Well probably the most highly anticipated stop on our trip, we arrived in Angkor Watt on a Saturday.  Flying into Siem Reap from Vientiane with a 4 hour layover in Pakse, the weather was clear and the views out the plane window were beautiful first the mountains in Pakse and then the plains around Siem Reap.  Once we arrived in Cambodia we quickly navigated our way through immigration with no problems and we got picked up by Mr. Lucky our Tuk Tuk driver for the week.  As we were leaving the airport I gave my computer bag to one of the kids, who left it on the other side of customs.  uuuhhhgggg, I am glad I noticed before leaving the airport, after negotiating with the airport police, they let me back in to grab it.  Close call.

We headed into town and located our hotel and hopped into the pool for a swim before dinner.  We met up with Julie our real-estate broker from back in Madison, I know small world.  We had a lovely dinner and wandered the night market fending off suggestions by the girls to buy lots of trinkets.

The next morning we met up with Mr. Lucky and headed out to the temples which were 5 miles or so out of town.  We purchased our tickets for entry, we paid only for Maddy and I, the kids were free! $64 for a three day pass.  After purchasing our tickets we headed out in the morning heat.  The Angkor Wat temples were built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu and is a representation of Mount Meru the Mt. Olympus of the Hindu gods.  There is a huge moat around the temple structure and is actually the only temple in the area that has been in continuous or mostly continuous operation since the 12th century.

We loved it, the temple structures were incredibly immense, it is mind boggling to think of the labor and effort to construct the main Angkor Wat temple but then the hundreds of other sites in and around the area.  The intricate carvings in the temples and the beautiful construction makes it such an amazing spot.  I find myself saying “this is straight out of Indiana Jones” quite a bit.  Our driver Mr. Lucky from the airport drove us around on a tuk tuk for the day, he brought us to the best temples and found places for us to eat, he was great and very accommodating.  We were roasting in the 90 degree heat and needed lots of water and enjoyed our lunch in the shade.

We visited three main temples in the inner circle of the ruins: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm.  Each had amazing features, Angkor Wat had the well known sky line;

Angkor Thom had the giant faces

Ta Prohm had the huge trees that grew around the temples.

We arrived in Vientiane on Thursday night and got our typical two rooms next to each other in a rooming establishment.  This time it was the Vientiane Garden hotel, it was not a bad place and had a pool.  We later heard it was in the backpacker alley district of Vientiane; we also learned later than night that there is a new music venue that was just completed adjacent to the hotel.  They pumped out of tune American cover songs until about 11:30 at night, at least the girls slept through it.  If the music continues I would imagine the reviews in that place will probably suffer in the future.

We explored the Mekong shore at sunset and got some street food before heading to bed.  My rash from the river seems to have hit a climax and is getting better.  The next day we did lots of school and then headed out to visit the Patuxay Monument, a bit like the Arc de Triumph of Laos.

We then met up with a family that we got connected with through the Teach for America Magazine that featured our world schooling exploits.  It was fun to chat and have dinner with other Americans in such an exotic location.  The next day we boarded a plane for Angkor Wat.

The mini bus ride from Luang Probang was amazingly beautiful, what wasn’t so great was the winding road through the mountains.  Everybody was car sick and nobody could do any school, I am sure that the kids were disappointed in that part.  The second half of the car ride was mercifully a bit straighter and we arrived without any problems, the driver was actually very safe.  We got dropped off outside of town, this seems like it is the process in Lao to squeeze a bit more money out of tourist by forcing everybody to get a tuk tuk ride from the outskirts of town instead of dropping everyone in town.

We checked into our hotel and got two huts right on the edge of a field with great views of limestone monoliths, for $50 a night for two hut, we definitely scored.  Although the wi-fi was only available near the front desk so that’s where our class room was located.

We walked into town for dinner and ran into British friends of our from the slow boat down the Mekong.  It seems there are quite a few travelers on this same travel circuit. That night I ended up talking to the owner of the establishment for a while in my search for wi-fi.  He was an irish guy who has been in the are for 20+ years or so and was lamenting the development that was occurring in the last few years.  It was fun to talk with him and get a feel for the town.

So anyway Van Vieng is known for it’s beauty and outdoors activities, it is located at the confluence of the Nam Song and the Nam Koang.  The surrounding mountains have massive cliffs of limestone, the tops of some are particularly interesting due to the weathering to dark purple.  There are lots of limestone cave and rock climbing to be done, none of which we part took in due to the kids.  We’ll just have to come back.

