LADIES TRIP TO LAOS

“There is an unspoken bond you create with the friends you travel with.” – Kristen Sarah

  

Once I am introduced to or learn something about a country, it becomes a mission for me to visit the country. So, I have this friend/mentor whom, when I first met, while in undergrad, told me she was Laotian. Before that moment, I had no idea where or anything about the country Laos. After that, I had to make a visit to Laos.

Fast forward to last October. My hiking crew and I were on this long treacherous hike up Halla Mountain. During that time, I ran the idea of going to Laos for Lunar New Year with Brianna to see if she was interested. Now, Laos isn't a country that everyone is running to visit (hopefully, after reading my blog, you will), but I was shocked that Brianna had the same energy and excitement about Laos as I did. There was a point I asked Wanda if she was interested, and she didn't seem to be thrilled about it. Lolz. So, after that hike, Brianna and I started our preparations for an adventure of a lifetime. Two months later, Wanda and I were sitting down for coffee, discussing travel plans for Lunar New Year. I told her about the travel plans to Laos, showed her a couple of pictures of places in Laos, and convinced her to join the Ladies Trip to Laos! 🙌🏽

As we're waiting to board our flight to Laos, we realized that we had not made an itinerary for our trip; none of us were bothered by that, as we all were looking to relax and stumble across adventures.

Brianna was the smart one that exchanges KRW for USD. Me being a “well-rounded” traveler, I decided to wait to get to Laos and pull out cash. We get there, Wanda and I were having troubles at the airport's ONLY ATM. (You’re probably wondering what’s the point of this story. Just keep reading.) Thankfully, Brianna had cash to get us a taxi ride to the hotel. We decided to worry about it the next morning. We eventually got up, had breakfast, and headed out to the city. The hotel shuttle bus dropped us off near ATM machines. PERFECT! I tried one a couple of times; it spits my card out. I went to another one… same thing. 😑A tuk-tuk driver was talking with Wanda and Brianna about helping us out and taking us around. Me knowing how tuk-tuk drivers like to finesse foreigners, I’m like nahh! He was trying to explain to me how he could help us. I told him we didn't have any money for a ride to the bank. He was like he got us, and we could pay him once we got the money. I'm like, "What if we can't get the money?" He insisted. So, he dropped us off at the open bank, and we got our money. 🙏🏾 Now we have to negotiate a deal with him.

 

 

 

 

 

This tuk-tuk driver took us to Patuxai, Pha That Luang, Buddha Park, AND HIS HOUSE for coffee and tea with his wife and children. This man was sharing the history of the country as he was taking us places, and Wanda could confirm it wasn’t BS (she was the only one that did Lao history research).😬🤷🏽‍♀️  I’m just glad for the convenient and consistent driver, riding every, and not having to find transportation to different tourist spots. As you can see, I enjoyed myself, and I got to see Buddha Park (the only thing in Vientiane I wanted to see). If you ever visit Vientiane, I highly recommend contacting our tuk-tuk driver. His info is below.

 

The next day, we slept in for the most part; however, we got up and headed back to Patuaxi to climb up the tower. After that, we chilled at this Lebanese restaurant and later had some Laotian ice cream. Vientiane isn’t the city I highly recommend. I think a 1.5 day stay there would be all that’s needed. The End.
 

Next stop…Luang Prabang. Lolz. So, we took the cheap, economic plane (Lao Skyway) to Luang Prabang. Man…. That was an experience like no other. We boarded the flight from the back (I don't recall a "front" door), overhead space doesn't exist on those planes, and the seats automatically recline as the plane takes off! 😂 I just said a prayer and napped for about 30 minutes. 

Oh, the difference in the climate made it must more pleasurable. Our driver was waiting for us, and we were ready for all the exciting plans we had for this city. Brianna and I choose to go "glamping" along the river. Oh, man…. if you could only experience what we did. (You will be able to when you visit the country.) Namkhan Project Ecolodge was a majestic place. From the facilities to the food, everything was hand made and grown on the property grounds. I saw the cook cut lettuce from the garden with my own eyes!! 

