So I've been lucky to have some very fun people come visit me these past couple of months. My brother Zach came with his girlfriend Annie to visit her old life in China, and then they swung down to Lao for a few days to see my life here! They were very good sports, bringing me treats from the west, eating as "lao" as possible and enduring my host brother's 4 hour long wedding video footage.
Then in February my friend Ashley stopped in on her Asia tour.
We visited a very cold Luang Prabang in the north of Lao and then hit the beach in Southern Thailand. We went with Lizzy, another teacher here at ARDA from New Zealand. The airline actually provided these attractive yellow umbrellas for the short walk from the terminal to the plane. Little did they know that we'd soon be laying on the beach soaking up as much of that sun as possible. (Don't worry...I wore SPF 30!)
We stayed on Phi Phi Island and there literally aren't words to describe it's beauty. This tiny island has no cars, and only a little path that connects the beaches and guest houses. Turquoise water, white sand beaches, Nemo fish galore. This is the location where they filmed "The Beach" but was also devastated in the tsunami of 2004. Startling contrasts to be sure.
We finished the holiday with a trip to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai. We shopped through a lot of handicrafts made by many different ethnic groups, explored ancient temples, rode elephants and went on this bamboo raft....only tipping once!
Then in February my friend Ashley stopped in on her Asia tour.
We visited a very cold Luang Prabang in the north of Lao and then hit the beach in Southern Thailand. We went with Lizzy, another teacher here at ARDA from New Zealand. The airline actually provided these attractive yellow umbrellas for the short walk from the terminal to the plane. Little did they know that we'd soon be laying on the beach soaking up as much of that sun as possible. (Don't worry...I wore SPF 30!)
We stayed on Phi Phi Island and there literally aren't words to describe it's beauty. This tiny island has no cars, and only a little path that connects the beaches and guest houses. Turquoise water, white sand beaches, Nemo fish galore. This is the location where they filmed "The Beach" but was also devastated in the tsunami of 2004. Startling contrasts to be sure.
We finished the holiday with a trip to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai. We shopped through a lot of handicrafts made by many different ethnic groups, explored ancient temples, rode elephants and went on this bamboo raft....only tipping once!