We did take an inner tube adventure down the Nam Song, unfortunately we didn’t bring our cameras and don’t have any pictures but it was about a three hour excursion with a stop in the middle to get refreshments and swing off a platform into the river.  I was surprised both Mimi and Caroline swung off the 15 foot platform into the river.  The second half of the trip was in the shade so we got a bit cold by the end and I also acquired some sort of swimmers itch from the river… Great.  I am glad that nobody else got it.

The next day we finished school and went swimming at a local hotel, yep we just walked in and sat by their fancy pool.  We had dinner by the river that night and our three days in Veng Vieng were up.

Luang Prabang was founded and continues to flurish at the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong rivers. It was established as a UNESCO world heritage site due to it’s beautiful french architecture and diversity of Buddhist temples.  We arrived at the Mali guesthouse near the center of town a cozy little spot. We immediately went out for dinner at one of the food markets, it was a bit of an all you can eat chaos; we were all a bit hangry and I was sick with a head cold so it wasn’t one the most pleasant meals on the trip.  Once we all had some food in our bellies we were happier.

The next morning we were woken up by the morning market located just outside our door.  We had our breakfast that was included with our stay, the girls got crepes and I got an omelette.  It was quite nice to have breakfast made for us as we typically struggle to get the kids to eat decent food in the morning.  Maddy had some work to complete and the girls and I completed school.  After lunch I took a nap and was headed in the right direction with my cold.  In the afternoon we climbed on top of the big hill in the middle of town to see the temple eat chom si and then headed across the bamboo bridge over the Nam Phan for pizza.

The next day we treated the girls to a jewelry making class, Mimi and Caroline made rings while Julie made a necklace.  They were wire wrapped jewelry; they made some nice jewelry and had a great time, maybe they will take after Oma and learn to make their own jewelry.

During the time the girls were making their jewelry I took the time to walk around the old town and visited Wat Xiengthang, it was a typical temple complex with a huge golden buddha within the temple.  It was a beautiful day and there were a two couples that looked like newlyweds taking pictures within the temple grounds, it was interesting to see the Lao traditional wedding dresses.

The confluence of the rivers was also nearby and it was worth a quick look before meeting up with Maddy and the kids for lunch.  That afternoon we headed to the town swimming pool and relaxed pool side while the kids splashed around and burned off their extra energy.

The next day we got a driver to take us to the Kuang Si Waterfalls.  The waterfalls were another amazing springs system that produced tumbling waterfalls and azure pools perfect for swimming.  The water was very cold but that didn’t stop us from splashing around and jumping of the top of the pools.

There was a bear sanctuary within the park and the girls loved seeing Moon bears a type of bear native to Lao.  We learned they are endangered in Lao due to bear bile production; a staple in Chinese medicine.

After having lunch in the park and swimming in pools for another few hours we visited a butterfly park.  We had another fish spa, saw lots of butterflies and saw two chrysalis emerge from caterpillars.

That night we had a unique dinner, where we cooked our own food over a concave metal dish over a small fire.  The edges of the metal dish held a broth that captured all the juices from what we were cooking turning it into the most amazing soup.  We all stuffed ourselves silly.  Great last night in LP, next stop Vang Vieng.

The Mekong river runs 4,350 km from the Tibetan Plateau through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia ending in Vietnam at the Mekong Delta.  It is the lifeblood for many of the countries and is currently being dammed along much of its lower reaches for hydroelectric power.  It establishes borders for a large section of its path through Asia and our first encounter with the river was no exception defining the border between Thailand and Laos.  At the end of our taxi ride we were dropped at the Thai immigration offices, after being stamped out of Thailand we boarded a bus that took us over the Mekong and into Laos.  We got our visa on arrival and had no problems getting into the country.  I am happy to not be navigating a car through the borders like we did last year.

We spent the night in Huay Xai and had french fries and beverages overlooking the river on our first night, we thought it appropriate since Laos was once a french colony.  The next morning we boarded our “slow boat” to Luang Prabang at about 10:30 am after gathering food supplies for lunch on the boat.  We sat in our assigned seats, although apparently nobody actually sits in their assigned seats so we spread out to take up two and a half rows as the boat was not that full.  As we started pulling away from the pier, there was a stream of backpackers heading toward the boat and we pulled back into the shore.  There goes our extra seats, we were confined nearly to our original 5 seats for the remainder of the trip to Luang Prabang.

The constant din of the engine reminded us that we were crammed into a long boat with 200 of our fellow travelers on two day boat trip.  The scenery was actually amazing with rolling hills and green jungle inter-spaced with farms, a few small villages but mostly uninhabited area.  The water was a lovely shade of chocolate milk and we decided that it was probably an alright place to swim (although we didn’t) as there was not many large towns north along the Mekong to dump pollution.

