The View From Ban Xieng Mene

One of the reasons I love working for Where There Be Dragons is the chance to spend time with incredibly cool people like Allana Hearn. I first worked with Allana on the Cambodia summer program in 2008, and now we're together on the Mekong Semester.


In this photo Allana and I are standing on the banks of the Mekong, having just arrived in the homestay village of Ban Xieng Mene.

Late Afternoon Light on the Mekong

Every day we cross the river between Luang Prabang and the student home-stays in Ban Xieng Mene. This is what the light on the water looks like at the end of the day.



photo by Jake Teton-Landis

Trekking in Luang Namtha

On the advice of Steven Schipani, a former Dragons instructor who lives in Laos, we went trekking in the Nam Ha National Protected Area with the Jungle Tour company.

Many students point to this trek as the high-point of the Mekong Semester.

Here's contact info. for Jungle Tour - send an e-mail in English.

Mr. Chittaphong Chanthakoune
Tel/Fax: +856-86-212025
Mobile: +856-20-2990355
PO Box: 046, Luang Namtha 03000, Laos

Email: chttphng@yahoo.com.au

Photo by Jake Teton-Landis.

On the Mekong...

We're approaching the midpoint of the Mekong Semester and the students are settled into home-stays in Ban Xieng Mene village, across the Mekong from Luang Prabang.

Here's a shot of students studying on the veranda of the Dragons program house...



We leave Luang Prabang around the end of October, head south through Laos to Cambodia and fly back to the States from Phnom Penh in mid December. I'll be home in Vermont for Christmas and then out to Colorado to start a full-time job in the Dragons Boulder office.

You can read student perspectives on the trip on the Yak Board....

Dragons Mekong Semester

After a busy summer in Vermont, I'm headed back to Asia to lead the inaugural Mekong Semester program for Where There Be Dragons.

The Mekong program will commence in Southwest China, where we'll trek near the headwaters of the Mekong in the Himalayas. After the trek, we move south along the river to Xishuangbanna, Laos and Cambodia.

Check out the Mekong Semester description, and follow our adventures on the Dragons Yak Yak board.

photo by Paul Stevenson

Foraging Local Food

I went out and picked some fiddlehead ferns this morning, then caught some horned pout in the afternoon. I was hoping for brook trout, but pout are tasty little fish, too.

Here in Craftsbury there's lots of wild, local food available, but we're not unique. You can forage just about anywhere, even in some cities.

This post by David DeFranza is a good introductory guide to foraging.

Check Out Matador Abroad

Remember Matador? The online community for travelers? In the past few years Matador has published a bunch of my feature articles, and when Brave New Traveler and Matador joined forces, I began editing for them on a regular basis.

These days, Matador is really taking off. As print travel magazines hemorrhage cash, we're closing new ad deals, becoming profitable, welcoming thousands of new members and publishing some pretty spectacular content on a whole network of travel sites.

Along with Sarah Menkedick, an immensely talented writer who lives in Oaxaca, Mexico, I'm editing Matador Abroad, a site that focuses on study abroad and long-term travel. Sarah and I have put a lot of work into Matador Abroad recently, and I'd appreciate it if you could stop by and leave us some comments.

A good place to start is an excellent essay Sarah wrote yesterday called "Why You Should Travel In Times Of Swine Flu".

And remember, if you have an article to pitch, you've got a friend in the editor's chair!

My Land In Craftsbury Common, VT

Last fall I closed on 2 acres of pasture just west of Craftsbury Common. The land is sloping and a little wet, but the views are gorgeous and it's just a 2 minute walk from the Common, the library, the post office, the high-school and Sterling College.

Here's a nice photo of the Common.

This summer I plan to break ground on my future homestead, although after the septic system goes in I probably won't have any money left for actual construction.

Right now the water well is in (only 220' deep, which was lucky) and I've got a couple Adirondack chairs in the meadow, which were gifts from my parents.

This morning I went up to the land, set up my tent and took a few photos. Come visit!

Happy Anniversary, Worldhum.com!

Worldhum.com is celebrating their 8th anniversary of publishing travel stories. Congrats to Mike Yessis, Jim Benning and the whole Worldhum team.

Read: Pico Iyer's classic essay "Why We Travel" - a Worldhum original.

Update From Laos

Coming at you from Luang Prabang, Laos. I'm currently designing the itinerary and curriculum for the Mekong River Semester Program that Where There Be Dragons will offer this fall. I've been in Laos for about a month now, following short visits to established Dragons semester programs in Kathmandu, Nepal and Varanasi, India.

Soon, though, I'll be home in Vermont, breaking ground on my cabin.

Here are some links to my recent articles:

10 Travel Jobs Within Your Reach

Put Some Damn Clothes On

Christians Gird For War In Myanmar