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
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
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 […]
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – 3 bridges and an undersea tunnel on the world’s longest sea bridge
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 […]
Solomon Islands – Reefs and war wrecks in a tropical island paradise
Solomon Islands was my first trip to a pacific island nation, which I was invited to visit as a guest of Solomon Islands Tourism. I must admit that I had to Google where Solomon Islands are, and if they are even an independent country (the Oceania region is my weakest link on travel trivia nights). […]
Notes on Da Nang, 2018 edition – Maybe I will retire here
My latest trip to Da Nang marked a flippening of sorts in my Da Nang / Hoi An travels. Usually I have come to Da Nang on the way to Hoi An (Da Nang being the airport city for Hoi An). I noted in my 2017 trip report how Da Nang is becoming a destination […]
Visiting the Golden Bridge in Vietnam – the bridge held by giant hands in the mountains
If you follow any travel-related news sites you’ve probably seen a photo of a bridge held by giant hands in the mountains. This is the Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills, near Da Nang in Vietnam. The Golden Bridge opened in June 2018, and it wasn’t long before it starting making the news. The first […]
The Shenzhentrification of Johor Bahru
If you had asked me where the tallest residential building in Southeast Asia is as of 2018 I would have guessed Bangkok or KL. Having got those two wrong, I’m not sure that Johor Bahru would have figured into my top 10 guesses. Indeed, Johor Bahru doesn’t figure much in people’s thoughts in general, but […]
A day in Dubai – Making the most of an Emirates stopover
My last visit to Dubai was in 2007, just before the Global Financial Crisis. There was so much construction going on that I knew I would have to return to check on its progress. I finally returned 11 years later, at what feels like the peak of another financial bubble, and like last time there […]
A sweaty summer stopover in Sharjah
There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. I thought about this saying when I found myself back in the United Arab Emirates in the summer, when I said I would never again visit in the summer. The last I was in the […]
