Custard-Apple - Fruits of Southeast Asia

Motorbiking the Bolaven Plateau

The day after we arrived in Laos we rented a motorbike and headed on a two day trip around the Bolaven Plateau, starting east to the village of Tad Lo. The stretch of road from Pakse to Tad Lo was the best paved road we had encountered thus far on the back of a bike. The road wound through the rich coffee growing region of the plateau and past Vietnamese markets. The straight lines and sharp black hue of the fresh asphalt brought an air of prosperity to dusty wood and bamboo villages. The 110cc bike was a beast, and thanks to the condition of the road, we were able to hit 80 kph for large sections of the journey.

Statement of Purpose

Happy New Year! Resolutions abound, and we have a few goals for this little blog. Nothing outrageous - bear with us.

-Finish chronicling Laos (thereby finishing Southeast Asia)
-Share our recent winter birding trip to Big Bend National Park (we rented a Really. Big. Lens.)
-Write a few articles about our Texas travels last spring (Old San Antonio Road, Galveston, Brazos Bend, and more)
-Collect and share some photography albums
-Publish reviews of our most favorite and most hated travel-related books
-Continue to keep up the blog with any new travel or DC related awesomeness after we make our big move

Thanks for reading :)

xo
R+BM

Crossing the Border - Laos and Cambodia

A VIP bus brought us from Kratie across the border and on to Pakse. An overbooking on behalf of the bus company put Brittany on the upper deck of the bus in a plush La-Z-Boy-like seat, and me in the front, squeezed between the driver's seat and a Khmer bus director. As we passed through the scrubby hills, the director told me about the recent history of the road leading north to Laos.

Longon - Fruits of Southeast

These little brown fruit have a very thin skin and have a taste and texture just like skinless grapes when peeled - maybe a little sweeter. They have

Bonus Gas Stations in Southeast Asia

Traveling with a rickshaw driver who is in need of a fillup? He's more likely to stop at a roadside stall than a gas station, where the gasoline is cheaper and poured from glass (sometimes plastic) 1L beverage bottles of all sorts. Coca-Cola and Fanta bottles seem to be preferred, but

Irrawaddy Dolphins of Kratie & Other Eco-tourism

The most we saw of the elusive dolphins.
Kratie is considered an established stopover on the Banana Pancake Trail* between Cambodia and southern Laos. We weren't the only foreigners in this sleepy riverside town, but atleast we had left the over-commercialized centers of