, but only if there …