Peter Keusgen

pkeusgen

Peter Keusgen

This page details the travels of Peter Keusgen as he meanders aimlessly through Nepal, India, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and South Africa.

Laos includes Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Phrabang, Kong Lo, Nong Kiew, Muang Noi, Rowing down the Nam Ou, Phonsovan and Plain of Jars, the 4000 Islands, and Trekking in Phongsaly.

Thailand has Songkran on Koh San Road, Samui, and diving in the Similans.

Myanmar includes Yangon, Mandalay, Pyin U Lwin, the Irrawaddy River, Bagan, and Inle Lake.
Malaysia includes KL, Georgetown and Penang, Melaka, Mt Kinabalu, Sipidan, and other bits of Borneo.

South Korea is Seoul and Kyongju.

India is Manali (Himarchel Pradesh). Leh (Ladakh), and Delhi.

South Africa was the World Cup.




Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok December 9th 2013

Upper Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, Thailand I was reminded that the protests were back on again at 10am when 55,000 people marched past my street blowing the usual whistles and cheering etc. Naturally, I was out there with my camera within a couple of minutes. It wasn't much different from last time (there was a short hiatus during the King's birthday) except it was bigger and people looked a bit more serious. That's not to say they've gone from being Thai to being Malay or Singaporean -- they are still smiling and looked happy. But I did sense that they were on a bit more of a mission this time than just on a walk down the street. Maybe because it was Monday morning. Or maybe because almost the entire opposition resigned from parliament in protest. The ... read more
Corruption
Dumb foreigner
Look at me -- I'm cool

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok November 29th 2013

Naitt and I went down to the Erawan Shrine intersection yesterday to see the protests, but like what happens to storm and tornado chasers, the protests had dissipated before we got there, leaving in their wake a couple of bored cops and the normal Thai populace going about their business. Naitt prayed at the shrine while I wandered around looking for protesters. Maybe I should have just prayed -- there wasn't anything left over from the protests. No surprise really. Protests, demonstrations, riots, and civil unrest seem to be interchangeable in the international press, depending on which monkey is editing. The civil unrest here in Bangkok can be defined as, "a few thousand cheerful citizens peacefully exercising their democratic rights to express their concern over the ramrodding of legislation through the lower house of parliament." Or, ... read more
Leader
Dangerous rioter
whistles

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Spoleto July 28th 2013

My great friend Tim beat the odds and made it to 40 years, having lived in 7 countries on four continents, had 28 girlfriends from 30 countries, one ex-wife, and no kids that he admits to. To celebrate this (or these) amazing feat(s), he hosted about 20 friends and relatives at Villa Piancianinear Spoleto, Italy. Awesome. The first four and a half days of the party were really, really boring. I arrived on the evening of the fifth. Then the party got going. Actually, judging by the dark circles under Loray and Ed's eyes, the party had been going pretty well even before I got there, with a little help from Luke's Limoncello. That's pretty much the extent of this blog entry. There wasn't a lot that we did there that we don't usually do when ... read more
Villa Pianciani
Balcony
Morning

Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Tak December 11th 2011

My girlfriend Naitt was almost crying when we arrived at Thi Lo Su Waterfall. Last time she went there, it had taken two days of rafting and trekking, and was like discovering a new secret place with just four frineds. This time, there were hundreds of tourists. But the next waterfalls were awesome. Heading in to Thi Lo Su From our awesome hillside bungalow, we headed towards Mae Sot and took the turnoff towards Thi Lo Su on the "road of 1,000 bends". Apparently someone counted them one time, and there were around 1,219 in total. It's a pretty nice drive, if you are used to driving in mountains. But Bangkokers simply aren't. The only bends in Bangkok are the few off the expressways. I took over most of the driving because with so many Sunday ... read more
The road in
The bottom of Thi Ro Su -- very peaceful because we were on a fenced path, so no swimming here
Thi Ro Su Waterfall

