“A constellation once seen over Royal David’s City” – Tim Wheeler. One of the major sights in Yangon is the impressive Shwe Dagon Pagoda. This gleaming golden complex is a feast for the eyes, whether you’re a Buddhist or not. I visited it this week, here’s an overview of visiting the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Read more about Visiting the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar[…]
A completely delicious dessert or pudding to feature today on Friday’s Featured Food and the second week out of the last three that I’m doing a Macanese style food. This speciality is known as Serradura, obviously getting its name from the Portuguese. It’s an ice cream dessert with biscuits like a “crumble”, and it’s also Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Serradura/Macau Sawdust Pudding in Taipa, Macau[…]
You’ll hear a lot more about Chongqing. Often dubbed (rightly or wrongly is anyone’s guess) the biggest city in the world, this colossal place was somewhere I had longed to visit and was anticipating it for a long time. Chongqing is a fantastic city and it lived up to all expectations. Completely! After getting the Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Drinking with 70 Year Old Chinese Guys in Chongqing[…]
I’m heading to Myanmar (Burma) tomorrow and in a rush I needed to get my visa on Thursday this week (a few days ago). Living, working and backpacking in Asia means I normally get my visas in either Hong Kong or Bangkok. These are probably the best two cities for a backpacker to get visas Read more about How to get a Myanmar Visa in Hong Kong[…]
While staying in the Green Forest hostel in Chongqing in China, I heard from a fellow hostel mate Richard, that Chongqing lays claim to the world’s largest toilet complex. Over 1,000 toilets in one building. Well I just had to go there to take a piss… Where is the world’s largest toilet? It’s on Foreigner Read more about Pissing in the World’s Largest Toilet Complex in Chongqing, China[…]
I’ve spent my birthdays in a load of random places over the last 10 years or so including in Poland drinking with international footballers, working on a farm in Tasmania and hiking in the Blue Mountains. However this year, turning 33 I found myself in Kota Kinabalu on the Malaysian part of Borneo. Thirsty Thursdays Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Smoking Shisha in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Borneo on my Birthday[…]
“Well there’s a small boat made of China that’s going nowhere on the mantelpiece” – Neil Finn. When I was young we used to hear about “China” and there was even a phrase that went “he’s like a bull in a China shop”. I’m talking about China. Not the country. But the ceramic, porcelain, material Read more about The Real China Town: Backpacking In Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China[…]
I almost didn’t want to write about this travel mishap, but I said recently it’s a “no holds barred” on here so all the crazy “The Day I…” stories are going up!! It happened and I’m embarrassed by it, but looking back it was about a year ago now and I’m not angry anymore. I Read more about The Day I…Threw $1000 US Dollars into the Nam Song River in Laos[…]
And so to Day 1 Part 3 of the epic Mount Kinabalu hike in Malaysian Borneo. Having booked the tour, paid for it and arrived at Kinabalu National Park we then arrived by minibus to the entrance at Timpohon Gate. Anybody who has hiked Mount Kinabalu will know the hike starts at Timpohon Gate. You Read more about Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 3 – Timpohon Gate to Layang Shelter[…]
In 2012 I finally had my first trip to Vietnam. Rather than get an online visa on arrival (which is something you can now do), I prefer to get visas myself from the Embassies. Being nomadic all the time means you end up getting your visa in the most convenient places. Living in Hong Kong Read more about How to Get A Vietnam Visa in Hong Kong[…]