On my second full day in Bishek, Kyrgyzstan, a group of us headed off to Dordoy Bazaar, which is one of the largest bazaars in Central Asia. According to Wikipedia, it's one of the main places where consumer goods from China are re-exported to Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan, making it one of Kyrgyzstan's largest economic enterprises.

One of Dordoy Bazaar's claims to fame is that the center is made entirely of shipping containers stacked on top of each other, with the lower container used as the actual store and the container on top used for storage. According to a news article from 2005 cited on Wikipedia, there are 6,000 - 7,000 containers in the market, and some 20,000 people work there.

Having been to a couple busy bazaars/marketplaces before (namely in Istanbul and Mumbai), I was struck by the fact that Dordoy Bazaar felt both fairly calm and safe (I'm sure there's an enterprising pickpocket or two milling about but it didn't have the same overwhelming vibe of tourist-targeted criminal activity like you might find in other crowded markets in the world).

Since I don't have a ton else to say about this fascinating place, I'll let the rest of my photos from my visit do the talking.

*A man taking a smoke break at Dordoy Bazaar in front of one of the many shipping containers.*

*Women selling some kind of delicious naan-like bread product at Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.*

*A woman at her stall in Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan*

boy waiting on his cart in Dordoy Bazaar

*A man sells shirts in his stall at Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.*

If you're visiting Bishkek, I highly recommend a visit to Dordoy Bazaar. To get there, there are buses, but an easy way to go is simply to pay a taxi cab to take you and wait while you walk around. I think ours waited for at least an hour and including the roundtrip travel from our hotel in the center of Bishkek, it cost a total of $20, which was convenient and worth it.

Oh, and if you're in the market for an awesome new pair of tiger-emblazoned underpants, Dordoy Bazaar is just the place you've been looking for.

*It's the eye of the tiger … it's the thrill of the fight … risin' up to the challenge of our riiiiivaaaal …. (ok, I'll stop)*

This post is the second in a series. Check out Photo Essay: Kyrgyzstan, Part 1

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How I Did Thailand

Whaaaat? You thought just 'cuz I'm back in the good old U.S. of A. my blogging days were gone and done forever?

You thought wrong!

I don't know exactly what form this blog will continue to take now that I'm back on California soil, but I do know I've got a few more updates about where I went and what I saw in Southeast Asia, so get ready for a few more detailed entries about where to stay (or not) should you find yourself in those parts of the world. And moving forward, I'll continue to blog about whatever my little heart desires: travel, food, observations ... you know, life stuff.

But for now, let's get down to business, shall we? I now present for your reading pleasure a recap of the places I went and stayed in Thailand.

Vang Vieng, You're Not Dead

When read that Vang Vieng was a one-time hedonistic party playground, now trying to eek out a space for itself as the next eco-tourism hot spot in Southeast Asia, I was intrigued. And starting out my travels, I saw plenty of young scuzzy backpacker types roaming around the streets of Cambodia and Vietnam sporting their Vang Vieng "In the Tubing" and Sakura Bar over-sized tanks. I read reports online that described the town as a drugged out wasteland, just messed up kids lounging around cafés that played nothing but Friends on an endless loop.

To give you a little background, and to paraphrase a bit from my Lonely Planet, back in the '90s, Vang Vieng was a sleepy little town on the banks of a beautiful, slow moving river. Backpackers would show up to drift down the river in an old tire, "smoke the odd spliff" and drink at the chilled-out bars along the banks of the river as they floated along. Word got out, and Vang Vieng became Southeast Asia's next drugged-out mecca; make-shift rave platforms started springing up along the river, the drugs got harder, and suddenly there were several deaths a year as people zonked out of their gourd started drowning and overdosing. The government cracked down in 2012, shutting down all the riverbank bars, and, according to Lonely Planet, the party was over, with just outdoorsy activities left behind.

Was it true? Was Lonely Planet right? Or were the accounts of the travel bloggers? More importantly, could a 36-year-old solo traveller (read: single, sort-of older woman) entertain herself there for a few days without being miserable? Was it an endless rave? A town-sized opium den? Or a outdoor enthusiast's paradise on earth?

Getting There: The Road to Phonsavan

I knew when the tuktuk pulled up in front of my hotel in Luang Prabang that the journey to Phonsavan was going to be a shitshow (sorry for the colorful language, Mom, but it's the only word that's apropos). The tuktuk was packed to the gills, with two guys sitting next to the Lao man riding the motorbike, and one guy hanging off the back, and so much weight on the roof from all the luggage that the driver had to tell the guy on the back to switch sides at certain points to keep us from tipping over.

We made it to the minivan terminal and began the process of loading up the van. It became clear pretty quickly that they'd over booked it, and with no luggage rack on the roof, they had to use space in the back for all the luggage. Most of the passengers were European/Western but there was one young Lao couple in the front row, and the boy squeezed himself on the van floor with his back to the driver's seat to make room for a German girl in the row of three at the front. The German couple sitting next to me spoke in hushed, angry tones in which I determined they were displeased, especially the woman, who was Extremely Displeased. There's probably some German word for Thewomanwhoexperiencestheextremedispleasure, but I don't speak German.

