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…
Category: Travel
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….
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…
Siquijor: the mystic island
There are a number of famous islands among the 7.000 + that make up the Philippines archipelago. Boracay is popular among Western package tourists and immediately pops to mind. Palawan is known for the crystal diving, Bohol has the Chocolate Hills. Mindanao Island in the south is known as a place to avoid, as there is a strong…
Budget breakdown for one month in the Philippines
“And when is your departure flight from the Philippines?” the check-in agent sweetly asked me as I dropped my bag for the trip from Kuala Lumpur to Cebu City. I smiled back and confidently bluffed “I fly to Bangkok in three weeks.” “Great – if I could just see your flight confirmation?” She called my bluff,…
Quarter year recap and the three month dip
In my senior year of high school there was a perfect storm of bad scheduling and back luck that landed me in a remedial humanities course. The class was made up of meth heads, the occasional ESL case and general space cadets of the highest caliber. Instead of learning normal humanities, as one may expect from…
A poem for Pandan Island
Screw Palms in a Seussian Style Fleeing the snow, my friends from Sweden did come To the Philippines, expecting some warmth and some sun! The weather delivered and good times – they were had, Both Milos and Oskar were thoroughly glad. But work it did call, and Milos departed, So the second phase of the trip…
Budget breakdown for one month in Northern Thailand
Another month has passed, another 30-day tourist visa has expired and another (small) dent has been made in my bank account. This month it was Thailand, which is notoriously more expensive than some of its neighbouring south-east Asian countries. However, the north is cheaper than the south, so I didn’t head below the Bangkok belt…
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