For nearly all of 2025, Hugh and I have been planning, researching, and then refining our plans for this journey through Southeast Asia—Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. We’ve watched documentaries, movies, read books, and slowly let the region work its way into our imaginations. The more we learned, the more excited we became about what lies ahead.

We’ve touched down in Bangkok twice before, both times en route to Bhutan, and each visit left us wanting more. This time, though, Bangkok will wait. We’re heading straight to the ancient city of Chiang Mai, then on to Chiang Rai. Our tour agent listened carefully—especially to me—and has booked two Thai cooking classes. I can hardly wait. What new spices will I discover? Pineapple fried rice is one of my favorite Thai dishes; will I come home with new ideas, new flavors, a different way of thinking about it?

I admit I’m most excited about our journey from Thailand into Laos. We’ll travel by boat up the Mekong River. Anyone who grew up in the 1960s recognizes that name, along with the history it carries from the Vietnam War. I feel certain that being on the river will give us access to the region’s culture in a way no other mode of transportation could. We’ll share a meal with a Lao family—something entirely new for me. I’ve eaten in many places around the world, but never in a Lao home. What will we eat? How will the meal unfold?

Our guidebook introduces us to names that already spark images in my mind: the 4,000 Islands, the Bolaven Plateau, and then Cambodia—Angkor Wat, of course, but also the floating villages of Tonlé Sap. The names alone feel evocative. I wonder how closely the reality will match what I’ve imagined.

We end our journey in Phnom Penh, another place that echoes with the history of the Vietnam War—a quiet reminder of how deeply the past is woven not only into this region but also into the pages of our own American history books.

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