SOUTH EAST ASIA
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 3
Sangkhom to Chiang Khan Thailand. 13th November, 2012 Spectacular riding, off-duty cops and chance encounters. Woke to more primrose skies. …And descended to a deserted reception. Perhaps everyone was sleeping off a hangover. No one emerged, so I left the keys on the counter, loaded the bike and throttled-off into the morning. I didn’t travel far, though – stopped at […]
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Tak goes with the flow
Loy Krathong, the annual goodbye to bad karma, part religious ceremony/part festival, is held throughout Thailand in November. People in Chiang Mai ‘let go’ Khoom Loy, candle-fuelled wish lanterns, into the night sky; elsewhere, candle and flower arrangements are launched adrift on miniature rafts made from banana leaf; but in Tak the vessel of choice is a coconut shell, released […]
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Plains, Strains & Automobiles – Crossing Mt Bromo
Accompanying my 80s parry into Indonesia was the recently released edition of a guidebook that shall remain nameless, but I suspect all that had been updated in the past decade was the publishing year – 1985. Though, I hadn’t concluded complete unreliability when reading its account about ascending Mt Bromo, in Java. Other than the volcano, the author advised readers […]
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Instant Nirvana at Tam Wua
Tam Wua monastery sits at the end of a narrow valley beneath mountainous limestone karsts in far north-west Thailand, near the Myanmar border between Pai and Mae Hon Song on the long and winding road from Chiang Mai. I stepped into Tam Wua for a mindfulness side-trip while touring the Mae Hon Song loop on a Honda step-through scoot. Apparently, […]
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Spinksy’s Top Five Chiang Mai Tips
Chiang Mai, Thailand’s capital city of the North, offers a vast array of options for travellers. Somewhat ironical title aside, here are a few things I discovered during a recent visit, which was mostly spent at the east side of the old city. Haven’t covered tourist attractions (there’s enough info about them) – in my opinion Chiang Mai’s main appeal […]
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Climbing Doi Luang Chiang Dao
Doi Luang Chiang Dao (or Doi Luang as locals shorten it to) is Thailand’s third tallest mountain and it’s most spectacular. From a distance it appears as one gigantic looming mass, but is actually, as I discovered, a series of peaks intersected by a valley. Either 2175 or 2225 metres high depending on which map or brochure you’re looking at, […]
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Koh Kong is King
Koh Kong, tucked away in Cambodia’s south-west corner, is arguably the country’s most pristine province, if not one of the least disturbed natural areas in South East Asia. A region of low population density, undeveloped tropical islands, virgin rainforests and crystal-clear waters, it offers unspoilt exploration. I was there during the wet season, so there was no transport out to […]
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Fun at the Phare
Phare Circus in Siem Reap is a uniquely Khmer performing troupe giving employment opportunities to disadvantaged youth as well as offering an interesting and entertaining tourist-excursion alternative to the temples and Pub St bars. The parent company, Phare Ponlue Selpak, was formed 20 years ago in Battambung to provide arts education and revitalise the creative industry in Cambodia following the […]
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Siem Reap to Beng Mealea by Mountain Bike
On my second trip to Siem Reap I was looking for something different to do. A mountain bike tour to a remote temple filled the bill. Camouflage Adventure Cambodia provided the opportunity. They’re one of the newer operators in Siem Reap, offering a good collection of suitable bikes, and tours at competitive rates. It was the height of the wet […]
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Angkor Wat Day Tour
Having been to Angkor Wat three years previously I wanted to try a different approach this time, so decided on a guided day tour with Beyond Unique Escapes, who have a reputation for running good excursions with a community feel aimed at smaller groups. I chose their Angkor Uncovered tour costing $28 per person, including lunch. It was the off-season […]
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