Kevin and Amarryn

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber So, continuing along my “brilliant” plan of taking the less traveled route through China, we found ourselves smack dab in the center of this giant country in a town called Chongqing. What was there to see here? Not much. It was more of a connection hub on our way to Xian and Beijing. But, we figured we'd try to wring every ounce of possible fun out of it. First order of business, however, was to buy train tickets to Xian. I should have known that coming to a town in the middle of nowhere will cause tickets to shoot up in cost. So we spent a few days hoping a cheaper option would present itself, but finally relented and paid the ... read more

“India is not an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay” Shashi Tharoor in his ‘The Great Indian Novel' The sun is warm, the sea is swaying and I'm enjoying the passing of yet another day. Despite this outward sense of calm, it is still out there—waiting for us. We can't hide here forever. This was meant to be a brief respite from the rigors and chaos of the outside world, but now we were just dithering. We have been in Varkala for 9 days now and having decided to stick it out in India, it was past time that we got on with it. Maybe this is a metaphor for our trip as a whole. We came to ... read more

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” - Phillip R. Slocum Cambodia has an even darker history than Laos. Not only were they heavily bombed by America as well (unofficially again), but around the same time Saigon had fallen to the North Vietnamese, the Khmer Rouge nightmare began, ending only a few years later with over 2 million people dead. The Khmer Rouge wanted Cambodia to become a communist country based solely around agriculture, and anyone educated, who spoke a foreign language, or who wore glasses were branded parasites and systematically slaughtered. While this makes little sense to me, what makes even less sense is the fact that America supported the Khmer Rouge (I thought they were against communist countries!?!?). Even the ... read more

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” Tim Cahill After the fast pace of Thailand we were looking forward to a quieter country, maybe one less affected by tourism. Our plan was to hit Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia in a clockwise loop before returning to Bangkok for our flight to India. So our plan was to hit every Southeast Asian country except Myanmar (aka: Burma) (currently controlled by a brutal and repressive military regime) and the Philippines (recently pounded by a series of destructive typhoons). I have to admit I knew next to nothing about Laos before arriving, even that it's actually pronounced 'Lauw.' I'm reminded of a 'King of the Hill' episode in which Hank decides to ask his Asian neighbor: “Are you Chinese or Japanese?” His neighbor responds: “I'm Laotian.” ... read more

“When you travel, remember that a country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” - Clifton Fadiman Southern Thailand! The Gem of the Banana Pancake Trail. I had heard so many great things about this country while in South America that I was subconsciously pulling at the reins to get here. Every country we've 'had a feeling about' ended up being great, most notable Argentina and Turkey. My birthday was coming up, 2nd in a row while traveling. I was excited to spend it in Thailand. The only question was, which of Southern Thailand's gorgeous beaches would I be lazing the day away on while I turned the big three one? Let's see. There's Ko Tao, scuba diving mecca. Ko Phi Phi, home to “The Beach” ... read more