from the region

First Chiang Mai - my return, almost exactly two years later, to the stomping grounds of my first Asian adventure. Chiang Mai feels like a thriving metropolis compared to the cow-town that is Vientiane. It was a beautiful thing to again stay with  my old Thai host family. We will be strung together in an amazing web of culture and continents forever I hope. My brothers and sister have grown up a lot, and together we braved the cold weather and nausea-inducing roads of northern Thailand to camp together on Thailand's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon.

 

Next - Hmong New Year. Hmong are upland tribal people that live throughout Laos. Amazingly intricate dress, ball-throwing flurting games, and of course grilled meat.