From all the countries in SEA I was interested in Vietnam the most. Simply because it is the only country I had an idea of before I came here. I heard about it and saw it in movies, books, computer games and a few school lessons. Yet the more I learned about travelling here, the […]
Road to Hsipaw
Aaaaaaai really don’t like bus rides. Especially not the painfully slow ones. After leaving Mandalay yesterday afternoon around 2pm, the (reasonably decent) bus crouched up the narrow and winding road towards the Shan Hills. Traffic is heavy and many times the bus has to stop to let another heavy vehicle pass a narrow turn. Two […]
Around the City
Southeast Asia is a dangerous place. Lots of people, including visitors, get killed in traffic accidents. That’s not really on peoples’ minds though and when westerners are going to any country in the region, they are usually more afraid of Malaria. Palestine is probably a much safer place, especially for visitors. The Israeli occupation kills […]
Music and Dance
It’s the last day of Bisket Jatra today. Or second to last, I lost track. In comparison to huge chariots, even bigger poles and pools of chicken blood, today was almost mundane. Devotees of the various gods and goddesses walked through the streets, visiting their favourite temples. Many of them were wearing traditional Newari dresses […]
Sightseeing
Yesterday I hired a tuk-tuk to have a look at same places near Battambang. I went with an ‘independent’ driver who was recommended to me by the French expats. Independent means that he’s working in the streets like you would expect it and doesn’t hang out in front of the tourist hotels hoping for big […]
Wreck Diving
Another first! This time it was wreck diving, something I had had on my list for quite a while. As already mentioned, Coron is a great place for this as the surrounding waters feature more than a dozen wrecks, most of them 100+ meter long ships in good condition. Today it took us more than […]