Our journey from Thailand to Cambodia felt heavier than a typical border crossing, as our travel intersected with a period of unfortunate and escalating border conflict. Despite being neighbours with cultures deeply intertwined for centuries, these two countries are surprisingly disconnected. Poor infrastructure and long-standing political friction have made transportation a challenge; in fact, as of early 2026, land borders are largely closed to foreigners due to military

For the third and final destination of our Laos trip, we headed further north to Luang Prabang . Luang Prabang served as the capital of Laos until 1975 , when the monarchy was abolished following the communist takeover at the end of the Laotian Civil War. Its name is deeply sacred, coming from the Phra Bang, a Buddha-statue gift from the Khmer King at Angkor in the 14th century to help establish Buddhism in the region, which is kept in the Royal Palace Museum. To get here fr

After spending a few days in the capital, Vientiane, we’re heading north to the second stop of our Laos trip: Vang Vieng! The most convenient way to get there is the LCR (Lao-China Railway) , a Chinese-built high-speed line. Vientiane’s train station is massive; since there is no major airport in the city, this station serves as the main gateway. The 1-hour journey is incredibly "tunnel-heavy" as the tracks cut straight through the mountains. The usual drive can take 5+ hour

2nd destination of our sabbatical trip: Laos! Our first stop in this only landlocked Southeast Asian country is its capital, Vientiane . In the local Lao language, the city is called Viangchan , or the "City of the Moon."  This is reflected in the national flag, where the white disk represents the full moon reflecting over the Mekong River. Sadly, it was almost entirely destroyed by the Siamese army in 1828 and left to the jungle, only to be rebuilt by the French in the late

When a random visit to one of the Chiang Mai temples turns into a Lanna dancing session (traditional Northern Thailand performance art) with the local Thai ladies! Before I dive in to this post, I was wondering why only one letter changes between the two cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. My friend Gemini filled me in on the history—here’s a quick trivia break for you: Chiang (เชียง) means "City" or "Fortified Settlement. Rai (ราย) refers to King Mengrai, the founder of t

Our first domestic flight in Thailand took us from the heat of Bangkok to the cooler northern air of Chiang Rai. Arriving in the evening, the temperature drop was immediate—we finally swapped our summer gear for hoodies! As usual, we hopped in a Grab and headed toward the town center. Chiang Rai is a small, sleepy, and wonderfully slow-moving town . It served as the first capital of the Lanna Kingdom before its bigger sister, Chiang Mai, was established. Today, it’s known as

Hello 2026—you’re the one I’ve been waiting for! My New Year’s resolution for this year was simple: travel the world. Not just a quick getaway, but a journey of longer, slower travel. I never imagined that I’d actually be taking a six-month sabbatical for a trip like this, so it truly is my wildest dream coming true. It's been almost months to plan the itinerary (the 'mega' spreadsheet that my partner and I have been putting together between busy work schedules is for me a

I've been planning this trip (and eventually this post) for summer 2020, and here we are. My lesson learned along this journey over the last couple of "unprecedented" years: Never EVER postpone your trips on your travel bucket list, because you will never know when you can actually make it. So, when I found time for a quick long weekend escape, I finally and super excitingly made this journey come true—regardless of the fact that the weather was unusually cold and it even sno

If someone had asked me 10 years ago, "If you had a chance to live anywhere abroad, where would you pick?", London probably wouldn't have been the answer at that time. BUT, life had different plans for me... 2015 - First day in London For me, 'London' was just a city with bad weather and full of posh-accented Brits . I'd definitely been planning to visit the UK capital at some point, but quite frankly, it wasn't even in the top 10 of my destination list. In 2015, when I was

Taking advantage of another bank holiday, I’m back with a short “Across England” getaway — this time, the destination: Wales. On my first visit to the country, I explored its two largest cities, Cardiff and Swansea. Did you know that the symbol of Wales is a red dragon , even featured on its flag? It would be amazing if dragons actually existed, of course, but the real reason goes back centuries: warriors used the dragon as a mascot to symbolize strength and authority durin

The first Monday of May being a bank holiday meant, for me, the perfect excuse to escape somewhere in England and see a new place. Making the most of the break, I headed to York , a city in the northern Yorkshire region that’s been on my travel list for a long time and about which I’ve heard many wonderful things. York York Trivia: I probably don’t need to mention which famous city it lent its name to. New Amsterdam in America, under Dutch control, was seized by the English i

I wish I could tell you, “Not just because I live here, but English food is amazing! Their cuisine is so unique and authentic, I just can’t get enough!” However, when it comes to the food culture here, I have one good and one bad news  for you. Good news:  Thanks to London’s cosmopolitan vibe, you can find dishes from almost every cuisine imaginable—Thai, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Moroccan, American, Turkish, and more. There are hundreds of restaurants, and most of them are

Lisbon has been on my travel bucket list for years,  and what excitement I had when preparing for this trip—after very long "pandemic" lockdowns and the cancellations of the year 2020 and pretty much the first half of 2021. After my friend's wedding in Portugal was postponed multiple times, they finally decided on the date as July 2021, and I promised to do my best to be there on their very special day. I can genuinely say, even though I was so desperate to just jump on a pl