Pnomh Penh, Cambodia Dec. 19, 2004 After a hot and sweaty bus ride south from Saigon, I thought we reached the South China Sea when we first came across this open body of water. Then the driver filled us in that this was the Mekong River, still sixty kilometers inland from the sea. It is a truly massive river, a good deal wider than the Mississippi River down by New Orleans. From its headwaters in Tibet it has traveled about 4300 kilometers … [Read more...]
Malaysian Malls & Singaporean Housing Estates
Although now deposed from their reign as the tallest buildings in the world by Taiwan's "Taipei 101 Tower", the Petronas Twin Towers of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur still command an attention and respect. Like the late World Trade Center, they are identical twins, but unlike the World Trade Center, they are shaped almost round and taper to two mighty sphere topped spires at a lofty height of 452 meters (1483 feet). Day and night they gleam and … [Read more...]
Burma: Poverty, Government Greed & Human Sweetness Part I
Burma Part I August 18 2002 Rangoon (renamed Yangon) Burma We took Thai Air to Rangoon. Bob left his Lonely Planet Guidebook Burma (renamed Myanmar by the military junta) on the plane and of course someone had pocketed it by the time we debarked. But we remembered the Yoma Hotel downtown and headed there. At the Yoma a French Canadian couple at dinner loaned us their LP so we could locate a bookstore somewhere in the city. Incidentally the … [Read more...]
A Thai Wedding Story
Sawasdee kha friends! Part I I find myself writing this email several hours after my brother's village Thai wedding, while sitting in the comfortably air-conditioned "business center" of our hotel. It's not often on my travels that I am left without words to describe my experiences, but for once I feel that this email can never fully articulate the feel of the last 24 hours. When we left Bangkok yesterday I was eager to return to the … [Read more...]
Kopan Monastery, Nepal – December 2003
Kopan Monastery Nepal - The Kopan Monastery is a very special place located in the terraced rice steppes just above the Kathmandu valley. The monastery is high enough in the foothills of the Himalayas that it can be seen for miles around. This active monastery is home to 360 monks and is a mecca for foreign visitors from around the world. Meditation and other courses are offered year round - full room and board provided at a reasonable cost. … [Read more...]
Vientiane, Laos – Activities & Attractions
Dong Dok University is located several miles north of Vientiane and is a great place to meet Lao students. Often these students are interested in practicing foreign languages with tourists. Internet cafes are mentioned here because this USED to be an activity in and of itself! Back in the day, this city had the most internet cafe's of any city I had ever been to. These used to be predominantly located in the center of town and along Thanon Fa … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok is thousands of people all wearing the same color shirt on the same day for respect to their King, it is backpackers, it is Khao San Road, it is massage parlors, it is crowds, it is traffic, it is orange robed monks, it is hot, it is humid, it gleams with golden temples, it is medical tourism, it is cheap guest houses, it is some of the best hotels in the world, it is an ever present ebb and flow of life - all day and all night long, it … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Transportation
NOTE: Bangkok's two airports are highlighted first on this page. All other ground transportation is described below them in alphabetical order. Airports Taxis Metro (MRT) Rideshare BTS Skytrain Tuk Tuks Bicycle Walking BRT Longtail Buses Train Mini-Van Cycle Rickshaw Motorcycle Songthaew One word summarizes traveling via Bangkok roads - terrible! Drivers use the left hand side of the road - well, at … [Read more...]
Nepal – The Trek
This is a short story about a 12 day trek I took in the Himalayas. This was the trip that turned me on to International travel and was the direct inspiration for starting Dave’s Travel Corner, i.e., this website. Sometimes people speak of “a trip of a lifetime” – for me, Nepal was that trip. Be prepared to read – this is a long one! We were delayed in the Katmandu airport for some reason. Our guide speculated that someone had paid more money … [Read more...]
Nepal – Kathmandu Attractions
Swayambhunath or Monkey Temple is well worth seeing. This temple is located a short distance from Katmandu. The reason this temple is called the Monkey temple is that there are many many wild monkeys crawling around on the steps and buildings. Be careful not to have any exposed food with you because the monkeys will jump you and try to take away your food. There are 365 well worn steps leading to the top of the temple. These steps become … [Read more...]
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