Kyrgyzstan is the quintessentially remote Central Asian land and arguably the worlds least known country. It is situated in the southeastern part of Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, China to the east, China and Tadjikistan to the south, and Uzbekistan to the west. It is about 900 km long from east to west and 425 km from south to north. The area of the country (198.5 thousand sq. km) is comparable with such countries as … [Read more...]
Three days in Laos
Day 1 Greetings all from the heart of Laos! I'm writing from Vang Vieng, sort of a Gimmelwald of Laos... in other words the Laotian version of the Swiss Alps. I walk out of my hotel room onto a balcony that faces the most ethereal, exotic scene! Mountains in the shape of fingers and hands and what not jet up towards the sky, covered by foliage, and below lie palm trees, the village, and the river. Laos is the 10th poorest country in the … [Read more...]
Wacky Packi Northern Pakistan
The mere notion of coming to this country might send shudders up ones spine. But after my 2 months in Pakistan, the chills would be be because I'm so excited about the prospect of returning to one of the most beautiful countries one Earth. The initial excitement of entering the country via the dramatic Karakoram Highway subsides eventually, but a contentedness of being amidst the cool climes, stunning geography & welcoming locals sets in. … [Read more...]
7 Years in Tibet
Tashi Delek from Lhasa, The Holy City, at the heart of the Rooftop of the World! A wild & wacky week of travel covering maybe 2000 miles, countless mountain passes, and some of the planet's most beautiful terrain brought me here over a week ago. My route to Lhasa took me from the NW reaches of Yunnan north thru areas which are officially closed to foreigners by the oppressive Communist imperialists which have occupied Tibet for the past 53 … [Read more...]
Welcome to Thailand: Where taxis, tuk-tuks, boats, elephants, sky train, motorbikes, and mini-buses merge for your convenient transportation.
December 7, 2002 Greetings all from Bangkok, Thailand!!! Bangkok leaves me speechless because it is so utterly different and fascinating. I have no words to describe it, but I'll do my best. The 30-hour trip began by wandering the solitary back roads of Oregon and ended in the heart of crowded, congested, and polluted Bangkok. We were met by Syy and Jim in the airport and whisked away to our "hotel." Outside of this hotel were the slums of … [Read more...]
My Time in Vietnam
Part I Vietnam Hanoi September 24 Bob left Hanoi right away on the train for Sapa near the Chinese border to do some trekking among the colorful minority villages and then to spend three days in Halang Bay learning to kayak. It is probably not surprising that the relationship has taken a beating on this trip so we are traveling separately until we join a friend in Hong Kong on November 20 when the three of us will spend two months in … [Read more...]
World’s Tallest Buildings – March 2004
World's Tallest Buildings. Currently the tallest building in the world is the Burj Dubai topping out at 818 meters or 2,684 ft. We are still waiting for the first building to top out at 1,000 meters or over, or 3,000 feet or higher! 2. The Shanghai Tower (632 meters) 3. Makkah Clock Royal Tower in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (601 meters) 4. Ping in Shenzhen China (599 meters) 5. Lotte World Tower in Seoul (555 meters) 6. One World Trade Center in … [Read more...]
Las Vegas, NV – Casinos
There are so many casinos in Las Vegas; one could spend months just visiting, gambling and viewing all of their other attractions. Many of the Casinos, especially located along Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip) are considered Super Casinos. There are only a few destinations on the planet where you will find a Super Casino - Las Vegas is one of these cities. A Super Casino is like an entire city contained within one giant mega entertainment … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Temples & Shrines
Bangkok is home to hundreds of gleaming golden temples - many of which are centered around the old part of town and along the banks of the Chao Praya River or along other waterways within the city. Buddhists believe that monks should be ordained on or near water. Some are more memorable than others for a variety of reasons (size, architecture, unique artifacts, unique Buddha statues, location etc). Some of our favorites are indicated by the … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Museums
Bangkok is many things to many people, but it is not necessarily a museum town. A number of the museums are fairly dated and fail to provide a fun, educational, modern and engaging atmosphere. However with that said, there are still plenty of good museums to keep one occupied for at least a week if not longer including some rather intriguing, esoteric and hidden away ones. We have visited and reviewed the following 50+ museums in Bangkok. And … [Read more...]