The following morning I awoke early and knew from experience that the boys would sleep for several more hours. I usually enjoyed this time by myself reading or wandering around, maybe getting breakfast. But I felt an odd surge of energy and curiosity and took flight into the jungle to find me a cave. I got my hands on a poor hand drawn map and bought a bottle of water on the way out of town. According to the map I would come to a bridge on the … [Read more...]
Going Home
A traveler from Singapore finds his country's colorful past in present-day Kuala Lumpur. It's 9.50pm in Kuala Lumpur. Our 'time-travel machine' is here to take us home to 2003 Singapore. And for once, the KTM railway train arrived on the dot. 36 hours ago, we were standing at the tail of a long queue snaking from the departure gate to the main entrance of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore. The gate opened slightly after … [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...]
My Foreign Language
The preparation for the trip back to Vietnam was almost as unsettling as the trip itself. Mom didn't want me to go because she was afraid something might happen to me. I had planned to go with several other people, including a Vietnamese guy who goes by his Catholic name of 'Matthew,' and I had assured mom that Matthew would look after me since he had gone back several times already. Father had demanded that I not go because he didn't want me … [Read more...]
A Week in Sunny Devon
It was six forty-five in the morning as our USA plane touched down at Gatwick airport. This was the start of my one weeks vacation in Southern England. As we drew up to the disembarkation gate the captain told us the weather forecast for the next few days was warm and sunny ... what a bonus no rain. Once we cleared customs and located our hire car which, as luck would have it, had a diesel engine. What a great reward, considering gas is around … [Read more...]
Iquitos, Peru – Attractions
We have visited or participated in the following attractions or experiences in Iquitos or the surrounding region. Amazon River - what can you say about the Amazon River except its the world's greatest river. Its mind boggling to think that it supplies nearly a quarter of all the world's freshwater! From the Atlantic Ocean in Brasil, vessels make the entire trip up the Amazon River to Iquitos (some 3,600 kilometers of navigable waterway). It … [Read more...]
Istanbul, Turkey – Around Istanbul
A drive to the towns of Polonezkoy, Sile and Agva (all mentioned below) makes a fun day trip, including a stop at the Black Sea. The road to these towns and back to Istanbul is a small narrow windy road that passes through rolling hills - mostly natural landscapes. The author visited all of the locations below. Agva is one of the main weekend getaways for citizens of Istanbul. It is located directly on the Black Sea. As with many of the other … [Read more...]
Arequipa, Peru – Colca Canyon
For those who are in decent shape, a trek in Colca Canyon is one of the highlights of visiting Arequipa. Choose from a variety of trekking itineraries ranging from 1 to 2 to 3+ days. The actual canyon is about 4-5 hours by bus from Arequipa (depending on which trailhead you use). We do not recommend doing this as a day trip - as the distances are to great, with very limited time at the canyon and extremely early departure and late arrival times. … [Read more...]
Angkor Wat, Cambodia – Transportation
By Land Vehicle Through Poipet - If you are coming to Siem Reap from Thailand by bus you will most likely first pass through the Rong Klue market in the Aranyaphratet district of Thailand. This flea market sells an eclectic variety of items, many of them used or copies of name brand items - things like sunglasses, clothing, and cheap imitation jewelry and watches. Poipet is the very seedy border town that lies on the Cambodian side of the … [Read more...]
Angkor Wat, Cambodia – Other Attractions
Angkor Zoo is located off a dirt road (on the way to Angkor its just past the ticket gates) off of Charles De Gaulle Blvd. Approximate time here to see all the animals is about 30 to 40 minutes. Its a fairly small zoo with a great variety of birds and reptiles - over 100 species of animals are represented. The highlight are the bears and the cheetahs. A small dirty swimming pool is available for use - although I only saw children using it. Price … [Read more...]