Laura’s Blog

We went on another walking tour this morning, this time looking at the architecture in Luang Prabang. We learned some interesting facts from Judy, Surya and Tui: for instance, that nails are forbidden in this town because of its UNESCO world heritage status; only tongue and groove construction is permitted. There are also strict laws […]

Although I have been loving every day of this trip to Southeast Asia and savoring all the new tastes, smells, sights and sounds, I am not having the same experience as the people who paid to come on this trip. I am the writing teacher, the trip initiator and one of the leaders, and I

When I travel, I always seek out the local food market. I love seeing the overflowing piles of rice, beans and vegetables, chili and fruit. So when Tui offered to take us to the early morning market, I jumped at the chance. Usually when I go to an outdoor market in another country, there are

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

Our home for the next six days, Luang Prabang, the City of the Holy Buddha, is currently celebrating its 20th year as a UNESCO Heritage Site, something that is both a positive and a negative for the locals. It is a positive because of the tourist dollars it brings into the area and a negative

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

When we arrived at the Avani resort, there was a green parallelogram-shaped packet in our rooms that held a number of cards (also parallelogram-shaped) describing the various kinds of spa treatments we could receive. There were massages, facials, body scrubs and baths in three categories: Purify, Balance and Boost, ranging in length from 30 to

One of the most important things helping people stay grounded and in their bodies, coping with jet lag and different foods, new means of transportation and new beds every few nights is Yoga on the Go. When my partner Karyn said she wanted to come to Vietnam with me, we integrated yoga into our daily

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

This is the breakfast buffet. More eye candy. Hmmm…I wonder what I should have for breakfast? Eliza said, “I haven’t tasted goat cheese like this since I was in France.” She was practically drooling with pleasure. Eli said: “What time does this breakfast bar close? I think this is a two or three breakfast morning.”

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