Around the World with Theatre Charlotte: Asia

Madison Culver is a former Charlottean turned globe trotter. Following her recent graduation from Johnson & Wales University, Madison began an embark around the world not dissimilar to the journey Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout take in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS.

Unlike Fogg and Passepartout, however, Madison is in no hurry to complete a multi-continental race. This means she has been able to stop and see all the sights Fogg and Passepartout missed during their journey—and luckily for us, she is taking Theatre Charlotte along for the adventure by exclusively sharing her stories and photos with us, which we will post here weekly during our production of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS.

To learn more about Madison, please visit Where The Wind Blows Now, the blog she started to chronicle her travels and help people find inspiration in the beauty of life.

Week 3: Asia
I got quite a taste of Asia traveling through Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Out of the three countries I visited, I enjoyed Thailand the greatest! It has something for every traveler--crowed party places, mountain trekking, and even remote beaches. I happened to get a dose of each scene.

Coming in second place is…Vietnam! It wasn’t quite as backpacker friendly as Thailand (loads of package holiday set-ups), but nonetheless an extremely good time. I arrived in Hanoi in mid February, the whether being particularly chilly caused me to move further south. There, I found the tropical environment my bones ached for.

Laos was interesting. I can’t really give a great review because my partner was dreadfully ill the majority of the time spent here. Needless to say, I wasn’t bopping around everywhere, but I did happen to stumble upon some very cool stuff. Here, see for yourself…

china town in bangkok, thailand.

chiang mai's ladyboys.

young rice paddies.

rubber trees in koh lanta!

latex.

the entrance to tham khao mai kaew. getting ready for spelunking.

it was SUPER hot!

lethal cheeky monkeys! they were FIESTY!!

rolled up on this beauty taking a bath.

phi phi viewpoint.

rantee bay.

koh phangan. bay of hat yuan.

koh tao. shark bay.

sunset beach in koh kradan.

can you see the fish?

south beach.

paradise beach.

wat rong khun. buddhist temple in chiang rai.

into laos we go. phonsavan.

plain of jars site 3. according to my tour guide, the plain of jars is dated to the iron age (500 bce to 500 ce). since the 1930's archaeologists have discovered human remains, burial goods, and ceramic items around the stone jars. all of which leads scientists to believe the jars were apart of certain burial practices.

plain of jars site 2.

plain of jars site 1.

plain of jars site 1 cave.

the people used this cave for cremation. the hole on the left is natural, the next two are manmade.

bear rescue facility in luang prabang.

swinging into kouang si waterfall.

view from the top of kouang si waterfall.

vietnam!

thien cung grotto, ha long bay

ha long bay

hoi an

vinpearl land. nha trang.

cable cars to vinpearl land

kite surfers GALORE. mui ne.

the best way is the scooter way. ho chi minh.

street grub.

jackfruit tree. such an interesting fruit.

diagram of cu chi tunnel system. complete with underwater entrance.

normal tunnel size.

i'm just over 5 feet tall...and it's a tight squeeze

war remnants.

fried jellyfish anyone?

Theatre Charlotte's production of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS runs through April 1. Tickets are available through CarolinaTix at 704-372-1000 or CarolinaTix.org.