Elephants are a significant animal in most Southeast Asian countries including India and Sri Lanka - the meaning of the word 'elephant' varies slightly but all comes down to some sort of Good Luck & Good Energy. Sri Lanka has held on to the love of elephants in Traditional & Religious Culture, dating back over 5000 years symbolizing Wisdom, Power & Wealth. It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of Elephants in Asia. … [Read more...]
Bang Khla Floating Market and Giant Fruit Bats, Thailand
Today we headed to the Bang Khla Floating Market - which is located on the outskirts of Chachaongsao (about an hour and 10 minutes from Bangkok). Last year we made the mistake of driving all the way out here on the weekday - for a market that is only open on the weekends and holidays. This market comes alive around the lunch time hour - with hundreds of families sitting around enjoying the variety of foods that makes the Thai cuisine so … [Read more...]
Back to Rural Eastern Thailand
After a few days in Bangkok we took a van to our village and our niece immediately ran up to us and gave us big hugs around the legs (she is only 6 years old). She proudly showed us her Thai/English language book she has been studying in school. One chapter quickly caught my eye, chapter 8 - "Language for Nightclubs". I spotted phrases such as "you have a nice dall face" - presumably supposed to say "doll face" and "can I have a cigarette", … [Read more...]
Travel Meetup Bangkok, In Search of Sanuk
Sitting in an apartment in some random location in Bangkok surrounded by a diversity of travelers listening to a Congolese refugee tell his riveting story and sad struggles of how he came to be in Thailand, I realized how an event such as this one can help enrich one's time on the road. The diversity of experiences in a single room from those who cumulatively spend some significant time traveling was certainly inspiring. It also felt very good to … [Read more...]
El Salvador Wedding and Lago De Coatepeque
I am sitting on the edge of Lago De Coatepeque in El Salvador on an early morning - wakened early by the suns first rays hitting my face from my cozy spot on the floor, wedged between two sofas. Last night I vaguely remembered stumbling in around 2am. Lacking in the sleep department and heavy in the alcohol recovery, I feel surprisingly well for just a few hours of sleep. Last night was a blur, it was my cousin's wedding and it was epic. The … [Read more...]
Touchdown at Sunset, Lets go Explore Manama, Bahrain
I touched down gently at the Manama airport just prior to sunset after making several short regional flights, glad to have arrived to some warm and humid weather after rain and cold temps came to California the prior week. The last time I was in this area it was 47 degrees when I landed, sometime in September. The heat can be brutal in the summer here but by this time of year the temperatures have subsided considerably. I soon found myself … [Read more...]
Backpackers – by Paul Bellamy
This is not just your ordinary tale of backpackers seeing the world. The scene is the late 1980's in South East Asia - before Internet, before cell phones, before instant communication around the world. Two budget backpackers (Andrew and Kirsten) are trying to see the world on the cheap - pinching pennies by staying in ratty cockroach infested hostel dorms and quickly running out of money. Then Andrew discovers a money belt full of money and … [Read more...]
Buy the Right Travel Insurance
With such a wide variety of insurance options available these days for travel, it can be a dizzying process just to think about coverage when planning a trip. Travel insurance can range from single trip, to yearly, to add-ons to age specific. For active and adventure travelers, especially for boomer travelers - having trip insurance is just one less thing to worry about while on a trip. Travel insurance for people over 65 is becoming more … [Read more...]
Connecting with Locals and Experiencing Village Life in Thailand
When I travel I try to take advantage of meeting locals and seeking out home stay opportunities. Rather than seeing a country from just my own perspective, often times more superficially, staying with locals allows one to see and experience a country through their eyes. I find experiences more rewarding and despite the usual communication barriers I discover they are also intrigued with my perspectives and are curious about my own travels. My … [Read more...]
Most Amazing People We’ve Met On Our Travels
While traveling we meet a lot of people with different destinies, dreams, and lifestyles. We forget immediately about the majority of them, but some live in our memories as if we’ve just talked to them. Today we’d like to share the most touching stories of people from different cultures, social classes and continents we collected during our travels. KAREN GIRL This girl belongs to Karen tribe, also known as long-necks. When she was born, … [Read more...]
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