Ipoh in Malaysia has experienced a reversal of fortunes after decades of economic decline and tourism obscurity. I first went to Ipoh in 2010, and after visiting again in 2019 I can say its revival is real. My first visit was when I was on my way to Pangkor Island. Rather than go straight through […]
Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train – best train times to see some of the highlights of Thailand
February 5, 2019 By 3 Comments
The train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is a great way to travel between the two cities, but depending on your travels it’s not always the best way. With some planning by picking the right trains you can save money and see some of the highlights of Thailand. Bangkok to Chiang Mai – train, bus, […]
A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia
February 1, 2019 By 11 Comments
A complete guide to Southeast Asia train travel, featuring resources for buying tickets and reviews of rail travel in the region. An introduction to Southeast Asia Railways Travel by train is a great way to experience the landscapes of Southeast Asia, and to meet the people who live here. Personally I think train travel the […]
Where I’m At: February, 2019 – Kuala Lumpur edition
January 31, 2019 By 3 Comments
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and other site news. Where I’ve Been Saigon Apart from the first and last days of January, I spent the whole month in Saigon. I started the month in Pattaya and Bangkok, before returning to Vietnam. […]
Pattaya – The beach of Bangkok, and thoughts on retirement
January 28, 2019 By 3 Comments
I’m usually immune to click-bait listicles, especially when they just arbitrarily rank cities. One list that I will always stop to read though is Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index. For the 2018 list Bangkok was number one again, which was not a surprise. What was a surprise was to see Pattaya checking in at #18. […]
View Bangkok from the King Power MahaNakhon Tower
January 22, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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 6 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 12 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 […]
