Even before stepping out of the airport you know you're not in your typical Asian city. A city where one in six people are millionaires including Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Everything is profit driven here, the president made 3 million dollars last year AND gets a bonus based on the country's gross domestic product! Lots of very wealthy people take up residence in Singapore because the highest tax rate is 20% and there is no capital gains tax. The cleanliness and efficiency that are hallmarks of Singapore can be felt even passing through immigration where there was a surprising bowl of candy for people entering. Don't mind if I do. No gum though, it's not illegal to chew it, but it is is illegal to sell it! The mass rapid transit (MRT) system has been stretched ... read more

O man, why am I so lazy to write! The weeks haven't exactly flown by, but I am now in N. Thailand. So I apologize for any lack of fluidity in this blog. Less I digress any further......... Pokhara is an easy place to fall for. The traveler scene is based around lovely Lake Tal. You can find all that food your homesick for and wash it down with a tall bottle of Everest, my favorite Nepalese beer. But the mountains beckoned and I was ready to get up there as soon as possible. I was thinking about doing the 17 day Annapurna Circuit, but I've had respiratory problems since my last 6 months in Taiwan. Looks like all that fresh South Asian air has done a number on my lungs. Had a doctor on the ... read more

Bodhgaya was incredibly wonderful and equally chaotic. A lot of the chaos surrounded His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit and teachings. He doesn't teach in Bodhgaya often, the last time being in 2003. This is where the Siddhartha Guatama attained enlightenment and is therefore the epicenter of Buddhism. There are temples representing all the major and many minor traditions here. Mahabodhi Temple is the crown gem and a place of pure devotion and serenity. A sapling of the original Bodhi tree was brought back to here from Sri Lanka. This is now a massive old growth fig and it's binomial is fittingly ficus religious.The original nearly suffered death from the King Ashoka's wife who was intensely jealous of his fondness towards it. The build up to the teachings was intense. Everyday more and more people poured ... read more

I rolled into the small village of Ketambe after a 9 hour windy, bone rattling bus ride from Takengon. The bus driver dropped me off at the wrong guest house, but it didn't matter. As soon as I met Ahmed I was at ease. He has those kind eyes that you know can be trusted. Ketambe is a great base for trekking into the park, offering a serene alternative to the tout shakedown at Bukit Lawang. Rates there have soared to $80 a day in the last 6 months. I linked up with a lovely Australian couple, Paul and Gemma, and decided to trek with them the following morning. With 3 it worked out to $30 a day. www.ketambe.com if you are ever on Sumatra, you must check this place out. Eden and Aris were our ... read more

Well I thought I would send out a little message to my global community. I have been stationary for the last year and 8 months. Teaching English and living in Kaohsiung has been an awesome experience. So awesome that my travels will lead me back here in a little over a years time. My free time has been largely committed to my football team the Kaohsiung 100 Pacers (www.100pacers.com). When I first arrived I was told team was named after the most deadly snake on the island and was also a reference for about how far some of our aging players can run. They have helped make this place a home for me. Networks like this aren't created overnight. So here is the skinny on my trip. My soccer team here is playing in a ... read more