24 hours in Laos

My Experiences from Traveling to Laos for the Weekend

Last weekend I joined a few other friends to make a fast trip to Thailand's nearby neighbor, Laos. I had never been there, so I was eager to see what the country, culture and food would be like.

We took a taxi to the border of Laos and proceeded through the various steps to acquire a visa. It was a fairly quick process, and only a little sketchy, which is typical for Southeast Asia. Once we crossed over, we took another taxi the 30km to the capital, Vientiane.

A view of the town from the top of Victory Gate

I was immediately surprised as we went from very rural settings with only the main highways paved, to a full city, with a noticeably French/European feel.

The flag of Laos on the left

The roads were wide, with sidewalks wrapping around the square blocks. Many streets even had trees lining them in very ordered rows. Buildings were impressive, with balcony's and other features rarely seen in Thailand. However, none of the buildings looked very new, and it seemed as if the city hadn't changed too much in the last 15 years.

There were subtle signs of communism all around. The most obvious were the hammer and sickle flags. But the many different government buildings, some built in the style of Russian communist structures (large concrete, small windows and surrounded by iron fences) also gave it away. Visiting the History of Laos museum cleared any doubt.

I was very interested in the people who lived in this city, and country, and what their lives were like. I tried to take every opportunity to capture their activities. I wish I knew the language, so I could also hear their story.

The many cafes and restaurants were amazing. Lots of baked goods, coffee and other western foods that are a little more scarce in Thailand (although, there really are a lot of great western restaurants here as well, and CoCo's Curry).

Four cafe's in a row. Went to Joma several times and really enjoyed it.

After only 24 hours in Laos, it was time to get back to Thailand and back to the work I'm doing here. I left Laos with a new-found curiosity about the history of Laos, and with an amazement of how different it is compared to America, and even Thailand.

I hope you enjoy the sampling of photos from the trip, and leave a comment with your thoughts or questions!

Went out late in the evening to capture the Victory Gate.

Thanks for visiting!

The Countryside of Thailand

Getting Outside the City

I grew up for part of my life in South Texas where the spaces were so wide open it would almost make you nervous. You could drive for miles and miles on straight roads and only see the occasional cow. 

While living in Japan, there wasn't quite the same space available to explore, bu there were still areas with very few people and long stretches of road winding around the coast.

And now in Thailand I've often found myself driving roads that loop out into the countryside, taking me to many interesting places and mountain views.

The other week I drove up to the top of Suthep mountain, where there was a few cherry trees with pink blossoms. It was a nice area, and reminded me of Nago mountain in Okinawa, Japan.

Cherry Trees on Doi Suthep

Last weekend I did the Samoeng loop, which takes you around Suthep mountain, past Samoeng village. It is a very popular drive that takes a couple hours. There are some neat rural areas with little villages populating a hillside. And there are some great views of the mountains as well.

A viewpoint along the Samoeng loop

Although I do enjoy landscapes, I'm going to be trying to share more photos of the people who live in these ares in the coming months.

Sunlight coming through the clouds over the hills of Northern Thailand.

I hope you enjoyed the photos from Northern Thailand, leave a comment if you have questions or thoughts.

Mountain Climbing

In the last few weeks I've been to the top of the first and third tallest mountains in Thailand.

But the experiences were very different.

Doi Inthanon

In late December I started off in the morning driving south. It was a 100 km drive each way, which on a moped feels a lot longer.

I use the term, 'mountain climbing' loosely with Doi Inthanon. In this case, by climb, I mean drive. (by the way, 'Doi' means mount or mountain in Thai)

The view from a little ways below the summit of Doi Inthanon.

There is a road that winds all the way up to the very top of the tallest mountain in Thailand. And at the top you are greeted with a rather unspectacular view of an old military base turned weather station, and a small glimpse of the horizon.
 
A little further back down the mountain there are some interesting temples with a great view, and there is a hike you can do that probably offers more opportunities for nice views (and mountain climbing).

It was a fun trip, but I was glad to get off the moped by the end of it.

Doi Chiang Dao

Doi Chiang Dao at Sunrise

Now this was some mountain climbing, at least much more so than Doi Inthanon.

