Perhaps the evenings are what captivate me the most, when the heart of the island basks in the falling light. People hurry home from work on their motorbikes, picking up food from the market on their way. No tourists can be seen, save by the hostels and Western style bars, but they are few surrounding...

Southeast Asia is has long been a standard on the backpacking circuit and you’ll be hard pressed to find a country that doesn’t have it’s share of well worn boot tracks between hostels and suggested highlights. Laos is no exception. It is, perhaps, less traversed than Thailand and Vietnam, which sandwich it’s long narrow countryside...

I admit it, I have been lacking a few posts and overall been bogged down with work ( yes, work, because even to sustain a life abroad we need some, in a form or the other ), and I beg your pardon. To start off the New Year right, I believe you might love reading...

If you’re vagabonding in SEA and trying to get off the beaten track the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is a great place to do just that, especially during the low season of Dec. - Feb. There is a reasonably reliable network of bus service around the island but the roads are terrible and the rate...

I came across an interesting article on making the right first impression in Asia. The author goes through a number of countries, from Japan to South Korea, Thailand and India, giving a few suggestions on giving that important, successful first impression, party starter, or whatever you want to call it. Because indeed, traveling in countries...

Cost/day: FREE (airfare not included - ha!) What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? As I write this, it is now 3:40am and I'm bunking in the San Francisco Airport after 16 hours of flight changes, delays and one emergency turn-around. Some of the things I've seen tonight include: Watching the pilots pack their bags...

I recently got word that a new independent publisher is trying to kick the corporate media world’s bum by releasing hard hitting, pulpy noirs with Asian settings. I am talking about Crime Wave Press based in Hong Kong and brainchild of travel and Asian focused writer Tom Vater . The first two books are his...

During my recent adventures in the Indian Subcontinent, I tried to steer off the beaten tourist trail as much as I could. Thanks to some contacts and friendships I cultivated in other parts of the world – very often a great key for successful connections in other places – I was fortunate enough to venture...

(CP> I'm preparing for my next trip overseas, so this month I decided to share a trip I took in 2010, as part of the Mongol Rally . If you're looking for an irreverent race that is challenging, yet incredibly fun, check it out.) Cost/day: ~$40/day (food / gas) What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen...

Kek Lok Si temple @ Penang - Picture by Kit Chan 2010 Most people passing through Penang do so because of the UNESCO World Heritage status given to this Malaysian tropical island on July 7 th , 2008. Few stay more than the couple days needed to breeze through the main sites and have a...

There has been a recent debate about budget travel against cheap travel: the article draws some interesting comparisons between budgeting your trip, and actually being too much of a cheapo to make the best out of it. As much as I agree with many of the statements presented in the article, I had to stop...

Rickshawallas on parade, ready to strike!! “This is the place where the bodies are burnt. Women cannot access because a few times some of them have jumped over their husbands’ pyres and died. If you see a white cloth, is a man. If you see a red sari, is a woman. I work here as...

For those living and working abroad in Korea, one way to really get to know the roots of the culture better is to go on a temple stay. These weekend visits are offered regularly in Korea and are organized by local hiking and culture groups. Even though these trips are so common and such a...

One of the fun parts of travel is getting out and trying to navigate a foreign city on your own. Many travelers relish the simple task of trying to navigate public transit from the airport to the hostel where they are staying. There is simply a fresh zeal to figuring the workings of local buses...

The New York Times travel section is recently dedicated to covering the Far East: 37 Asian Odysseys . Although the media is dominated by coverage of Japan's natural and nuclear disaster, the rest of the continent is humming along as usual. With booming economies and traditional cultures, Asia has long had a special place in...

Rice wine is a fairly popular staple of Asia. Its popularity, over history, has spread its way West and become a common enough spirit there. Rice wine doesn’t share the same fermentation process as fruit based wines, but rather undergoes a brewing method quite similar to beer. As with the brewing of beers, first the...

If you’re on the road in Asia it is definitely worth checking out a few of the treatments that Oriental Medicine has to offer that are perhaps too expensive to try out at home. Here in Korea I recently tried acupuncture for the first time. Acupuncture aims to release energy that is perhaps not flowing...

If you’re in Korea, or traveling through the region, one thing you should be sure to experience is the Korean jjimjilbang. A jjimjilbang is a Korean sauna, though referring to them as such is perhaps a little lacking, as they offer so much more. For around 5,00won, about US$4, travelers can take advantage of many...

Food in the Philippines provides great variety. One can find the same standard American style fast food chains found all over the world. There is also a good presence of Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, and Italian restaurants to choose from. Depending on where you go in the country, this variety is either more or less plentiful....

On a recent trip to Japan, I had the opportunity to experience the country’s Shinkansen train service. The Shinkansen, sometimes called the bullet train, is a network of high-speed trains that carry passengers across the country at speeds up to around 450km/h. Japan is notorious for its vast and efficient transportation system. True, tickets can...