  

So, other than spending time at the ecolodge, we visited the night market, Kuang Si Falls, and Nahm Dong Park. About two years ago, I saw an instagrammer post a picture of himself at some Kuang Si Falls, and I knew then I had to go and have my own photo (s). Enjoy…😌
 

After the falls, we went to Nahm Dong Park with different itineraries. Brianna wanted to zip-line, Wanda wanted to do weaving, I just wanted to sit down (but that didn't happen). I went wandering along the trails for about 45 mins and found myself acting scary and paranoid. I decided to head back to this rooftop area and relax until we had to return to our tuk-tuk driver. Brianna and I went back to the night market that night, as I had to school her on negotiating. 😏
 

On our final morning in Luang Prabang, I’m the only one that decided to get up early and head into the city and hike up Mouth Phousi. Those stairs ain’t no joke, but it was worth it!

   

It was finally time for us to head back to Vientiane for about 8 hours until we had to catch our flight back to Korea. We were trying to eat a pizza cone from KONO Pizza, but I apparently gave the wrong address to a sketchy place, and our tuk-tuk driver "kindly" suggested another replicable pizza place, The Pizza Company. Lolz. We enjoyed our pizza and all the unhealthy sides we ordered. We walked it off, going to the night market (that we never found during the first part of our trip), where we came across some Laotian dancers and found some bumper cars to drive wild in! You should have seen how wild we were acting with those kids.
 

 

It may seem as we didn’t do much, but it was just enough for us to relax, enjoy our vacation, and experience Laos for what it is!


Until the next adventure,


ຂອບ​ໃຈ (Thank you in Lao).



PS I learned two words in Lao, hello (ສະບາຍດີ) and thank you (ຂອບ​ໃຈ). I know you can’t read it nor pronounce it, but I can!  🤣😆

 

Bw.travels6

BLACK. WOMEN. IN. KOREA

"Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion." -Leigh Hunt

 

As long as I've been in South Korea, I've been begging my family to come to visit me here. Well, after 2.5 years, I finally had my peps come. You better believe I made sure they had a time they'd never forget. With only eight days to see South Korea, I tried my best to pick and choose what's iconic about Jeju and Seoul, which cannot be experienced anywhere else. After a 16-hour journey, my aunt and best friend had adventures awaiting them. They came during the week of Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), but I had to work 3 of those eight days. I made us an itinerary to ensure that we utilize as much time as possible.

 

Day 1:
After we picked up the rental, we went back to the Airbnb for a home-cooked breakfast and relaxation. I tried to get them to watch Train to Busan, but they weren't feeling it.😂😂 As it is the rainy season, I didn't allow the rain to stop our plans. We went to Cheongjeyeon Falls, Jusangjeolli Cliff, and Seogwipo Olle Market. Then we stopped to have dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant.

   

   

Day 2:
Since I had to work and knew I would get home late; I had my crockpot going so that we would have a home-cooked meal once I got home. After that, we went to Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market, looked around the market AND got to see all the excellent food from the street trucks. That was my first time going to the night market and will need to make another trip over there. After the market, we walked around the area towards Tapdong Park and back through the underground shopping center. Once we got back to the area of Airbnb, I took them out to the convenience store so we could get some Soju and chat it up as the locals do.😅 We tried three different flavors. I don't even like Soju at all 🤦🏽‍♀️.

Day 3:

Everyone knows if they visit me, I'm taking them to Love Land. Well, except for my brother😐. I'm not sure if my aunt was shocked or not, but my best friend and I enjoyed it. I think if my aunt were around the same age as my best friend and I, she would have been wildin' out too. My friends James and YunHa opened my brother and me to this Japanese Ramen Noodle place, so I had to share the wealth and take them there. They enjoyed every bit of it. I planned for us to go to a Norabang (Karaoke room), but my aunt wasn't feeling it; so, we did what we all like best...BOWLING!🎳 It was fun, but somehow it turned out competitive. My aunt was coming for me, and my best friend thought I was downplaying her game...🤷🏽‍♀️ 

Day 4:
*sigh* This day (meaning after work) started horribly. We had car issues for the second time. I had planned for us to have some hot Korean Chicken, but it got cold waiting for the rental company to exchange the vehicle. In Korea, you'd see a lot of "Chicken & Beer" spots. It's literally just chicken and beer with some radishes and corn on the side. My favorite is called Nene's Chicken. Once I got back to the Airbnb, we had chicken...but in beer, with real sides (cause we're Southern folks and that's what we do). After the food calmed my nerves, my best friend wanted to be adventurous😎, so we headed into the city. We took the bus, as I wanted them to have the experience of riding the bus and have to 1) hang on for dear life, 2) be packed in like sardines, and/or 3) having the bus driving closing the door on you while barely getting on or off the bus.🙆Best Fran got a nose piercing... THE END!😆😴 Wait... we made a late night run to E-Mart.😬