What I packed for 4 months of travel in SE Asia

I'm nearing the end of my trip (just 26 days to go!), so I thought I'd verbally dump my backpack out for you to see everything I've needed for backpacking for four months in Southeast Asia.

Money in Myanmar

I thought I would write a quick post about the current money situation in Myanmar as of June 2015 as before I left I found information on the Internet and in my guidebook to be confusing and often out-of-date.

Things I Wish I'd Packed for SE Asia

All things considered, I'm a pretty good packer. Definitely, a light packer. Very light. So light I didn't pack certain things I really wish I had with me. Here's a list:

1. Hand sanitizer

I realize this will be strange for some people, but personally I find hand sanitizer really gross. It's goopy, it's wet, it doesn't make me feel like my hands are clean. I'm one of those hot-water-and-soap folks. But here, where there can be a real lack of places to wash one's hands after using very questionable toilets, some hand sanitizer would be welcome. Add touching unpleasant surfaces like hand railings on buses and trains into the mix and hand sanitzer is one item I definitely wish I'd added to my bag. (Of course I have two bottles of the stuff back home, why didn't I think to just throw one in, just in case?)

Something like a Koh-Rong-men-on

There's been a bit of a delay since my last post -- but what can I say? I arrived in lovely Otres Village at a place called Mama Clare's, which is a collection of little bungalows up on stilts perched over Otres River, run by a super awesome British woman named (you guessed it!) Clare. It's about a 10 minute bike ride to Otres Beach, so for three glorious days, I hunkered down here and did what the British would describe as "fuck all." (Sorry for swearing, Mom, but given that this is a large expat community with tons of Brits floating around, it's the descriptor that seems the most apropos.)

So yes, for three blissful days, my daily agenda was something like this: unlock bicycle. Pedal bicycle past the various hippie boho enclaves in the village to the beach. Lock bicycle. Find a nice beach bar to buy a bottle of water, or mango smoothie, or pad thai, or beer. Lounge in a paddasam chair for an hour or three. Stare at the ocean. Get up, meander in the waves down to another beach bar. Repeat, until the sun began to hang low to the horizon. Saunter back to bicycle. Unlock. Pedal slowly in the warm orange sun back down the red rocky roads to Mama Clare's, where I'd find beers and supper and expats waiting. It's been a good scene.

travel

November 20, 2019

A few of my favorite travel essentials

When you’ve traveled as much as I have over the years, you quickly learn what items are a must when you’re hitting the road. Whether you’re gearing up for a backpacking trip or heading off on a more luxurious vacation, here are some of must-have items that you’ll want to make sure are in your bag before you head off.

November 18, 2019

Pros and Cons of Overlanding Across Patagonia

I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to travel overland from Ushuaia, Argentina (the city on the very tip of South America) all the way to Santiago, Chile, over the course of 26 days. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of taking an overlanding trip through this vast and incredible region of the world.

September 9, 2016

Visiting the Galápagos (Kind Of) on the Cheap

Yes, the Galapagos Islands can be an affordable vacation! With a little savvy, visiting the Galapagos doesn't have to be expensive. With day trips, a reasonably priced hotel, and smart restaurant choices, here's how I did it.

October 23, 2015

6 Must-Visit, Super-Cute, Totes Adorbs Towns in SE Asia

While Southeast Asia can be a laidback adventurer's paradise, it's also home to some pretty chaotic cities (Bangkok, Saigon, Kuala Lumpur). Escape the crazy and be sure to add these six charming towns to your next SE Asia itinerary for a little calm and a whole lotta charm.

October 15, 2015

A Sonoma Saturday: The Perfect Day Trip Itinerary

Many moons ago, my friend Lianne was in town from NYC/Austin/the world and said she wanted to go eat oysters and drink wine and basically be spectacular and live the good life that California is famous for. Along with our friend Jessica, we piled into a ZipCar and I took them on what I should patent as my very own "Townie Tour," where I take visitors to my favorite hotspots outside of San Francisco. We had one of the more epic day outings I've had in recent years as we bopped around Marin from one bucolic setting to the next.

One day after I got back from my SE Asia travels, Jessica announced that she'd be moving to London. Once I got over my initial bummed-out-ness (and realized that one less friend in SF now meant one more person to visit in London, hopefully with a decent sofa!), I knew the only way to celebrate her departure was with another epic outing to check out more of the glories north of The City.

July 9, 2015

March 16, 2015

Overlanding Do's and Don't (Or, How to Make Your Overlanding Trip a Great One)

In life, sometimes the best decisions are the ones we make impulsively. That’s how I found myself in Bishkek, Krygyzstan, about to embark on an overlanding trip for which I was blissfully unprepared and stupidly excited.

To be honest, I had not put a ton of time or energy into researching the trip before booking it. I had been longing to take a trip for a while; I knew I wanted to go somewhere obscure and preferably in Central Asia that would allow me to hike and sleep in a yurt. If there was a campfire and a brilliant sky full of stars to see, well, I would be beyond satisfied.

Photo Essay: Kyrgyzstan | Part 2

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