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This blog entry is about my 3rd trip to Virachey National Park in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. I spent 8 days trekking in the park this time in an attempt to reach the sacred Haling-Halang Mountain massif that straddles the border of Cambodia and Laos. Problems arose even before I left Taiwan when the guide who I have trekked with for the previous two years went down with malaria. This time an Kreung highlander by the name of Kuen brought me into the park. Unfortunately, he wasn't very interested in showing me signs of wildlife (such as scratch marks on trees, dung droppings, etc), and was much more interested in reading a book about how to get rich. Nevertheless, we penetrated the forests north of the Veal Thom Grasslands much farther than we did in 2011, tracing ... read more

My friend and I originally had a goal with this trip -to reach the summit of the sacred and powerful Haling Halang Mountains, which straddle the border of Cambodia and Laos, and have one foot in both countries. What happened was this: there are 2 ways to get to Veal Thom Grasslands (which is on the way to Haling Halang): the normal tourist trail, which, while still challenging, is nothing compared to the "alternative route." The "other way" to go is by tracing the Tok Mok River up a grueling commando/special forces type of training workout, a trip which makes your bag all the more heavier because this way takes another 1.5 days and thus entails carrying more food. There were 6 of us in all: myself, my friend Richard, park ranger Soukhon, indigenous Brao guide ... read more

These photos were taken between April 15th - April 20th in Beijing, China and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, which I found spectacular, despite the hazy atmosphere. Damn shame about the foggy air, because there appeared to be some seriously huge granite mountains shooting up north of the Wall heading towards Mongolia. As far as Beijing the city goes, I didn't really care for it. Too many cops at Tianamen Square -and everywhere else, for that matter; no night markets, just one street for pubs (with another section where Frank's Place is), and very little to do outside Renmin University, where I was staying. I did like the sections of the city where there were willow trees lining the black water lanes, and the catkin seeds, drifting through the urban air like snow, added ... read more

We spent a week out on Gili Trawangan in July. We arrived at around 6pm on the Perama boat, transferring off to a smaller transfer boat before arriving on the beach. Not calling ahead was a bad idea, and it seemed like most places were full. Feeling a little bit desperate, we took the first room we could find at a place called ABDI, which, in all my travels, was probably the nastiest dump I have ever stayed in (70,000 Rupiah's a night). Vowing to find new accommodation in the morning, we decided to drink off our misgivings about our rooms so we headed over to Sama-Sama bar, where shot after shot after beer after beer arrived until 2am. Needless to say, there is no recollection of an uncomfortable snooze in our flophouse. Sunrise Bungalows (250,000 ... read more

"I, like, hate Medan," said my 17-year old brother of the capital of North Sumatra. I don't quite agree with him, but I don't love city either. The entire metropolis reminded me of the outskirts of Kathmandu -like, the area near Tribhuvan that's a run-down shamble old bricks, mangy monkeys and polluted rivers. I didn't see any wildlife in Medan itself, but I enjoyed having a beer at a pub on a small lane adjacent to the beautiful mosque on J.I. Raya. In fact, sipping a large Bintang and listening to the 'call to prayer' live just a few dozen meters away leaves me with an indelible memory. But one night in the capital was plenty, and by 10am the following morning, we were in a van on our way to Bukit Lawang, legendary home of ... read more