Vientiane Streetscapes
A quick post highlighting the unique structures and streetscapes across Vientiane, captured over several Sunday mornings in 2019.
Here, you’ll find all our Laos expat blogs, backpacking travel stories, budget travel tips, backpacking destinations, top sights, and more.
Destinations include Luang Prabang, Thakhek, Vang Vieng, and Phonsavan, things to do in Vientiane, off-the-beaten-path places to visit, and more.
A quick post highlighting the unique structures and streetscapes across Vientiane, captured over several Sunday mornings in 2019.
Back in Vientiane for a week-long work seminar and finishing up our goodbyes, before skipping town for a good long while.
Our final week living in Laos is upon us! Saying goodbyes, packing up, and moving out of our house in Vientiane, and gearing up for new adventures ahead.
A weekend doing stuff, then reflecting on that stuff. Because, you know, forty trips around the sun.
Highlights from September 2019, a surprisingly subdued month considering what lay on the horizon. A relaxing month with amazing weather. The calm before the storm.
Updates and adventures from our every day life in Vientiane, Laos with the boys this past August.
Our time living in Vientiane is rapidly coming to an end. Which begs the question: Where to next?
One final weekend road trip with the boys to beautiful Vang Vieng before we pack up and say goodbye to Laos.
Returning with Noe to one of the places where it all began for us in Vientiane, and we are amazed once again at the difference three short years make.
Taking advantage of drought conditions in rainy season to get out and about with the boys…when it’s not miserably hot, that is.
How can a city be constantly changing and not really changing at all — all at the very same time? We set out with Noe and Riley to answer that very same question, with astonishingly unsurprising results.
Closing out the month of June, here’s a look back at the highlights of the final week.
Hard to believe it’s been seven years since diving off the deep end together. Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess! A quick recap on a perfect anniversary weekend with and without the boys.
That’s right! Our little Mister just turned THREE. Hard to believe it’s already been three years since we carted the little nugget home with us for the first time. Here are the highlights from an eventful day. Happy Birthday, Noe!
Now into our sixth month of living in the “new” house in Laos, we thought it might finally be time for a virtual tour.
Enjoying a break in the extreme heat and frequent rain with a lazy evening on the river and walking our last unexplored stretch of Mekong in Vientiane.
Jazz, rainstorms, sweltering heat, tuk tuks, more new eateries, a whole lot of hoofin’ it, staying local, and a crawler on our hands defined our third May living in Vientiane.
With Riley off to nursery school, I suddenly have extra time to spend with Noe. So, what do the two of us do in Laos’ laid-back capital? Find out!
Riley tries out nursery school and solid foods, I try out days without kids and three new coffee shops, and Lori and Noe try their best to stay out of trouble.
From killer smog, to potty training, first weekend away, to 3/4 of the fam getting sick, March had a little something for everyone. Here’s a look back at an eventful month here in Vientiane.
What’s it like to live with the worst air quality in the world? Little did we know, we were about to find out.
Lao Lake House may have been the very first Vientiane weekend trip we heard of when we moved to Laos. 2.5 years later, we finally make the trip to the serene estate on Nam Houm Lake.
A 10km drive north of the city center, Champa Garden offers excellent Lao food in a unique aquatic setting, along with a sprawling Champa flower garden in a city where gardens are few and far between.
It’s Saturday night again in Vientiane. Riley and I have just made it to the drop zone, and have just 90 minutes to rendezvous with the rest of our party at the designated extraction point. Will we make it in time, or get waylaid by cold beer?
Who says there aren’t any hiking trails around Vientiane? Today, we’re exploring a little-known corner of the area, with a unique coffee shop and miles of semi-shaded nature trails.
Settling into our new digs, slowly getting provisioned, and soaking up the near-perfect weather that is Vientiane in January.
After reconnecting with family and friends (and disconnecting from the online world) for the past five months, we’re back! — in Laos, and back on AwayGoWe!
By our second full day together, I could tell Riley was getting restless. Only one solution to that in Vientiane. A trip to ITECC! Only problem is it’s no longer a ten minute walk, but a half-day’s journey on foot.
The third and final installment of our journey back to Laos as a family of four, after five months away in the U.S. on maternity leave.
15 hours over the Pacific with a toddler and an infant. This is going to be interesting…
Hard to believe, but the Mister is two years old! We celebrate Noe’s landmark birthday, then our anniversary, two days later.
Returning in the rainy season to one of our Central Laos favorites for a relaxing Father’s Day weekend in this serene and beautiful place.
Sliding back into rainy season and home base routines—but not without new discoveries, capital city adventures, and a handful of big milestones on the horizon.
Hot town, summer in the city—back in the People’s Democratic Republic. Baby yoga, baby bumps, swimming pool brewery, baby’s first jazz club, and…a Communist-themed night out.
The cat’s out of the bag and another little travel bun’s bakin’ in the oven…
Exploring the rural Lao community around our weekend island retreat with friends.
A traditional Lao house moved, piece-by-piece, to the tranquility of a riverine island — off the grid and completely offline. Yep, this is one special place, and one we’re not divulging the location of any time soon!
The Garden of Love, a tenacious fern, the gourmet hotdog of death, Houdini strikes again, fountains and dinosaurs, and…a lime.
Checking in on one of our favorite area parks and celebrating Lori’s employer’s new name and rebranding, Lao style.
Back to the Adventure Capital of Laos with Uncle Dan and Aunt Lauren, where sunsets (and sundowners) rarely disappoint.
Lori’s brother and fiancee come to town for ten fun-filled days, rounding out the 2017-18 Vientiane visitor season.
A birthday, a wedding, some dancing, and a short break between visitors.
Luang Prabang is a funny place — and even funnier in peak season. In Vientiane, no reservations? No Problem! In Luang Prabang…oh boy.
Our last post of 2017 takes us back to Luang Prabang! A journey over the mountains, world-class cuisine, and fish slippers await!
We take a boat up a Mekong tributary poised to be dammed in seven locations, visiting Muang Ngoi Neua and two other isolated villages along the way.
We spend four nights in Nong Khiaw, a remote and subdued jewel of the north, soaking up the fresh mountain air and easy-going vibe.