What's been going on...

• Exploring northern Thailand 🇹🇭

• River boat down the Mekong River 🦦

• Backpacking through Laos 🇱🇦

Gong Xi Fa Chi 🧧

Man SE Asia is amazing. I was so close to not booking this trip…

The owner of the house I rent came back for a month which he does once or twice a year. It’s a perfect time for me to do a bucket list trip…but honestly everything was clicking for me at the time - work-wise, surfing, best shape of my life - really felt in a good groove. I was so close to just renting a place nearby my house in Bali or Lombok for a month. But the timing was perfect for a trip that I had on my radar for this exact time of year…northern Thailand and Laos. Dry season, before burning season, and a slight chill in the air for all the festivities and ample outdoor activities.

Soooo YOLO, fuck it, dale…

After a cheap, last-minute flight, I landed in Chiang Mai straight into the weekend markets and let the adventures begin.

I spent a day there and headed up the mountains to a cool hippie town known for tipsy tubing and mountains called Pai.

Pai was beautiful and I loved the size of the town but it had weird vibes. It was a bit too backpacker for me and seemed like everyone was on mushrooms or tipsy tubing drunk 🤪 good for a visit but not a long term place to stay.

After Pai, I needed some solid internet to get some work done - plus do all the must-do things in and around Chiang Mai - food tour, temples, cooking class, elephant sanctuary, moto trips etc. It also happened to be Chinese new year and Chiang Mai has a pretty big Chinatown.

The vibe in the north is the same as the south - Thai people are some of the happiest, most friendly people on the planet. And the food is just as good if not better (can’t count how many Khao Soi’s I had). The terrain couldn’t be more different though. Northern Thailand is a mountainous playground.

After Chiang Mai, I took a bus up north to the old capital of the Lanna Kingdom called Chiang Rai - the city itself is not much but they have some of the most famous temples in the country - most notably the ‘white temple’.

It was then off on a day trip to what I had seen so much about on the news - the famous Golden Triangle - the crossroads of 3 (4?) countries.

The Golden Triangle is known for drugs and human trafficking and has a looong history of opium production. At the center of the intersection between Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos is the Special Economic Zone owned by a Chinese gangster. It’s super wild to see it from across the river - you drive for hours and you’re in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden there’s a massive casino and dozens of newly built skyscrapers. Sad to think there are slaves from around the world (mostly Myanmar) being forced to scam grandmas and lonely dudes for all their life savings online in some of those buildings.

After a night in the border town of Chiang Khong, I jumped on a river boat down the mighty Mekong river. It was an amazingly relaxing 2-day cruise without internet stopping by local villages and caves.

The first major stop in Laos was Luang Prabang. I knew it was a UNESCO world heritage town, but I still wasn’t expecting much and it far exceeded my expectations. I stayed the work week there and thoroughly enjoyed going to all the different restaurants and cafes along the riverfront. I also visited the UXO (unexploded ordinance) center and learned that during the second Indochina war (which included the Vietnam war from 1955-1975) over 270M bombs were dropped over Laos and about 30% didn’t detonate on drop - meaning about 80M bombs still exist in the country 😳

After a bit of luxury, small-town life it was off to the last major adventure of the trip - Vang Vieng. And dayyyyyum did it make the trip go out with a bang. This place is real life Avatar it’s WILD.

I ended with a night in the capital Vientiane (which is plenty 🤣), and another night in the oasis of SE Asia - Singapore - which always feels like coming home :)

Great trip aside - I’m really looking forward to getting back into the water 🏄🏻‍♂️

And now to planning an itinerary for when my parents get to Bali 😱🇮🇩

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Side Project - Wellness Waves

I have to admit I’m a little embarrassed because I promised I’d have this out by end of January. Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - I’ve been exploring a bit too much 😆. Think I have to come to terms with the fact that I can’t work a full-time job, build a side business, and travel the world at the same time 😆…

2 out of 3 absolutely.

3 out of 3 no way … well I could but it’d kind of ruin the experience of all 3.

I got so stoked when I started this project and probably put out more code personally over the Christmas holidays than I did for the past 6 months at my company 🤣

I have a few weeks until my parents come to visit Bali for 3 weeks. Going to finish the web version first. Clocks ticking ⏰ 

Waves of the Month

Not really waves of the month here, but I’m kinda over all the vloggy influencer slop. Thankfully John and co put out something to remind us how to make great surf films.

Where to Surf in February: Santa Barbara

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PRODUCT OF THE MONTH