With the last grains of sand in the hour-glass of my Thai tourist visa rapidly trickling away, I scurried to the Thai border and bade farewell to the country that has been my second home (yet again) for the past few months. As I approached the boat landing for the short long-tail boat ride across the Mekong River, I could already see Thailand's friendly neighbour beckoning warmly in the near distance. And barely two minutes (and THB40) later, I was there! Immigration at both Thai and Laos ends were a breeze, with nary a queue and friendly officers, which really put my tiring visa run experiences at the Cambodian border at Poi Pet in stark contrast. And so, after getting off the boat at the Laos end, clearing immigration and walking up a short slope, there ... read more

After that brief sojourn to the highlands of the north, it was time to head back to the regional capital of Chiang Mai. And what a way to get back, as the mini-van driver drove as if in a frenzy down the winding hills, but thankfully got us all back in one piece, in a much faster-than-anticipated time of course. Because I'd already spent some time in Chiang Mai last year, I originally planned to make it just another quick night or at most two, before heading up north again towards the Golden Triangle. But there's something about Chiang Mai that makes you want to stay a little looonger. Perhaps it's the pleasant climate, despite the intermittent rain that persistent during this rainy season. Perhaps it's the generally low-key and laid-back atmosphere, notwithstanding its deserved status ... read more

And so it was with some melancholy that I said goodbye to my home away from home that is Bangkok, and took the long (but it must be said, very comfortable) 16h overnight train ride up to Northern Thailand. This would be my second time in the region - the first was just over a year ago, barely months into the beginning of my travels, when I entered the country in the north from Myanmar. I'd originally planned on spending time there before I headed down towards Bangkok, but an unexpected visit to the capital by my grandma saw me zooming down by plane to meet her there for the few days she was going to be in town. And with it went my original plans of exploring the much talked-about northern loop of Pai-Mae Hong ... read more

So I'm back in Bangkok for another extended rest period from travelling, and it's taken some six weeks before I found the strength again for a short sojourn outside of the capital. It was the Mother's Day long weekend here in Thailand, so I took the opportunity to visit the famous floating markets in Amphawa and Damnoen Saduak just outside of Bangkok. I'd read about these in LP during my first extended stay in Bangkok around this time last year, and they seemed like convenient day trips, but it has taken me until now to get down to visiting them. It's funny how sometimes the closer they are, the harder they are to visit... I vaguely remember visiting a floating market as a kid, and I vaguely remember it being a looong boat ride down the ... read more

Having enjoyed the cool mountain air of the highlands for over a week now, starting from Bukittingi to Toba and Berastagi, it was time to finally head back down to the reality of the infernal heat of the Sumatran lowlands. And so from Berastagi it was a 5h journey to Bukit Lawang, a small village tucked away from the bustle of the provincial capital of Medan, and which has been receiving tourists to its the nearby Leuser National Park and orang-utan rehabilitation centre for the past several decades. What's that, another orang-utan rehab centre, you say? Didn't I already visit one just last month in Sepilok, Sabah, East Malaysia? Indeed I did. But I'd come to Bukit Lawang for the trekking, much vaunted by LP, and also the hopes of catching a sight of the red-haired ... read more