biorambler

Whoops!!

Time for a Biorambler makeover! I’ve downgraded my site, and am going to try to find a way for it to be super-snazzy without paying $229 a year. Stay tuned, but in the meantime accept my sincere apologies for the absolute formatting mess. Here’s a pretty view instead: At the moment I’m holed up in…

Glow-magic in Northland: the Abbey Caves

Have you ever reflected on the beauty of the mucus-lined fishing nets of larval gnats? As a purveyor of bioluminescence in all its forms, these glowing snot-lines – formed by Kiwi “glow worms” – were on my must-see list for New Zealand. Waitomo Caves are one of New Zealand’s most impressive tourist destinations. However, if you want…

Shan state hill trekking (Part 2)

…this post is a continuation from Shan state hill trekking (Part 1)… Day Two: Thansant Village to Kaoncor, 25 km The next morning we woke with the sun, and I retraced my steps from the previous evening to find a spot a few kilometers back in the direction we had come from to watch the sun rise…

Shan state hill trekking (Part 1)

Our arrival in Hsipaw (pronounced: see-paw) felt vaguely reminiscent of Goldilocks’ arrival at the bears’ cabin. But instead of different portions of porridge it was different treks ranging from the “retiree-grade” to “well you probably shouldn’t do this one since there is active fighting in the villages-grade”. Hsipaw is in Shan State, in north-eastern Myanmar….

Bad luck in Burma

On the final leg of my Sweden to Myanmar (Burma) haul, a 28 hour ordeal with lengthy stops in both London and Hong Kong, I was alternately passing out on the tray table and squirming in my seat. When we finally touched down in Yangon at about one in the morning I managed to clear…

Under the sea: images from the Badung Strait

In the last few days before I left Nusa Lembongan I finally managed to get in some fun dives (instead of guiding) so I could take some photos. Here are few of the critters I’ve spent the last months pointing out to people. All photos are either taken with my Canon G16 or with my GoPro…

Mt Rinjani: the terrible dichotomy (Part 2)

This post is divided into two parts. Check out photos and stories from the first half of the hike. After the summit I woke up from my post-summit nap to some spilled tea and a conversation between Adam and the guide regarding the day’s plans. Suddenly the guide had decided that he didn’t want to move camp that…

Mt Rinjani: the terrible dichotomy (Part 1)

Spending the last eight months in the sun has cooked my brain to the extent that a couple of weeks ago I thought it would be fun to go climb a 3726 meter (12.224 foot) volcano. Actually – turns out – it was a lot of fun, and I didn’t even murder my travel companion…

Asia to America, via Hong Kong

Asia to America – where do I fly from? Hong Kong seemed as good a place as any, especially since I had to book my flight months before I had any idea where I might be in June. Turns out in June I was in Indonesia, followed by Thailand and then onwards to HK. Before…

A torpedoed cargo ship and brainy parrotfish in Bali

After three full months in Indonesia I finally hopped out of my tiny little-Lembongan island bubble and decided to explore the BIG ISLAND! And by “Big Island” I mean Bali – which is really pretty tiny compared to some of Indonesia’s other islands like Java, Sulawesi or Sumatra. Luckily bite-size Bali is the perfect spot…

A coffee village in Northern Thailand

If you’re around Chiang Rai for over a week, like I was (no, I didn’t consume this much coffee over a long weekend!), you will probably want to take a day or two to escape the city and enjoy the surroundings. Nearly every coffee brand I ran into in Thailand had doi in the name. What does…

Eight cafés to work at in Chiang Rai

On the heels of my post touting Chiang Rai as the next digital nomad hotspot, here is a quick list of cafés dotted around the centre where you can find a good cuppa, some snacks and speedy internets. At the time of writing 100 baht is about $3 US. Internet speeds were checked at three…