Luang Prabang – a little Europe in Laos
From a dusty village to a gem of colonial architecture By slow boat down the Mekong – Arriving in Luang Prabang Yes, it takes two whole days and you have to travel without much comfort (unless you charter a whole long boat). Still the two-day slow boat ride down the Mekong river is the best…
Slow boat down the Mekong
Slow boat ride on the Mekong from the Thai border to Luang Prabang in Laos Part 1 Compared to its neighbours, Laos is still relatively less visited. However, due to the shape and geography of the country, there is a tourist trail that most visitors follow. It features most of the must-see sights in Laos…
Bangkok highlights for 2 days
Two relaxed days in Bangkok Krung Thep as the Thais themselves call it, Bangkok is a beehive of over 8 million people. It is famous for its awe-inspiring shrines and colourful night life, not to mention the bustling markets and other shopping opportunities. We spent only two whole days in the Thai capital this time…
A glimpse of Doha, Qatar
20 hours in sizzling Doha, Qatar It was just by accident that we spent (nearly) a day in Doha. I was desperately looking for reasonable flight tickets to any exciting destination all April and May and I almost gave it up. Then I found this special offer by Qatar Airlways (no, this is not…
Two long days in Aceh, Sumatra
Are we there yet? We had our first glimpse of Indonesia on our first trip to the Far East and we started with one of the less popular islands, Sumatra. We only had 12 days, barely enough to make quick stops at four distinct destinations: a volcanic lake, the top of an active volcano, the…
Trouble in Sulawesi
Arriving at the land of Torajas. Rantepao, Sulawesi For twenty years I kept diaries of all of our travels before I switched to using a computer. So now I have hundreds of pages full of experienced, good and not so good. I’ll randomly pick a day each time and add a photo or two. And…
Vintage cars and crusader castles in Syria
After visiting the southern and eastern parts of Syria, let me share with you the experiences we had along the coast and the around the mountains west of Damascus. Vintage cars in active use, hitching a tractor and the depths of Syrian bureaucracy. Plus the photos. The port of Syria As we looked out of…
Java highlights
As I read the worrying news about the earthquake on Java, I remembered the first time we set foot on this magical island. It was our second visit to Indonesia. We were eager to discover a second island after Sumatra and so we spent around two weeks on volcanoes, beaches and in cities before we…
Palmyra to Aleppo as we saw it
In the second part of this nostalgic throwback to the better days of Syria, I’ll talk about the experiences we had in the central and eastern part of the country back in 2002. We spent a few days in Palmyra and then an afternoon in Deir ez-Zor. Finally we took a train to Aleppo, although…
Southern Syria before the war
My then pregnant wife and I spent a little more than two weeks in Syria back in 2002. I have been treasuring these photos and memories since then. In this and the upcoming posts I’ll try to show you how inviting and calm this country was before it fell prey to the greed of local…