The COPE Center – Helping (The Most Heavily Bombed) People (On Earth) Move On

September 26, 2012

Workshop

Visiting the COPE Center was one of the last things I did in Vientiane. Places like this, like the landmine museum in Cambodia, are always full of inspiration, but also heavy with sadness and guilt (my country caused all of this..) COPE’s motto is Helping People Move On. In reality, Laos is the most heavily [...]

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Vientiane – The Capital Of Laos

September 25, 2012

Pha That Luang

As I mentioned, it was a bit of a relief to leave Hanoi. Arriving in Laos was exactly the cure for a tired traveler. Crossing The Border The bus from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiane, Laos took about 22 hours, shorter than the quoted 24 hours and 30 hours you’ll find quoted on other travel blogs. [...]

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Love – The Universal Language – A Story From Vietnam

September 24, 2012

My Grandma And I In 2003

On my last night in Hanoi something wonderful happened. I was couchsurfing with Van, an awesome 24-year-old woman and I got to meet her whole family. We were talking when her grandma walked up the stairs. Though she was a bit winded from walking up the stairs, she seemed in good health and spirits. She [...]

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How The Happy Nomad Tour Rolls – This Website

September 22, 2012

My Location

Many people have asked me how I could just leave my job and seemingly travel perpetually. How can I afford it? How do you find places to stay for free all the time? How do you find places to volunteer? All questions I’ve received by email, and now I’m sharing the secrets in a series [...]

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Photo Friday – My Happiness Clinic – Davao, Philippines

September 21, 2012

My Happiness Clinic - Taken 14-Sep-2012 - Davao, Philippines

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Hanoi, Vietnam – A Chaotic And Historic Capital

September 20, 2012

The Temple Of Literature

Hanoi was a bit underwhelming, to be honest. It’s the capital of Vietnam, its second-biggest city, and it was the last city I’d visit before heading to Laos. As I headed north in Vietnam, the people seemed to get less patient, more frenetic, more confrontational, and less respectful. And being in traffic was just horrible [...]

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The Former Vietnam DMZ – Tunnels, Cemetery, And Military Base/Museum

September 19, 2012

Tunnel Entrance

The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone cut the country in half along the 17th parallel. It was later moved to the Ben Hai River as you can’t see a degree of latitude in real life. Here is a video crossing the river from what used to be North Vietnam into South Vietnam: I visited the Demilitarized Zone [...]

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Knowingly Getting Robbed On A Bus In Vietnam

September 18, 2012

bus thumb

I’m sure I have been cheated out of money dozens of times on my trip. I pay the “foreigner” tax or the “gringo” tax and that’s just how it goes. Sometimes I catch a small smirk as they earn twice as much as they should have from the sale, other times I’d never know. But [...]

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Anh – The Smiling Undercover Superhero Of Da Nang, Vietnam

September 17, 2012

thumbnail anh

For me, Da Nang, Vietnam conjures up one image – the smiling face of Anh. In Da Nang I arranged to couchsurf with Phuong. But she told me I couldn’t stay in her home, but rather I’d stay with a friend of hers – the founder of an organization called Tam Thien that helps kids with [...]

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