I set up shop in Tuk-Tuk, which is a little town on the island of Samosir in Lake Toba. Tuk Tuk is the main tourist area of Samosir, reached by ferries from Parapat. Tuk Tuk is on a small peninsula on the island and it’s not over developed. If you have been in the cities […]
Staying in a capsule hotel in Tokyo
[A review of my stay at Capsule Inn Akihabara from my 2007 visit to Tokyo.] Tokyo offers a wide range of accommodation options, but nothing is as quirky as a capsule hotel. The first capsule hotel opened in Osaka in 1979 and they can now be found in major cities across Japan. I stayed at […]
Notes on Tokyo: Godzilla, hi-tech toilets, packed subways, fugu fish
Notes from my visit to Tokyo in April, 2007. Godzilla and I On my city map of Tokyo I noticed a dot marked “Godzilla Statue”. In my mind’s eye I pictured a statue at least one storey high of the lizard, perhaps eating a car, with life size people statues fleeing the scene in terror. […]
Flight Review: Jetstar – Melbourne to Bangkok
Flight: Jetstar JQ 29 Date: 27 Jan 2008 From: Melbourne (MEL), Australia To: Bangkok (BKK), Thailand Jetstar is the low cost airline brand of Qantas. They operate flights from Australia to popular destinations in Asia as well as New Zealand and Hawaii. As Jetstar is a low cost airline it doesn’t have the usual frills […]
Singapore Airport Budget Terminal
[Edit: This is a review from my visit in February, 2008. The Budget Terminal has now closed to make way for Terminal 4.] Singapore Changi Airport is world renown for its award-winning facilities. It is the home of Singapore Airlines and it’s a major air travel hub in Asia. Budget airlines though are not interested […]
Orangutans of Sumatra – Gunung Leuser National Park
Orangutans are the worlds largest living arboreal animal and can only be found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia. These two islands have been logged extensively which has endangered the orangutan population. The North of Sumatra has seen less logging and palm oil/rubber plantation development thus has a the largest orangutan population in […]
Flight Review: AirAsia X – Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur
Flight: AirAsiaX D7 2723 Date: 13 March 2009 From: Melbourne (MEL) To: Kuala Lumpur LCCT (KUL) AirAsia X – Long-haul low cost flying AirAsia X is the long haul brand of Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia. They fly from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne. They also fly to London Stansted, making […]
Flight Review: easyJet – Gatwick to Gibraltar
Flight: easyJet EZY8901 Date: 13 Nov 2008 From: London Gatwick (LGW) To: Gibraltar (GIB) In October 2007 easyJet bought fellow UK carrier GB Airways. Most of the flights operated by GB Airways have since been integrated into the easyjet network. The acquisition meant that easyJet now has rights to fly to Gibraltar. I was travelling […]
A self guided tour of Banksy in London
Banksy pieces can be found in several places around London. I used a Banksy Locations Map put together by Art Of The State to track down many of these. They pin the works on google maps and are quick to mark any that have been removed. [Cherub with a bullet proof vest] [One nation under […]
Long Neck Women – Chiang Mai
The long neck women are from Burma/Myanmar, and many live as refugees in Thailand. The long neck women are known as Padaung, a sub-group of the Karen tribe. The Karen tribe villages are near the Thai-Myanmar border, but there are also “villages” near Chiang Mai. I say “villages” as they are really just market stalls […]
