Our first Newsletter. Nong Khai, weird photos, and a a few posts you may have missed

Published: Mon, 12/15/14

Your Weekly Newsletter!

This is our very first newsletter. With our audience growing, and with many subscribers who don't really know us, we figured it would be a weekly opportunity to update our readers with what we're up to while also giving them useful information, weird photos (that maybe don't make it on the blog), and older posts that they may have missed. The blog is still a work in progress so please don't hesitate to write us or comment on anything you'd like to see on the blog, any questions you may have, or any other feedback that you think would be beneficial to readers.

Above: Promenade in Nong Khai.

Update: We are approaching the 6 month mark since leaving Montreal. Our 3 months in Prague were great but we've struggled finding a base in Thailand. No more; we've discovered the little town of Nong Khai on the Thai/Lao border and have decided that this will be our home until we leave Asia in late March. That's the Mekong river that you see in the photo above. Not a day goes by when we don't walk the promenade along the river to gaze at the amazing sunsets. That's Laos on the opposite side of the river.

Adventures coming up will focus on Northern Issan province. You'll be amazed by some of the highlights of this little known region.

Photo 1: Most people have probably never heard of Nok Air. They're the discount competitor to Air Asia in Thailand. All their planes have colourful designs and bird's beaks on their nose. This is the plane we took to get from Bangkok to Udon Thani. From there it is a 45 minute drive to Nong Khai.

New readers to the blog may not know our story of leaving Montreal to live and work on the road. This post, written back in June, details our decision and explains what it means for the blog.

Photo 2: Christmas tree outside Nong Khai's Tesco Lotus store. That's Frosty with a "Let it Snow" sign. It was about 28C on this day...

You want to travel but afraid of the costs of living overseas? You might be surprised by how much cheaper things are in other countries. We've already saved $20,000 over 6 months, primarily just because we can continue working while incurring significantly lower living expenses living abroad. This post breaks down some comparative expenses in Montreal, Prague and Bangkok. You might be surprised by which city ended up being the least expensive for us.

Photo 3: Found on the shelves of Tesco Lotus. I thought of buying a bottle just so I could bring it home and shock Lissette's friends. Imagine their faces when I offer them 'some of my black cock'. Ok, maybe not so funny.

Some posts are too specific and we don't send them out to our subscribers. This one is a perfect example. But it was one of the first issues we had to face when deciding to travel. If you're a Canadian who's ever had questions about provincial or private travel insurance then you might find this one interesting.

Photo 4: Man selling brooms on the streets of Nong Khai.

Some people say I'm a bit of a dick. I guess I can be. Part of being a dick is reminding people how great winter is in Montreal. So I invite you to check out some of the photos on this post. And remember; we're in mid-December so you still have about 4 months of winter coming up. Which means lots of photo opportunities.

Just a reminder that we are happy to send postcards to subscribers. If you want to receive a postcard just let us know!