Surrounded by breathtaking mountains, rice paddies, and rivers, it is no surprise that Vang Vieng attracts hoards of backpackers, vacationers, and adventurers. The town has a booming and still growing bar scene not unlike that of a spring break destination. At first it was overwhelming to see this Laotian oasis overrun by bars offering free…
Vientiane receives mixed reviews from those who travel there. Many people love the French influenced town, while others feel that it is just a stepping stone on their way to the less spoiled areas of Laos. Vientiane didn’t have the temples of Siem Reap nor the excitement of Bangkok to hold our interest, and I…
Bangkok is one of the largest business centers in Southeast Asia. The city is a huge, bustling metropolis filled with luxury malls and skyscrapers. However, Bangkok retains its character with food carts, street markets, and red roofed temples scattered throughout the city. We’ve been lucky enough to know several people living in Bangkok and have…
Siem Reap is a contradiction. The city feels both untouched by tourism and alive due to it. The main draw of Siem Reap to most visitors is Angkor Wat, but the city still remains a largely a backpacker’s haven despite the large tours that come to view the temple. Angkor Wat is crowded, but you…
Retro Trip Post: This is article 3 of 3 articles reflecting on our first trip to Thailand taken in 2011. Before leaving the country we had to travel through Bangkok. We are very luck to have had friends living in the city at the time who provided us with a wealth of suggestions and a…
Retro Trip Post: This is article 2 of 3 articles reflecting on our first trip to Thailand taken in 2011. After visiting Koh Samui to celebrate the marriage of two of our friends, we were invited to join them as they traveled to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Chiang Mai was our favorite part of…
Retro Trip Post: As we prepare to leave for our backpacking trip across Asia, I’ve been reflecting on our past trip to Thailand. Because the world is such a large place, we are planning to bypass most of what we’ve already seen before when we visited Thailand in 2011. The first destination on our 2011…
If you live in the great Washington DC area, Charlottesville area, or are an avid hiker on the East Coast, you’ve probably heard of Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. Hiking the Old Rag Mountain is a right of passage for anyone in DC who considers themselves the outdoors-man and for many University of…
Our 4 month road trip across the contiguous United States was very much driven by a desire to experience national parks. We have previously written about our favorite parks and our favorite hikes within those parks. However, we were also lucky enough to experience a multitude of American culture ranging from large metropolitans to small…
There are 59 national parks in the United States of America; 47 national parks are in the Contiguous United States. During our US road trip, we visited 24 national parks plus multiple national monuments, forests, grasslands, and seashores. Prior to our road trip, we have also visited Shenandoah National Park and Jon has been to Acadia…
Herr We Go 