“Guess how many casinos are in Sihanoukville”, my taxi driver asked as we drove from the train station. “20”, I said with confidence. I had read a news report about it recently and I felt certain with my answer, even though it seemed like a ridiculously high number. “55”, he said. I don’t know if […]
Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville by train
The railway line from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville was reopened for passenger services in 2016 after 14 years of being out of action. I’ve been to Phnom Penh numerous times and I have always admired the old train station, hoping that one day that train services would resume. If you want to ride the only […]
Crazy Jump Macau Tower: Bungy jumpers in costume at the highest commercial skyjump in the world
Sometimes the word crazy is overused, but in the case of the Macau Tower Crazy Jump the use of crazy is warranted. The Macau Tower is 338 metres high and was completed in 2001. Bungee jumping from the tower began in 2006. The jump is 233 metres, making it the highest commercial skyjump in the […]
Ho Chi Minh City Metro Map: unofficial map of proposed metro lines
A map of the proposed HCMC Metro. 6 metro lines, 1 light rail, and 2 monorails will make up this new Ho Chi Minh City transit system. Edit: I made this map in 2017, before there was a released metro map. The HCMC Metro opened in December 2024, and a revised map is shown at […]
Map of current and proposed railways in Southeast Asia
A map showing current railways in Southeast Asia along with every proposed railway. Current and proposed railways of Southeast Asia – every line mapped In 2016 I compiled every current and proposed railway in Southeast Asia and created the Future Southeast Asia Railway Map, which depicted all current and proposed railways as a subway map. […]
Green spaces of Tokyo
As the biggest city in the world (by most definitions), Tokyo is not exactly famous for its greenery. Concrete jungle, sure. Actual jungle, not so much. [Tokyo – it’s a jungle out there.] I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and I spent a day visiting gardens and green spaces of […]
Visiting Aomori Prefecture in Japan
Aomori Prefecture is at the northern tip of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). Like many casual visitors to Japan with no ties to the country, I had never heard of Aomori. There are 47 prefectures (like a province or state) in Japan, and Aomori is one of the lesser visited of Japan. [Map of […]
Flight Review: ANA – Sydney to Tokyo Haneda
Flight: All Nippon Airways NH 880 From: Sydney (SYD) To: Tokyo Haneda (HND) I flew with ANA from Sydney to Haneda Tokyo. My flight was arranged by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the flight for my trip. This was my first time flying with ANA so I was looking forward to trying […]
Visiting Minsk on the free 5-day visa for Belarus
Borders have a magnetic pull for me, which gets stronger the closer I get. Belarus wasn’t in my travel plans until I looked at a map of the Baltic states. Minsk is practically just down the road from Vilnius, so it seemed logical to visit after my visit to Lithuania. Initially I wasn’t going to […]
Notes on Tallinn
Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site Old Town, old warehouses, hipster area, and the E-Residency program. I last visited Tallinn in 2000 on a whirlwind tour of Scandinavia. Seeing that Tallinn was a short ferry trip from Helsinki I couldn’t resist paying a visit. I didn’t get to visit the rest of the Baltic nations […]