Day 5:

I'M FINALLY OFF FOR CHUSEOK😩. I was so tired that morning, my aunt prepared breakfast while I slept. I can't even tell you how many hours if sleep I had this far. After breakfast, we transported some of the goods I brought to the AirBnB back to my apartment, then headed to the Eastside of the island. Seongsan Ilchulbong was a first for me. I googled how strenuous the hike would be...boyyyyyy those people lied on the internet. We (and some other folks) were looking like we had been out of shape for some time. We were breathing all hard and stopping every chance we got. BUT we made it to the top. It rained on our way over, stayed cloudy on our hike up, then the sun wanted to pop out on our hike down. My aunt said we deserved DUNKIN DONUTS for a job well done!😁🍩 I also got us fried marshmallow ice cream. It was pretty good too. Once we left there, he headed on over to U-Do Island. With the strong winds, the ferry ride was a little rough. The weather wasn't the greatest, and since there weren't a lot of visitors, the island looked deserted. We walked to certain areas for about 40 minutes. I was disappointed (pretty sure they were too), but hey, they can say they visit U-Do Island. After the island, we headed back into the city for some Korean BBQ. We went to my favorite pork spot and got them making wraps. Though I don't like Kimchi, I grilled some Kimchi for them to taste, since that what my Kimchi eating friends do when we go out. 😬😬😂Next stop.........SEOUL!
 

 

Day 6:
It's Chuseok. Somehow, I forgot that places are closed on the holiday....so we did some rearranging of the itinerary and MADE IT WORK. We got some lunch at Seoul Station then headed towards the Jamsil area. I took them to see Lotte World Tower, the Olympic Park, and Hanseong Baekje Park. It was such a pretty day to be outside. After, we headed for Myeongdong, Sungnyemun Gate, and Namdaemun Market. In Myeongdong, I had them trying different street foods. I don't know what it is about mandu/만두 (Korean Dumplings), but it hits the spot and never fails. Ho ddeok is also a delicious treat. We closed the night out at Siloam Sauna (Korean bathhouse) ...IT WAS NEEDED! We all passed out in the sleeping rooms and almost missed out a time-frame to leave.

 Day 7:

BLACK. WOMEN. IN. KOREA.That was our motto for the day. We had matching shirts to represent — #Melaninted. I took them to Itaewon for breakfast at The Original Pancake House, as well as a little sightseeing. Afterward, we bused over to City Hall for our AirBnB Experience. I found One Off, My Name Jewelry on AirBnB Experience, where we got to make a necklace of our name in Hanguel(한글). It was a first for us all, and we loved it. Jounghye is very professional and excellent at what she does. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. After we finished our necklaces, we headed on over to Gyeongbuk Palace and the Hanok Village and wore Hanboks (한복). As long as I've been here, this was my first time, and I thought we looked fabulous in the traditional Korean dress. As it was getting late, I had almost forgotten about Namsan Tower. We walked through a rally on Gwanghwamun Square, along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, and up an elevator to wait in line for about 45 minutes for the cable car to get to Namsan Tower. It was late, so the view wasn't that spectacular...BUT we did it to check it off the list. As it was the final night, we headed towards Hongdae (College Town) for some Monster Pizza. We stopped at this random bar for drinks. I don't know if it was just me, but we all looked dead tired in that bar😭😭😂. I was 'ret to go after pizza. Ohhh, they got to experience getting passed up by taxis for being foreigners😬😑....so we had to move quickly for one of the last buses, making it back after 01:45.😴

  

 

Day 8:
🤦🏽‍♀️💀How did we all miss our alarms? Everyone was moving so fast; I got left. (Not really though) I went to go throw the trash out and came back to my luggage and no family. Lolz. I ran a bit to catch up with them in front of the train station. 😅 Something told me to put the earliest and latest train options on the itinerary. I know how we do. Lolz. As they had to fly back to the US and I had to fly back to Jeju, we had to say our goodbyes on the metro. I really enjoyed their time and company. If there were enough time in the world, there would be so much more to show them.

  

Until my next journey,

bw.travels6 

Happy Birthday, Kristen!