Our weather was fantastic beautiful sunshine most of the way except for fog and a bit of a cool breeze the second morning.  The girls completed their schooling in the mornings and then were free to play iPad or other games, but Maddy and I typically just stared out at the scenery passing by.  The ride was actually quite pleasant despite ending up crammed in our original seats.  We ended up talking to many of the other travelers on the boat as I’m sure we were quite a spectacle.  The mix was mostly your typical 25 year old backpackers with a decent contingent of retiree types and a couple of families.

The first day was a 6 hour ride ending at Pak Beng, where everyone disembarked and stayed in individual accommodations.  The town seems to exist to cater to this boat, lots of restaurants and food venders.  The next morning I woke up with a bit of a stuffy nose, but it didn’t damper my spirits.  The river was socked in with fog and it was pretty cold in the boat to start off, but warmed up as the fog burned off and the sun warmed up the river.  We chose seats closer to the front of the boat, further away from the bathrooms and the sounds of the engine.  We completed school after a few whines and stoppages due to the cold in the morning.  The scenery just kept getting better as we got closer to LP, lots more boats and more small villages.  We would stop intermittently along the river to drop a few locals off at villages and then head on, we usually gathered a crowd when we would stop.  We finally got to LP or at least the outskirts of town and had to take a tuk tuk into the center of the city where our accommodations were located.  So much for thinking we could walk to our place when we were dropped off.

On Sunday we boarded a bus and headed north to Chiang Rai a little town close to the border with Burma.  We stayed there for two nights as a stop over before heading to Laos.  We visited a Sunday night market that was close to our rental, the kids ate burgers, I had soup and Maddy had tofu pretty typical.  On Monday we completed school and visited the white temple, a Buddhist temple constructed all in white.  It was a quite spectacular place with unique images for Thailand.

We then surprised the kids with a zip-line ride at Singha park, unfortunately I was not able to go on the zip-line due to weight requirements.  Apparently, I weigh far more than the average Thai person.  We met up with more families from the Facebook World Schoolers Group and had dinner with them.

The next morning we packed up our condo which is always the worst part, repacking and cleaning our rentals, Julie was having a bit of a melt down as well but after having some alone time and some food she calmed down.  Instead of riding the bus we negotiated a taxi ride, which ended up being about the same amount of money and far comfortable.  We also stopped at the Black House on our way out of town, the Black House is not exactly a temple but more of a former artist commune, it was pretty spectacular with many different houses decorated in  different ways some with wood carvings and others with lots of dead animals, some of the structures looked a bit like Doctor Suess.  We were told that the animals were not hunted by the artist himself but donated road kill by others.  We met some more families from the world schoolers group and chummed around with them before heading the Laos border.

The next day we rented a car for the day to see some of the more far flung spots around Chiang Mai.  We rented the car from a Chiang Mai Facebook group, which they delivered to our condo and we were off!  We first visited the Bua Tong Falls or Sticky Falls as it is known, located about an hour away from Chiang Mai.  The falls originate from a spring at the top of a hill which flows down hill over a clay slope.  The water from the spring is rich with dissolved calcium carbonate and wherever it flows down the hill it leaves a coating of calcium carbonate.  There were branches, roots and rocks that were covered with the biege coating leaving the otherwise slippery clay hill with a tacky coating that makes it very easy to climb thus the apply named Sticky Falls.

The kids loved the falls, they climbed it three times and of course I was the only one to face-plant.  I captured it all on film too, gotta watch to the very end.  Check it out here:

After running up the hill three times the kids and I were completely soaked, we should have been wearing our swimming suits but it wasn’t that warm out.  We were pretty cold the rest of the day but a huge bowl of dumpling soup and fried rice helped keep us warm.

Our second stop was to Chiang Dao Temple a Buddhist sanctuary that was set in a natural limestone cave.  We wandered through the temple and hired a guide with a lantern.  We were doing great until Julie saw a large spider, three inches wide with spindly legs and totally freaked out.  We backed out of the cave quickly.  After playing with two kids from London we headed back to Chiang Mai.

