Happiness Is Just Around The Bend

I had been warned about the difficulties of crossing into Cambodia. Corruption is rampant, particularly at the Aranya Prathet-Poipet border, lying halfway between Bangkok and Siem Reap.  Many people there are routed to a fake embassy and charged extra before being taken to the actual border. Thankfully, coming from Laos, we were at a different crossing.  Si Phan Don is very close to the Cambodian border, and the journey didn’t take long. It hadn’t been an ideal day for me from the very beginning. Apparently my guesthouse booked my ticket to Phnom Penh via a strange bus.  It took a level of cajoling with the boatmen to get me from Don Det back to the mainland and as soon as I settled on the bus, I had been herded off and onto another, transferred via overbooked, overstuffed, van that had no place for my right butt cheek to go. So I wasn’t in the greatest of spirits to begin with. A second backpacker-filled bus was ahead of us at the border.  In front of the Lao departu...

Southeast Asia is one of our favorite places to visit. The rich culture, food, history, and affordable travels are the top reasons to visit the area. If you have only two weeks, plan a trip to Cambodia and Laos! Why a 2 week trip to Cambodia and Laos?! Cambodia and Laos are next to each other, so it’s easy to travel between the two countries. Two weeks is the perfect amount of time to learn about Cambodia’s history, see beautiful temples at Siem Reap, experience Laos’s laid-back culture, and visit Luang Prabang, the UNESCO World Heritage site. Our 2-week itinerary to Cambodia and Laos has the following stops: Phnom Penh – Battambang – Siem Reap – Luang Prabang – Vientiane. What is great about this plan is that you can visit either country first depending on your initial departure location. We suggest going to Cambodia first as the environment is more chaotic and hectic versus Laos. This plan starts in Cambodia and includes 2 travel days. Feel free to change around your travel locati...

Si Phan Don, also known as the 4,000 islands, was final stop on my whirlwind tour of Laos and it was definitely the highlight. Located in Southern Laos, Si Phan Don is where the Mekong breaks down into many rivers and channels, forming thousands of tiny islands. I would be spending a week on Don Det, the most well-known of these islands. You won’t find any fancy villas here – dozens of $5 a night bungalows line the river, each one with a bed, balcony, hammock and not much else. The island only recently got 24 hour electricity, there’s very little wifi and no ATMs. You come here to relax, to chill out, and to do absolutely nothing. And that’s exactly what I did. As soon as I arrived, I knew that I would find it so easy to be incredibly lazy here – that I would spend most of my days lying in a hammock, napping, reading books, catching up on some TV shows. That’s exactly why I forced myself to leave my hammock and go exploring on my very first day! ...