But For the Sky

Month: May 2012

  • Motorbiking in Northeastern Vietnam

    —

    by

    Nick
    in ,

    Before visiting Southeast Asia, we weren’t big motorbiking enthusiasts; in fact, Claudia’s motorbiking experience consisted entirely of a few anxiety-ridden hours in Europe many years ago, and mine consisted of crashing a small toy bike into a fence in Portland, Oregon in 2009. However, taking a multi-day motorbiking trip in the north of Vietnam is…

  • Yum: Lao Cuisine

    —

    by

    Claudia
    in ,

    What I loved about Lao food is the predominance of salads and appetizer-type dishes, allowing for an incredibly varied meal. Ingredients are fresh, combinations are creative, fat content is low, and we always felt satisfied and healthily full after our meals. Sticky rice is ubiquitous; it seemed no meal can be eaten without it. Food is…

  • Weekly Twitter Updates

    —

    by

    Us
    in

    Time traveling. Today will last 29 hours for us. Pit stop in Moscow (!) for wifi and battery charging. Can't wait to get to #Rome # Today Nick lost his uncle Doug to pancreatic cancer. We are sending lots of love to our family & wishing we could be there to support them. # Last…

  • Fashion and Hip Hop in Laos

    —

    by

    Claudia
    in

    We found ourselves lured into the Hive Bar in Luang Prabang by the promise of a free, nightly “ethnic fashion show” followed by a “hip hop dance show”. This could go either way, we thought, but hey we don’t really have any plans for the next few hours so let’s give it a shot. What…

  • Northern Laos in Seventeen Syllables

    —

    by

    Nick
    in

    Everyone who had been there said, “Spend as much time in Laos as possible.” Unfortunately we didn’t heed their advice: partly because of geographical constraints, and partly because of some outside circumstances, we had to take one destination off our southern Laos plans, and rush through the north a bit. We still enjoyed the heck…

  • The US Secret War in Laos & the Dangers of Unexploded Ordnance

    —

    by

    Us
    in

    Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history. During the Vietnam War, the United States dropped 200 million tons of ordnance over Laos. This small, land-locked country in Southeast Asia was hit with 580,000 bombing missions over this time period: that comes to one planeload of bombs being dropped…

  • Monkey Business: Ziplining Through the Jungle in Laos

    —

    by

    Claudia
    in ,

    Our first stop in Laos was a three-day adventure in the Bolaven Plateau in the southern part of the country. After an all day bus trip from Phnom Penh (Cambodia), we crossed the border and arrived in Pakse, a sleepy riverside town in southern Laos, from where the trip would start. We spent the next…

  • Weekly Twitter Updates

    —

    by

    Us
    in

    There's been trash in the water & on the sand at every SE Asia beach we've visited. It's the locals dumping it & Claudia picking it up. Sad. # Tried out deep water soloing (rock climbing from a boat over water & then jumping when you get about 10 m up) today. Pretty sweet! #CatBa…

  • Weekly Twitter Updates

    —

    by

    Us
    in

    Claudia got over her fear of motorbiking today while we scooted to a gorgeous waterfall. Off to #Hanoi & ready for 6d motorbiking adventure! # Got our tickets home from #Vienna See you on June 26, DC! # Needed:contractor guru @Rashid_AM arch. @rexualhealing &real estate guru @kendamachamp to go in on an old French villa:…

  • Kampot: Riverside Relaxation and Sunset Lover’s Dream

    —

    by

    Nick
    in

    Our last stop in Cambodia brought us to the aforementioned town of Kampot, of peppercorn fame. We spent a few relaxing days on the riverside, during which we enjoyed the slow pace of life, ate many pepper-infused meals, drank excellent local coffee, and blissed out on some of the most incredible sunsets we’ve seen all…