King Power MahaNakhon is one of the most visually distinctive buildings in Southeast Asia. Up close it looks like a jumbled mess with pieces of the building missing. From a distance though it all makes sense. The missing pieces resemble pixels that are spiralling around the building. The building was completed in December 2016, and […]
The remote mountain magic of Mae Hong Son
January 17, 2019 By 3 Comments
Mae Hong Son is in the far northwest of Thailand. So far northwest that it’s just a few kilometres from the Myanmar border. There’s no way to get to Myanmar from here, and it’s not on the way to anywhere. It is though on the way through to somewhere via the Mae Hong Son Loop. […]
Pai – The Shire of Thailand
January 15, 2019 By 4 Comments
Pai is in the mountainous northwest of Thailand, about 140KM from Chiang Mai. As a frequent visitor to Chiang Mai I’ve heard all about Pai, yet I had never been. I can trace my reluctance to visit down to the arduous road journey by minivan, and by hippies. On one of my early visits to […]
Chiang Mai trip report – the provincial powerhouse of Southeast Asia
January 9, 2019 By 10 Comments
Every time I return to Chiang Mai (which has been often) I marvel at how hard this inland provincial city punches above its weight. After thinking about this I looked at a map of Asia, and I can’t think of a non-capital city (and not a port/coastal city) that has as much to offer as […]
Notes on Macau – Where US casinos and Portuguese heritage meet
January 3, 2019 By 2 Comments
When I was in Hong Kong I visited the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which meant a trip to Macau. I was in Macau unexpectedly last December so I didn’t expect to be back again the following December. I like visiting Macau, even though I’m not into casinos. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Centre […]
Where I’m At: January, 2019 – Pattaya edition
January 1, 2019 By 2 Comments
Greetings from Pattaya and happy new year! Hope you all have a great 2019. Where I’m At is my monthly summary of where I’ve been and other site news. I had a busy travel month, and the more I travel the less I write, so more in-depth articles will be posted later. Where I’ve Been […]
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – 3 bridges and an undersea tunnel on the world’s longest sea bridge
December 24, 2018 By 3 Comments
The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge opened in October 2018, making it possible to travel directly by car or bus from Hong Kong to Macau. The HKZM bridge is an overseas highway with three cable-stayed bridges and an undersea tunnel, so it’s not technically a continuous bridge. However you classify it, at 55-kilometres long it’s the longest […]
Hong Kong West Kowloon – The railway station of the Hong Kong – Beijing high-speed railway
December 18, 2018 By 4 Comments
The Hong Kong West Kowloon Station is the terminus of the Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway. With the opening of the station in September 2018, it’s now possible to travel from Hong Kong to Beijing in one train trip. Construction began in 2011, which is about the same time that I became a regular visitor to […]
Byron Bay Train – The world’s first solar-power train
December 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Byron Bay is one of the most visited regional towns in Australia, receiving over 1.5 million visitors annually. It became famous for its surfer and hippy culture in the 60’s, but they long ago got priced out when cashed-up Sydney-siders and Hollywood stars moved in. It still retains an alternative vibe though, with eco-friendly shops […]
Where I’m At: December, 2018 – Saigon edition
December 1, 2018 By 8 Comments
Greetings from Saigon and another edition of Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to and general site news. Where I’ve Been Northern Rivers I started the month in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales. I was staying near Byron Bay, which has become an aspirational destination for […]
