Author RenegadeTourist
Many companies in Taiwan have a (for me) strange practice where, if there is a work day squeezed in between a national holiday and a weekend, they will give their employees that day off. As compensation, you have to come in to work on a Saturday, usually the week before or the week after. This Tuesday it was the 228 Peace Memorial Day which commemorates the February 28 Incident. Due to the squeeze day policy this meant that we had a nice long four day weekend. It is still winter here in north Taiwan with bone chilling temperatures of around … Read the rest
The sky, clear now after a cloudy afternoon, is absolutely full of stars, the three in Orion’ s belt outshining everything else in the vicinity. The waves come rolling in to the beach just a few meters away, the black water crashing down on the dark sand with a loud booming sound that fills the air. I put my arm around my wife, feel the warmth of her body against mine as she leans on my shoulder, and just enjoy the moment. … Read the rest
The water is cold for a tropical island, just a few degrees above what’s acceptable for swimming. Big waves go rolling over the underwater cliffs, pushing me towards land with slow, deliberate force. The water is murky with sand stirred up by the waves, I can only see a few feet in front of me but that’s enough to explore the underwater cliff formations. The cliff below me is covered in a kelp forest, the long brownish green stems look like miniature firr trees that billow in the wind in an almost hypnotic fashion as the waves move them back … Read the rest
I’m armoured against the weather, warm jacket, rain jacket, rain pants with little built in shoe covers, helmet, and mountaineering gloves. Despite all that I know this is going to be hell, it is cold like it can only be in tropical weather, when normally comfortable temperatures chill you to the bone; and the rain is coming down hard. There is a kind of duality to this; the reports about low water levels in the nation’s reservoirs that I saw in the paper a few days ago had me worried so this is a good thing, but did the government … Read the rest
I’ve been at home for a while now and had time to reflect a bit about the trip and the countries I visited.
Though the region is called Indochina (from the two main cultural influences on the region), it’s much less homogeneous than you might think at first glance. Geographically they are of course very similar with jungles and mountains and very similar climates. The difference lies in the people and culture. In my experience Laos and Cambodia are very similar and Thailand, though more developed, is culturally close to them as well. Vietnam sticks out as very different from the other … Read the rest
I’m back home and I’ve had a fantastic trip! I’ve actually been at home for a few days now but I haven’t posted anything until now because it’s taken a few days to unpack my stuff and sort through all my photos. Now I’m done with all that and it’s time to write the last post.
Before I sum up my trip however, I want to do a little bit of promotion:
The people I stayed with in Mae Hong Son were so nice and so hospitable I think they deserve a special recommendation. If you (or anyone you know) are … Read the rest
I didn’t really have a plan for what to do for new years but I got a few ideas from my guides at the elephant camp. Since new years eve happened to be on a Saturday there was a night market in town, so I went there to start my evening with some street food. It’s a huge market, and it was very crowded but I did find some tasty food.
The night market
Someone told me there would be activities at the various temples, and there were, but they seemed to be mostly for worshipers. I skipped that and … Read the rest
The street is filled with people, they mill about among the vendors, buying snacks and souvenirs. The air is filled with didgeridoo music, a deep driving rhythm, almost like hard rock. The sky is filled with floating lanterns, glowing orange lights that drift upwards on the breeze.… Read the rest
Chiang Mai is rife with activities like rock climbing, zip lining, bungee jumping, you name it. I’ve tried all of them at some time or other except one, petting elephants. A lot of the time when people are allowed to get close to some kind of animal it’s kind of exploitative, and dangerous to both man and beast. There are lots of operators that offer tours that include petting and riding elephants or even circus like shows. The problem is that the elephants are often trained using a metal hook that causes pain and even when their not, according to … Read the rest
The grey trunk comes snaking around me from behind, the moist end sniffing out the bananas in the bag on my hip. At the same time, the elephant in front of me also reaches her trunk in my direction, trying to get at the tasty treats. I can barely get the bananas out of the bag fast enough for them. As soon as I do, it only takes a second before one of the elephants has grabbed it and deposited it in its mouth. They are as tall as me and weigh two thousand kilos each but they act like … Read the rest