Tag: travel

April 6, 2014 Tessa Bradford 2 comments

Riverboats in Laos To get back to Thailand we decided to take the slow riverboat. This was an excellent decision, as our decisions so often are. (Just kidding. We make wrong decisions 87% of the time. This is a rough estimation.)[spacer height=”20px”] It was raining when we left Luang Prabang in the early morning, but it wasn’t…

April 3, 2014 Tessa Bradford 7 comments

The City of Elephants and Waterfalls 2017 UPDATE: I wrote this post when I was wildly ignorant of the terrible treatment of elephants in captivity. I strongly discourage anyone traveling in South East Asia from taking part in elephant rides, baths, etc. If you want to help them, donate to an ethical sanctuary, and observe…

March 31, 2014 Tessa Bradford 1 comment

Drifting in Vang Vieng After the misadventure in Vientiane, my brain just needed a few days to check out. Luckily we were headed to Vang Vieng, a chilled out river town where every restaurant seems to be a TV cafe where they lounge on big couch cushions all day and watch Friends while they drink…

February 28, 2014 Tessa Bradford 17 comments

In Trouble in Laos for my own dangerous stupidity In Vientiane I demonstrated my previously untapped potential for complete and utter stupidity.[spacer height=”20px”] After taking an over night sleeper train to the Thai-Laos border, we stood in line at immigration. The young man in front of me had a problem–[spacer height=”20px”]

February 18, 2014 Tessa Bradford 3 comments

The Safari Park Zoo We arrived in Kanchanaburi unsure of what to expect of our time at the Safari Park Open Zoo. We were excited to see animals but we didn’t know much about the project. At the designated meeting spot in town we met a few of the other new volunteers, had a bit…

January 12, 2014 Tessa Bradford 4 comments

Why Cambodia Deserves Our Attention I didn’t know much about Cambodia, but it was a new place to see and that’s usually a good enough reason for me to want to go somewhere. Plus, there was Angkor Wat to explore, and seeing the Wonders of the World is high on my bucket list. But Cambodia…

January 10, 2014 Tessa Bradford No comments exist

Backpacking Southeast Asia For two months Nicole and I explored Southeast Asia. We went to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore. We volunteered at a zoo and befriended lions, monkeys and giraffes. We helped build a sustainable living community and Buddhist monastery in the jungle. There were riverboats, beaches, bustling markets and wild animals all…

November 28, 2013 Tessa Bradford 5 comments

The Mindfulness Project We were in Khon Kaen because we had volunteered to help with the Mindfulness Project, a Buddhist monastery that was being built in the jungle along with a sustainable community to give housing to the homeless of the city.[spacer height=”20px”] We met up with our hosts, a young German couple called Christian…

November 15, 2013 Tessa Bradford 4 comments

Thailand and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Bus With Taiwan sadly in my rear view, I went to Northern Ireland for my friend Amy’s wedding and a brief respite from Asia. Home-cooked food and people I love like family made it a great week.[spacer height=”20px”] From Ireland I headed back east and landed…

October 23, 2013 Tessa Bradford 2 comments

Goodbye, Taiwan I said goodbye toTaiwan, after two amazing years.[spacer height=”20px”] Leaving a place that means something to you is a lot like saying goodbye to a loved one. It’s never easy. But it was the right time.[spacer height=”20px”] We become so attached to the people, the places, and the phases in our lives. Fears…