Travelfish correspondent Ivana Lexa-French

Born in Aarhus Denmark, Ivana got her first passport at 6 months old and often traveled around Europe with her mother's theater company, while also making frequent trips to visit her family in the U.S. She attended an Arts high school in San Francisco and studied Social Anthropology in Scotland along with a hefty dose of ethnic dance. After completing her studies, she found herself with cold hands and itchy feet.

In 2009, Ivana moved to Southeast Asia to work as an English teacher and find new cultural windows in which to peep. She has been living in Vientiane since 2010, where she seasons her days with road trips, tasty food, Lao massage and scoping out the seedlings of Vientiane’s burgeoning arts scene. She currently teaches Geography and Environmental Management at a local international school.
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Posts by Ivana Lexa-French:

• Review: Ban Pako, Laos

  First published: 03 Mar 2013
  

  Fifty kilometres northeast of Vientiane, a red dusty road winds through farm villages, beneath the boughs of subtropical trees, and ends at a bend in the Nam Ngum River. Here, on an ancient temple site, sits Ban Pako Eco-Resort. While no remnants of the ancient temple are visible, a sense of tranquility instills a timelessness … read the full post

• French restaurants in Vientiane

  First published: 18 Feb 2013
  

  One of the best French colonial legacies in Laos is the abundance of French restaurants serving classic French cuisine. After a few weeks, or months, of trekking around in tattered boardies and living off of pho, it can be a very refreshing experience to put on your most dapper-looking threads and indulge in some elegance. … read the full post

• Love in Laos

  First published: 09 Feb 2013
  

  Courtship has its rules and customs in all countries and it helps to be aware of unforeseen cultural expectations. Here are some ground rules to keep in mind in Laos. The Lao, generally speaking, are a flirtatious lot. Sexual innuendo and proposition-fuelled banter form a central aspect of social interaction. In a country where white … read the full post

• Awkward healthcare questions in Laos

  First published: 16 Jan 2013
  

  There are certain pharmaceutical and medical needs that travellers may have that are slightly awkward to satisfy — say, asking around Vientiane whether you can get the morning-after pill or miming to a pharmacist that you have intestinal worms. If you’re in Laos, here are a few helpful tips that will hopefully help you avoid … read the full post

• Vegetarian food in Vientiane — and the rest of Laos

  First published: 26 Dec 2012
  

  For travellers seeking an exotic dining experience, Laos offers opportunities from crunchy crickets fried in chillies to savoury chicken testicle pudding. For those travellers with a less adventurous palate, meals in the countryside are often limited to fried rice and noodle soup and for vegetarians, sticking to a meat-free diet is almost impossible. In Vientiane, … read the full post

• Healthcare in Laos

  First published: 20 Dec 2012
  

  Laos has a rustic appeal to many travellers who enjoy getting away from the sealed and packaged amenities of the West. Unfortunately, our immune systems aren’t always up to the task and accidents can happen when trekking through the jungle or spelunking in slippery dark caves. Here are some things to keep in mind when … read the full post

• Live music in Vientiane

  First published: 12 Dec 2012
  

  Vientiane’s music scene is still in its infancy and far less prominent than in cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Yet if you find yourself weary of karaoke, a handful of local bands usually play shows on the weekends, with a few more peppered across weekdays. Local bands feature both Lao and falang musicians, mostly … read the full post

• Buddha Park, Vientiane

  First published: 09 Dec 2012
  

  Buddha Park, like many of Vientiane’s other attractions, is more curious than spectacular. A rogue monk is said to have attempted to reconsolidate Buddhism and Hinduism into his own brand of mysticism through a rather prolific collection of sculptures depicting various deities and scenes from both religionsin the 1950s. The choice of building material, cement … read the full post

• Massage in Vientiane

  First published: 29 Nov 2012
  

  Trekking on tropical trails, riding on bumpy dirt roads, gadding about in the heat and lapping up generous quantities of Beer Lao are all popular activities in Laos that can leave at least one body part feeling very sore. If you’re passing through Vientiane, you may want to take advantage of the very affordable and … read the full post

• Loy Khatung: the night of the Naga

  First published: 26 Nov 2012
  

  Every year the Lao observe Buddhist Lent for a three-month period, in which they (attempt to) abstain from alcohol and meat to honour the Buddha’s months of ascetic contemplation before he reached enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The end of this period, marked by the first full moon in the 12th month of the Buddhist … read the full post