My Dream Vacation: Laos
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I hope you enjoy my dream vacation as much as I did!

                          http://www.tourismlaos.org/web/show_content.php?contID=417

Background:

My name is Karen, my parents immigrated to Canada 23 years ago to provide their children (my brother and I) a better future and success. With that being said, I was brought up in Lao culture, but also in Canadian culture because my parents wanted us to ‘fit in’. As a child I spoke Lao fluently, however as I grew up and began to attend school this slowly diminished. I found that as I became older I gradually lost my Lao culture and became adapted to the Canadian lifestyle.

My family and I travelled to Laos about 11 years ago (I was 11). It was a very different experience. Actually it was a complete culture shock! I found it very difficult to communicate with relatives and locals because yes I could understand Laos pretty well, however my ability to verbally express myself was lacking. Since our visit, my parents travel back to Laos periodically. They’ve recently begun to build a new house in Laos because after I graduate and have a career (I am the youngest of their children) they want to live both in Laos and in Canada, travelling back and forth.

Debrief of Trip Details:

Who: My parents and I

What: My dream and long awaiting vacation to Laos!

Where: Laos (Vientiane, Pakse)

When: January 30– February 24 2013

How: plane, car, rickshaw, walking, motorbike, motorboat

Why/ Motivation: Exploring my heritage, appreciation for where my parents are from and discover who I am!

Price:  $2300 round trip; spending money ~$1,300 *prices are by per person

Duration: 25 days

Accommodations: Relatives’ homes/ guesthouses

                                            http://mapsof.net/map/laos-flag-map

Currency:

1 Canadian Dollar (CAD) = 7, 974.08 Lao or Laotian Kip (LAK)

            or

1 Lao or Laotian Kip (LAK) = 0.000125406 Canadian Dollar (CAD)

However the best currency to use when exchanging money in Laos is US, Thai Bhat and the Euro.

                                http://www.tourismlaos.org/web/show_content.php?contID=6

Who:

            I am going to travel with my parents to Laos because they will show me everything there is to know about Laos. They will basically be my personal tour guides! I want to experience this with my parents also because they will be my connection to my relatives. They will also be my translators, since my ability to verbally express myself is limited they will help me communicate and learn Laos throughout the vacation.

My parents and I

When:

            I am going to travel to Laos January 30 to February 24, 2014. This will allow 2 days of travel to get to and back from Laos. I’m going to travel to Laos during this time because it has two seasons (dry and wet). The dry season runs from November to April and I will be going in its dry season. Also the temperature in Laos from November to February is generally cooler rather than blistering hot! Seeing as I am use to the cool temperatures of Canadian weather, it is best that I travel there during these durations for my health and safety. Wouldn’t want to get heat exhaustion on my dream vacation trip!

                                                                            

                            http://www.examiner.com/article/hot-weather-food-care

            I am also travelling during these times because I have the time and not many obligations that are holding me back! It’s the perfect time for development and growth. When else am I going to travel with my parents to Laos without a care in the world, well maybe I should care about my future, but that’s why I’m going!

Where:

Laos (located in center of southeast Asia)! We will visit Vientiane and Pakse specifically because my mom is from Vientiane and my dad is from Pakse.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/asia/lao/map-lao/index.htm

Motivation/Why:

I want to travel to Laos for several reasons. Firstly, I want to discover and explore more about my heritage and culture. It’s important to me to learn more about where I came from and how I came to be. Secondly, I want to develop as a person and have a better sense of what I want to do with my life. I think that this vacation will help me grow as an individual. It will also allow me to have better insight on why my parents chose to immigrate in the first place. 

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/planning/articles/howToSaveForYourChildEducation.html

             This leads me into my third reason. I want to travel to Laos because I want to thank my parents for all they have done for me. I’ve been very fortunate to have such amazing parents who are willing to give up theirs lives and work non-stop to provide their children everything that they could. I am going to thank them by helping out with the trip financially as much as I can, but also by being there and experiencing this with them! Fourthly, this is the best time to travel! I won’t have many obligations and I won’t be in any debt (my parents have helped me with funding my education). Fifthly, my grandmother passed away last year in Laos and I would love to go visit her grave and show my respect to the only grandparent I got to meet! 

My grandmother was the one on the bottom right

Lastly, I want to travel to Laos because I feel that my previous visit to Laos was not experienced to its fullest. I was in Laos but didn’t take advantage of it as much as I would now. With all these reasons in mind, my dream vacation is to go to Laos and discover myself!