The bobkatz Thai invasion

Our good friend Rob (aka "bobkatz") visited us in Chiang Mai last weekend. Had a great time hanging out together for the first time in years. Next month we'll reverse things up and visit Rob at his home in Mumbai.

We took a Thai cooking class one evening, and Rob put up a great post on his blog documenting the event, which involved our 4 ft. Thai cooking teacher doing the Ray Lewis dance, French girls and sweet banana spring rolls. What more can you ask for?! Check out Rob's blog here.

Day trippin' outside of Luang Prabang

After checking out the town for a day or two, we took a few day trips out of Luang Prabang with our crew that we met on the slow boat. One day we hired a boat and checked out some caves just off of the Mekong. They were actually kind of lame, but the journey on the river was cool. On the way back we convinced our boat driver to stop at a beach along the riverside - definitely the best idea of the day.

The next day we went to the Kuang Si Waterfall, basically the most beautiful waterfall I've have ever seen! Because of all of the dissolved calcium carbonate (same stuff that makes limestone), the color of the water was milky teal, and the rocks and trees in the water had a hard calcium/limestone shell on them. The pictures below don't do it justice!

Our boat and driver

A local fishing with no pants...obviously the only real way to fish on the Mekong

Kuang Si Waterfall

After about an hour of hiking and wandering lost in the forest trying to find the right trail, we finally found the top of the main waterfall!

Looking down from the top of the main waterfall

West meets East

One of my absolute favorite cities on the entire trip, Luang Prabang is a crazy mix of West and East, wealthy and poor. The old town is surprisingly hip, with french cafes (and the best croissants of the entire trip!), wine bars, and antique stores catering to all the tourists. Though walk through some of the side streets and venture across the river, and in no time you are on a dirt road lined with bamboo and grass huts, and chickens running around.

I had always heard of Vietnam's ties with the French, though I didn't realize that Laos also had these same ties, and that the French influence is still apparent in their food and architecture. Curious to learn more, I did a little google searching and found out that Luang Prabang was one of three kingdoms in Laos unified under French colonial rule in 1893. The French had influence over Laos until 1954, when it then became an independent nation. Until the communists took over the country in 1975, Luang Prabang was the main capital of Laos, and I'm guessing this is why the city has even more French influence than the current capital, Vientiane (aka Viang Chan).

This mix of cultures, together with the lush, tropical vegetation made for some amazing photos.

Communist flags, together with Laos flags, were in front of many stores and houses

The bridge to the other side of the river, which was a stark contrast to the more developed old town.

Biking through rice fields to school

In Chiang Mai I have been volunteering with Travel to Teach, organizing and supporting volunteers who are here to teach English, helping them with resources to plan lessons, and supporting them in the classroom. One of the schools we volunteer in is about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai, in a village near Doi Saket. This is a snapshot of my journey to school from the dorm where all of the volunteers stay in.  -November 30, 2011-