One woman's journey through the world
For 5 days and 4 nights, I stayed in the Koyasan (Mt. Koya) area of Japan, the center of Shingon Buddhism. The thing to do here, besides visiting the multitude of Buddhist temples, is to stay at one (or two, in my case). Temple lodging, or Shukubo offers guests a taste of a monk’s lifestyle, eating vegetarian (vegan, actually) monk’s cuisine (shojin ryori) and attending the morning ritual and prayers. Around fifty
Superlatives are not my forte. In fact, I hate them. Tastiest meal I’ve ever eaten? Most beautiful place visited on this trip? Best dive I’ve ever done? Favorite food? Nicest hotel stayed in? I can’t answer any of those questions. But I can isolate a few experiences I’ve had, a handful of places I’ve gone, meals eaten, dives enjoyed, and days lived and identify them as truly outstanding. With each
Japan is the closest thing to a utopia to me; in many ways it’s the perfect place for me to be. It’s my favorite country so far and that’s certainly saying something, as I’ve visited more than 18 countries (and counting). I loved Japan so much that the two weeks we spent here in April weren’t enough. I came back to stay for the entire month of September. Japan does
About four hours north of Luang Prabang by minivan or jumbo tuk-tuk sits Nong Khiaw, a village on the banks of the Nam Ou with simple guesthouses, one nice hotel, a handful of outdoor tour operators, and just enough restaurants for the tourists who trickle through. Until recently, it could be easily reached by boat but a dam under construction between Luang Prabang and Nong Khiaw has made that a
I’m following a monk through bushes in the middle of nowhere, Myanmar. Seriously? This is my life? I grinned for the zillionth time in Mrauk-U, a place hard to reach in conflict-torn western Rakhine state as the monk led me uphill, branches scratching my already torn-up limbs as they slapped and scraped against me. When the “trail” cleared and we reached the top, he turned and smiled. “Nine stupas. Monastery.
Traveling solo in Laos can be expensive if you want to join any sort of organized activity or tour: prices are determined by the number of people participating and many won’t occur if there are fewer than four people. In the busiest tourist months, this probably isn’t an issue but in rainy season, which is now, it is. In Vang Vieng, I went to multiple offices to find one that
“There’s a path across that bridge. I want to see where it goes.” Paul, my British traveling companion for the day, remarked casually. The bridge is at the base of Kuang Si waterfalls – or in the middle of the falls, depending on how you view it. The path opposite us looked like a muddy, wet tangle of stone steps created by years of erosion, tree roots, and the odd
I like caves – big ones more than small ones. I also like boats – mid-size ones the best but small or big will do. Not surprisingly, the idea of taking a 7km boat ride through a cave was one that appealed to me. So much so that I went completely out of my way to get to KongLor cave in Central/Southern Laos. Also spelled Kong Lo, I’m going with
“Nature. Yuck. No, thanks.” Me, approximately age 14, speaking to my mother about hiking in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. “An eco-retreat with no electricity or indoor plumbing that requires a 2km walk from the nearest road? Sounds great, when do we leave?” Me, about a week ago, speaking to two women I’d just met at a hostel in Vientiane, Laos. Looking back at the wasted opportunities to explore what was in