For dinner we met two other world schooling families at the Saturday night market and had a fun dinner and swapped strategies and experiences.  The next day we returned our rental car and hopped on a bus to Chiang Rai…

On Friday we went into town for dinner and ate street food from a night market, it seems to be the cheapest and the kids can eat whatever they want.  As we were heading back Maddy and I decided to surprise the kids with a stop off at the Fish Spa.  The kids were super excited at first to get their toes nibbled but after we got our feet washed and were about to put our feet into the tanks, Caroline completely chickened out and Julie just stuck her feet in for 10 seconds or less.  Only Maddy, Mirabelle and I lasted the whole 15 minutes.  It was all quite ridiculous… Maddy said it felt like lots of little electric shocks and I thought it felt like the tingling when your foot falls asleep.  Maddy was sitting in the window facing the street and made enough of commotion… laughing and shrieking that she attracted people who took photographs of her.  It was good for a laugh, well check that off our list.

Chiang Mai a well known expat, digital nomad enclave has lived up to it’s billing.  Founded in 1296 it was once a walled city with a moat, its old town still has some gates and partially crumbling walls outlining a huge square.  The square is full of markets, restaurants, temples, ruins and everything else you would want from an ancient city.  Although heavily overrun by tourist the charm of the city shines through.  It is also one of the culinary capitals of Thailand if not Southeast Asia.  The city of 800,000 people is also well know for it’s adventure seeking ie.. rafting, waterfalls and zip-lining but also for it’s elephant sanctuaries.

We arrived too late on Saturday to explore the city and just fell into our beds for a much needed rest.  The next morning we went out in search of food, we sought out the restaurant (Kanjana) that our friends Jen and Brian had recommended.  The girls had pancakes because you know, why not.  I had soup because I’m obsessed with Thai soups and it didn’t disappoint.  We walked around the city to get our bearings a bit, it seems like a very manageable city unlike Bangkok.  That night we visited the Sunday night market which was incredible, lots of tourists, trinkets, food, and I finally found some loose green tea to purchase.

The next day was Monday and back to school, it was fun doing video conferencing with friends in Wisconsin who were still on Sunday night.  Hhhhheeellllloooo from the future.  After school we did some pool time as we all needed a chill day.  Maddy ventured out on the motor scooter that is available with our condo rental.  She seemed to do just fine on it and it seems to be the most convenient way around the city.

Tuesday we took a cooking class with the kids and met another family from Australia that was travelling with their kids so we had great fun cooking and chatting.  We cooked a soup, a noodle dish, curry and a dessert; they were all fantastic.  I chose drunken noodles and it turned out to be the most exciting with lots of flames.

Wednesday we finished our school and invited our new Australian friends over for a pool date and splashed around the entire afternoon.  It is so much fun to meet new friends as we get a bit sick of each other being around each other 24 hours a day.

That night we met up with Chrissy a principal at the local international school, she is a friend of one of Maddy’s vchiefs.  We had dinner with her and had a lovely time.

We have a breaking update, according to Thai tradition Julie is the older twin?!?!?!?!  What???  So the according to Nareekan’s uncle Toy the twin that sits above the other in the womb is the older one in the Thai tradition; Julie sat on top of Mimi for the entire pregnancy.  This has caused much upheaval in the pecking order in our family, so we decided this will apply only for as long as we are in Thailand.  We might be setting Julie on a path to move to Thailand at some point in the future.

On Thursday we completed a longer day of school to make up for some shorter days when we had plans with Nareekan but in the afternoon we returned back to the Grand Palace area using the subway and then taking a boat up the Chao Privaya River and visited the Reclining Buddha.  The reclining Buddha is a huge golden statue of Buddha laying down inside a huge temple.  On one side of the temple you could make alms to the monks by purchasing a small cup filled with coins and then place the coins in about 500 bowls lined up along the temple.

We then had a drink at a restaurant as the sun went down overlooking Wat Arun, producing spectacular pictures.  We had dinner and headed home for much needed rest.  We are slowly beating our jet lag but it is hard to stay up past 8pm when the kids go to bed.  Otherwise no major colds or tummy trouble to report.

Friday we went to the aquarium which of course is located beneath a fancy mall which are everywhere in Bangkok.  It was actually a very good aquarium including species such as sharks, manta rays, penguins and turtles.  The kids had a blast and Maddy and I were entertained as well.

Saturday we went to the floating market, we hired a car to drive us an hour west of Bangkok to the Damnoen Saduak Floating market.  It was pretty well overpriced but it was fun to bop around in our boat and look at souvenirs.  I got a bowl of Tom Yom soup my favorite, it almost burned my face off (from the spice) but very tasty.  I took a timelapse of the boat ride in the floating market and posted it.

It was a great excursion while we waited for our flight at 10:30.  I think I mis-read the am/pm sign when I book the tickets to Chiang Mai.  Anyway we were able to extent our airbnb until the early evening and then headed to the airport after a last meal of brazed fish in Bangkok.

Tuk Tuk ride in Bangkok