Wandering through Asia

My friend Amy just recently arrived from an incredible trip through Asia. If you are curious, check out Amy's blog:

"My travels in Southern Laos were indeed more successful in terms of being able to get out and see things than my time in the capital. I took an overnight bus with beds down to Pakse. This sounds like a really nice way to travel but as we found our beds, the only other westerner on the bus and I realized that these twin size mattresses were for two people, not one. We asked to be put together but there were no changes allowed so we spent the evening sleeping with strangers. This is not a recommended bus experience but we arrived in one piece at our destination and I suppose that's all you need." (from one of many 'interesting' posts in Wanderlust)

I am reminded of this by Nicholas Kristof's column from today's New York Times, with some tips that Amy might have found interesting (not that she needs tips) if it had come out 5 months ago:

"1. Carry a “decoy wallet,” so that if you are robbed by bandits with large guns, you have something to hand over. I keep $40 in my decoy wallet, along with an old library card and frequent-flier card. (But don’t begrudge the wallet: when my travel buddy was pickpocketed in Peru, we tried to jump the pickpocket, who turned out to be backed by an entire gang … )" (from Cum Laude in Evading Bandits)