I joined in with a father son group that does this trip every year. We left early on a Friday, traveling about an hour north of Chiang Mai to the ranger station near the base of the mountain.

This wasn't going to be an easy drive to the top, in fact, there are no roads to the summit. If you wanted to reach the peak of the third tallest mountain in Thailand, you had to hike there, over slippery trails carrying all your food, water and camping supplies.

But after a few hours of hiking, we made it to our camping spot for the night just a few hundred meters from the summit.

Camping so close to the top of the mountain gave me plenty of opportunities to enjoy the views, and I did, climbing up for the sunset and sunrise, and it was well worth the climb.

The following day everyone packed up and made the (much easier) hike back down the mountain. It was a great time of enjoying the outdoors, and building some new friendships.

Both mountains were a lot of fun, and offered different sights and experiences.

Sunset from the Summit of Doi Chiang Dao

I also enjoyed the chance to snap a few pictures, which I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!

It's Already Spring, and New Years

Spring has Sprung in time for New Years

It appears that, after a few days of weather in the 50's, winter has come and gone and temperatures are rising, as are plants in farmer's fields.

This photo is from a quick trip I made out into the countryside, and happened to notice that the farmers had already started their crops for the new year.

I'm not sure what they might be growing here, but they were all in nice rows, which worked well for the photo.

A day or so later, I drove out to my favorite nearby rice field and noticed there too, new rice was just sprouting.

A new field of rice! One of my favorite foregrounds when taking pictures of the sunset.

It seems sort of fitting for new plants to be growing out of the earth as the new year arrives, and I don't mind being in a climate that makes this possible.

With the new year almost here, I want to include one resolution for the new year in this post:

• Post new updates at least twice a month for the next year (2015) on this blog!

Which means the posts might be a little shorter, and more specific. I also hope to include lots of pictures, which has been something I've really enjoyed doing in 2014.

It's interesting to reflect and realize that I started 2014 with a 6MP point and shoot camera that really couldn't do a lot. A few days into 2014 I upgraded to a Canon Powershot SX 280 HS, which offered 12 MP, great zoom, full manual control, and really great photos for the size!

But by the summer, I already felt like it was holding me back, so I upgraded again to the Sony a6000 (24MP, which is funny how that doubled each time I upgraded) and now it's me holding the camera back from its full potential.

Anyway, I'm excited for 2015, for continuing to learn new things, travel to new places, volunteer in Southeast Asia, and live the life God has created me for.

Happy New Year!

Winter in Thailand

It is Getting Cold Around Here...

Sit and watch the sunset from this convenient bench.

Winter in Thailand means that it stops raining, and drops into the 60's at night (sometimes). 

This isn't ideal if you're hoping for a white Christmas, but for most other activities, especially outdoor related, this is ideal.

I've been taking a lot of drives around the countryside on my moped, as the weather is perfect and all you need is a light jacket for morning or evening rides. This has afforded me a number of great photo opportunities of the less touristy variety.

I recently drove up a long windy road that twisted through a little village, and led to an amazing mountaintop view of the sunset. And while I enjoyed the view and sunset, it was the rural village and people who grabbed my attention.

Some of the nicer houses at the top of the mountain

They live in very simple accommodations, with many of the houses made of corrugated metal or plastic pieces, and other miscellaneous materials. The roads were a mix of cement and red clay, with most walls having a reddish color from the dirt. Bits of building material, old vehicles, and other items were scattered around. Chickens were everywhere, as were kids and mothers.

I didn't stop to take any pictures, because I didn't want to disturb or make a scene. But it gave me the chance to reflect on the many things I take for granted, and to be thankful for them. especially in this holiday season.

It is so easy, even living in Thailand where poverty levels you rarely see in America, are literally around the corner form your house, to get busy, get caught up, and forget about thankfulness, and about the people around you.

I'll be trying to slow down a little over the holidays, between trips into the mountains, to be thankful for what God's given me, and look out for people around me. And I hope to encourage you to try something similar.

Vietnam for a Day (or a few)

Near Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

I had the chance to visit Vietnam for a few days in November, and it was a great experience. The trip went so fast, it almost felt like only a day.

I always find it exciting and interesting to see a new culture, and the Vietnamese culture is very different from most cultures I've seen before. They have a fairly strong french influence that was evident in everything from the food, to architecture, both of which I am a fan of.

