Blogs from Asia - page 14926

Hi there... So Bangkok was interesting! Fun... crazy, loud, moooodern... From the bus on the outskirts of the city, we took an INSANE tuk-tuk ride to Khao Sarn Rd... This guy was weaving through traffic, speeding down the highway... with nooo regard to any sort of traffic law... we thought that 3-wheeled, rickety contraption would tip over... but it didn't... so much fun. Much like a rollercoaster ride! But without the safety-belts! sheesh... Bangkok is so cool... it's just a giant sprawling mishmash of modern and ancient... so many highrises, chain stores, and malls... but also junky little hovels, many normal thai buildings, wats everywhere... quite RAD! So the famous Khao Sarn Road was pretty much how we'd imagined it, after being told so many mixed things about the place. It's a long road, filled with ... read more

After his failure as a man, a human being and a Buster at the Cu Chi Tunnels Joe has decided to try and redeem himself. He has booked himself onto a tour of the Mekong Delta. I have decided not to join him and, instead, spend my time more fruitfully in Saigon. After all who wants to spend hours on a bus followed by hours on boat followed by hours on a bus again? Joe is away at dawn and, seeing as how it's pissing rain, I decide to start the day with a little sleep in. I finally rise at 11.00am and make my way down the street in search of some breakfast. I find a nice little cafe and start with a coffee. There is a little metal filter placed atop a clear glass ... read more

Ok. So I like nature. But I like my creature comforts as well. Here's how to combine the two... Leaving Bangkok two days ago, we (ie. my 8-person tour group and I) travelled approximately 5 hours by train, then another hour by songteaw (meaning 'two rows'- so basically a pick-up truck with two long benches in the back) to the smaller city of Sukhothai in the north. We were dropped off at our accommodation, which consists of a group of wooden bungalows in what looks like a tropical rainforest setting- it's really quite serene and nice. However, like all rainforests, there also exists a whole bunch of wildlife residing where you least expect it... After checking out our very simple bungalow, with two single beds covered in mozzie net (as I soon discovered, this is highly ... read more

These are from when Dawn and I went to Kyoto the day after we got home from Hiroshima... we're insane, I know, but it was a lot of fun. Too bad it's still too early for hanami (flower viewing)... Can you believe that it SNOWED the other night?!?!? *sigh* This year the weather is insane... maybe it's me? Hehe... anyway, enjoy the pictures! (^_^) p.s. Can you tell the differences between a plum (ume) blossom and a cherry (sakura) blossom? Try to figure it out... unless you know, but I'll tell everyone the next time I update!... read more

First things first. Any grumbles I have need to be viewed in the context of the fact that I wrote the notes for this entry sat in the shade made by my own bamboo hut, looking out over a beautiful and near-empty sand beach, with the sound of the waves and the palm trees blowing in the wind giving me the natural equivalent of a relaxation tape. In other words, my two days on a beach in Goa might not have been perfect, but that's not to say that they didn't have their upsides... Anyway, I decided on Mandrem beach. Had scouted out a couple of beaches the day before, and it seemed to fall nicely between the concrete and chips of Calungate and Baga, and the irritating hippies of Arambol and Anjuna. The adventure for ... read more