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok October 27th 2011

When we left the condo at 2pm, the road was dry. 4 hours later it was covered in water. Naitt and I went to her condo to pick up a jacket she'll need for a trip to Korea next week, and then headed to Siriraj Hospital where she works. Wading to hospital It's normally a 20 minute walk to the hospital, but it takes a heck of a lot longer to wade. 200m from her condo it started getting wet. That road was ankle deep to begin with on our side and went down to knee deep on the other. Already boats were being used as alternative transport and nothing smaller than a pickup could pass on the highest spots. Buses were still passing and picking up bedraggled passengers. Another 300m down the road and it ... read more
A bicycle passes a bus as it stops at a bus stop
What I'd be doing if I were a kid here
Submarine cycling

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok October 22nd 2011

The standard greeting in Bangkok is now, "Are you affected by the floods?" And it's easy to see why. I took a river boat up Bangkok's Chao Phraya river to have a look at the flooding. So far the defenses seem to be holding up. But nothing is completely waterproof. At the moment, the flood barriers holding the river level up 1-2 metres above ground level still have around 12-18 inches of freeboard before the river overflows into Bangkok. I got off at Pier 10, on the other side of the river from Bangkok proper, near Siriraj Hospital, the country's largest. It was impossible to disembark without getting wet feet -- the water was ankle deep at the pier, and calf deep off it. But a wall of sandbags was keeping most of the water contained, ... read more
Squatter dwellings
Restaurant with a river
12 inches left

Africa » South Africa » North West » Rustenburg June 27th 2010

Getting around South Africa ain't easy. Especially going to a little town like Rustenburg that doesn't even have a direct route to Johannesburg. Rustenburg shouldn't really exist as a town at all, except it's sitting on the biggest deposit of platinum on the planet. The other other things it has is the "Platinum Highway" linking it to Pretoria and the Royal Bafaking Stadium -- a name that lends itself to misuse. After failing to hire a driver we had to resort to driving ourselves. Wayne kindly offered to do the driving but Tim and I vetoed that idea immediately -- Wayne's much better company drunk than sober. I ended up driving by default, so the three of us collected our Elvis costumes and piled into the car for the 3 hour trip. Wayne mentioned that he ... read more
We couldn't possibly drive by this sign without stopping... except at night
What us fat bastards drink here in South Africa
Elvis (aka Wayne) obviously needs to get laid

Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Pretoria June 24th 2010

The Big Game. The One Elvis Has Been Waiting For. US vs Algeria. We bundled into the Ford Fiesta that came with the house, stocked up the cooler bag with beer and Jameson Whisky, and headed to Pretoria for the game. There were just four of us left now: Lori Ann had gone back to Manila early to escape the cold (and us footy fans) while Mark, the lone American, had to go back to work (none of the rest of us work in offices). Incredibly, we arrived in a familiar part of Pretoria despite me driving and Tim navigating. Our parking spot just a block from the stadium was next to a park with several bums in it obviously intoxicated. I got out of the car, looked at them, and shook my head. Then the ... read more
The real America
Young US supporter holding up a flag twice her size
Wayne and Eric dress up as Elvis

Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Johannesburg June 18th 2010

As all seven of us had lived in South Korea, this was a game we had been looking forward to. Argentina is in outstanding form and the coach, Maradonna, is almost as fun to watch as the team. Meanwhile, the South Koreans don't have anywhere near the skill and depth of the Argentineans, but make up for that in fitness and speed. It was bound to be a great game. Mark, the sole American in the group, drove us all down to a local station, from whence we were to get the train to the game. We consisted of two Canadians, an Australian, a Welsh, a Filipina, and a Dane. Having all developed a love-hate relationship with Korea, we really wanted Korea to win... or get trounced. Only a draw would be unsatisfying., On arrival at ... read more
North Korean supporters
Alun and South Korean fans
Two South Korean chicks

Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Johannesburg June 18th 2010

The Lion Park Yes, I know, you can go to lion parks anywhere. In fact my parents took me to a couple in Australia when I was a kid. But this is different. This is seeing lions caged in their natural African habitat instead of caged in an Australian habitat. As corny as this is, it was good fun. We got to play with the cubs and see some albino lions (which I didn't even know existed). There were also a few bored giraffes, springbok, zebra, meercats, and dogs to see -- just like any other zoo. The best part was driving through the lion enclosures. We had fun leaning out of the car to take pictures and then getting our limbs inside the car and closing the windows before one of the young lions took ... read more
Comic book giraffe
Meerkat
Mark with his new girlfriend




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