Many of the buildings in Vietnam were taller, thinner and more elaborately decorated than buildings in Thailand. It wasn't uncommon to see a 4-5 story house that was 10 feet wide (at most) and 30-40 feet long. I have no idea why they make buildings so tall and thin, because in most situations space didn't seem to be a problem.

Rice Fields and Mountains - Thailand
has plenty of them to explore.

The food was a nice experience, as bread and coffee were plentiful, along with a number of more Asian oriented dishes.

Overall, the parts of Vietnam I visited were a lot of fun, but not necessarily somewhere I would go back to. There are lots of new places to explore.

Thanks for stopping in and reading. If you have any thoughts or questions, leave them below int he comments. The pictures are a variety from around Chiang Mai, and Vietnam.

Merry Christmas!

Launching Businesses

Launching a Business to Fund Orphanages and Missionaries

Took this picture on a sunny afternoon while
enjoying an ice coffee.

In my first college business class I immediately learned two things: I love business (and especially marketing) and I making money is exciting. It would be easy to get caught up pursuing a life where money is the end goal, but for me, my end goal is glorifying God, so money is just a tool, or resource, to accomplish that. (and this is something I have to remind myself about.)

   

So I'm volunteering for an organization, and trying to help them make money, which is a lot of fun. 

Over the last few weeks, I have been helping with launching an online business that (hopefully) will not only help people, but also generate a profit which will be used to fund the organization I'm here with, and an orphanage and other missionaries they support.

It is exciting to be learning and practicing new business ideas in the internet realm, which is growing more and more important each day. I am amazed at the opportunity I have to not only gain experience, but help with projects that have a lasting and beneficial impact.

In the month of October, I worked with my team to create a new website, film a couple hours of training resources, develop PDF content and come up with a lot of the details surrounding the business which reminded me of how much I enjoy it all.

Wat Chedi Luang, located in the center of Chiang Mai, is one of the more famous temples here.

I would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers in the next few weeks as we work to launch a business, and that it would accomplish our goals of helping people, and generating a profit.

I used to wonder why Thai food was so spicy. This was at a local market that had everything from cell phones to water buffalo.

This was in a terraced cabbage field on the
edge of a large  hill with an amazing view in
almost  every direction.

I've also been trying to explore more of the area around the city I live in, which included drives to some beautiful valleys, a trip to a huge market, and relaxing on houseboats among lots of other fun things.

The pictures are from some of the places I've been trying to visit and explore, and I hope you enjoy the insight into life in Thailand. It is a beautiful country (like most countries) but you have to take the opportunity to see the amazing sites around you.

I am enjoying the opportunity to be back in Thailand and explore this fun country, and thanks to everyone who helped make that possible.

If you have thoughts or comments, leave them below!

Right Back Into It

It Feels Great to be Back in Thailand

Looking down at a valley filled with clouds

I have been enjoying settling back into living in Thailand and it has been fun to go back to the places I enjoyed when I was here before (like CoCo's Curry).

It's only been a little over a week, but I am already straight to work on a few fun projects. I will be working on a fairly diverse selection of projects in the next few months, including starting or working on some internet businesses and continuing to provide general help with Stop Slavery's website and social media. 

Temple at Sunset

I generally try to help where I can for the many missionaries and organizations here, sometimes providing help with internet marketing related questions and needs. I may also continue working with Stone in Shoe.

Although it has been getting up over 100 degrees some days, the mornings are really nice and cool which makes for a perfect time to go for a drive and explore the hills around Chiang Mai. Last week I went for a drive and found some amazing views of the clouds filling up the valleys. 

Life is a little hectic at the moment, and I would appreciate prayers as I move into a new house this week, and as my organization moves into a new office. I am looking forward to things settling down a bit more.

Thanks for visiting and reading, and leave a comment if you have thoughts or questions to share! Also, enter your email in the box on the sidebar to get these posts by email.

God Bless!

I love taking pictures of rice fields at sunset because it is so relaxing and quiet. I have no idea what this structure is, but it seems like it has been around for a while.

On a side note, if you're ever looking for a house in Thailand, check out Expat Homes Chiang Mai. They help find homes for people in Thailand.