Laura Davis

I’ve spent the last 30 years dealing with trauma and thinking about trauma, so while I was in Siem Reap, I felt a visceral need to do more than marvel at the ancient temples this area is so famous for. I wanted to do that yes, and I loved walking around Angkor Tom, Angkor Wat

One of the special things to do in Luang Prabang is to wake up very early to watch the monks receive alms from the local people. This almsround, known as Tak Bat, is a living tradition for the people in this region, and in many parts of Asia. Monks are not allowed to prepare their

We finally arrived at our hotel in Laos, the Apsara, at 9:30 last night. Judy had us pre-order our dinner so food and beds were waiting for us after the long day of travel. It is a charming lovely hotel. We love our room and dinner was perfect. This town is famous for its food

Most of our group opted to take taxis into Hanoi for shopping and lunch, but some of the diehards stayed at the airport. And for the half-dozen who wanted to write, I made up these writing-on-the-go-at-the-airport prompts: Go out on your own (you will get much better results doing these activities alone) and: 1. Go

This is truly yoga on the go . . .  

The first day of our writing class on this trip, I stressed two attitudes essential to traveling: courage (as in consciously choosing to take a risk every day) and flexibility. Travel is unpredictable, plans change, and you have to roll with those changes. Well, today was the day. We left the Avani resort, headed for

For one of the prompts in writing group today, I used Eleanor Lerman’s poem, Starfish. I wanted to share it with you, on this Virtual Vacation, along with the prompt I gave after I read it in case you want to write along at home. I’m also going to share Joanie’s response to the prompt

Today, in our first writing class of the day, I talked about the Buddhist concept of “bare attention.” Bare attention means deeply looking into something — just really seeing it deeply. Stopping to really see, to really perceive with our senses. Taking the time to slow down and see. Just noticing what is. It is

When Judy and I were planning this trip and I told her I wanted a place to do a writing and yoga intensive, she suggested the Avani resort. I trust Judy and her tour planning implicitly, so I said yes. But aside from a couple of pictures on the website, I hadn’t seen the place

Before our group arrived, Joanie and I decided to check out one of Judy’s tips to us, sent in an email before we left the U.S. “One of my favorite streets in Hanoi is Au Trieu street. Go there. You’ll see why.” So the same rainy day we toured the Hanoi Hilton, we headed in

Doesn’t this couple look happy? Aren’t they beautiful? Well, I’m not. Apparently while Joanie and I have been savoring the sounds, smells (yes, even those) and tastes of Vietnam, the weather gods have been interfering with my son Eli’s arrival in Vietnam. He’s stuck in the Midwest–ice and snow. After all these years of leading