The government here is communist (or heavily socialist), but the economic system is capitalist. Vietnam has been repelling invaders for the last two thousand years — the Khmers, Chinese, French, and most recently the Americans. They are fiercely proud of this fact. Vietnam is one of the largest rice exporters Continue Reading
Travel
Quotes from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
These words are from the leader of Himalayan Buddhism, a man who describes himself as ‘a simple Buddhist monk’. They had resonance for us, so we wanted to share them with you. “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own Continue Reading
Observations about Cambodia
Here are some things that we’ve noticed about Camdodia: Cambodia is officially a democracy, but the Cambodian People’s Party seems to control the place. They have signs up in every village and then win every election. Much of the country is flat. It is covered with rice patties as far Continue Reading
Observations about Laos
Laos is a communist country, but like most communist countries today, capitalism is alive and well. Communist flags fly from the front of many buildings. The major tourist locations are quite developed, providing most of the services of Thailand. There are far more tourists in the northern part of Laos Continue Reading
Spelunking
We rented a scooter and headed north out of the popular backpacker hangout of Vang Vieng in Laos. Thirteen kilometers later, after passing through several poor villages, we turned off onto a dirt road. We were following the hand drawn map provided by the young woman who had rented us Continue Reading
Elephant Training
We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to get up close and personal with elephants. We wanted to find a place where the elephants were not there just for tourists to sit on like an amusement park ride, and we wanted to go only where the elephants were well cared Continue Reading
First Impressions of Bangkok
Bangkok is a very different place than when Patrick traveled here twenty years ago, and very different than the other large cities we’ve been to on our travels. The city is very modern looking. There are a lot of sky scrapers. The shopping area looks like a futuristic version of Continue Reading
Observations about Nepal
The majority of people in Nepal are Hindu rather than Buddhist as we had expected. In the mountains, the majority are Buddhist. Prayer flags and prayer wheels are common. Almost the entire Nepali royal family was killed in a murder suicide by one of the crown princes in 2001, leading Continue Reading
Things we’ve learned in India
We’ve learned a lot in India. Yes we’ve learned about India and its peoples, but we’ve also learned about ourselves. Here are some of the things we’ve picked up… Indian people that know about Canada think that it’s a good country. Indian culture, religion, language, and food are far more Continue Reading
Life and Death in Varanasi
Varanasi is an ancient city and perhaps the holiest city in India for Hindus. It is located at a confluence of the sacred Ganges and several other rivers. All Hindus wish to die in Varanasi to have a chance to end the cycle of reincarnation. If they aren’t lucky enough Continue Reading