Travels
Girls and their Men, part deux
Incidentally, did you know that the Thai word farang (for foreigner) came from their pronunciation of the 'French'? Fa-wrench became Fa-ren became Farang.
Twentysomething
Travels
Bangin'
Bangkok is a huge city – but not very pleasant on the eyes. The SkyTrain tears an ugly gash through the city center, propped up by ungainly concrete arches.
Travels
Thai Girls and the Men who Love Them
Many things irk me, but none so much as the prevalent predatory relationship between Western men and Asian women.
Tech & Etc
Astrocyte's Adventures
I normally don't do this but astrocyte's recent posts about her stint as a volunteer in China is gold. Her talent for making irony universal is unmatched, and I'm always aware of how feeble my talents are when measured against hers.
Travels
8th land crossing
Good job, I told myself. Way to plan. Spend the dry season in Hanoi and start traveling when the monsoon season starts. Stellar.
Travels
Cambodia Tears
It was the end of a Saturday on Ocheteaul Beach, and YuppieNomad and I sat on beach chairs next to low table, waiting for the sun to set. Vendors with grilled squid, salted prawns and fresh durian cried out for last calls.
Travels
Life of Aki Ra
YuppieNomad gave me a leaflet to read yesterday on the bus ride from Siem Reap to Pnom Penh. She got it from the Landmine Museum set up by Aki Ra, an ex-Khmer Rouge soldier, ex-Vietnamese conscript, and an ex-UN worker. You can read his full story here, and I'
Travels
Ants at Angkor
Tour groups makes traveling boring, lazy, and sterile. Tour guides can be informative, but they often follow a script and rarely do they know spontaneous information.
Travels
Waiting for Angkor
We also found a driver to take us around the temple complexes over three days. We like him – he still has his baby fat and he's chill enough so that we negotiated down the price with little consequence.
Travels
Cameo in Cambodia
Pleasant surprises are the norm in Laos, and maybe it's due to lowered expectations.
Travels
Giving Al-laos-ance
Well, finding transportation is like embarking on a quest to find a lost relic. You have to have faith that a way exists, but you can't shake the feeling that maybe it's all a myth, shrouded in local lore and legend.
Travels
Allowing Laos to Persist
Perhaps it's a confluence of things, a perfect storm of unfortunate conditions that perpetuate Laos' status as a panhandler nation.