Long-tail boats are very common around Southern Thailand. This picture was taken at Koh Phi Phi Ley. They use a simple engine that is often seen in automobiles, but they make a put-put sound that is rather loud. Thais used them for everything from fishing to ferrying people around. They are called a long-tail boat …
Continue reading “Weekly Photo: Ruea Hang Yao (Long-Tail Boat)”
One thing you end up with a lot of is left over currency. No matter how hard I try to withdraw just the right amount, I usually have some left over. A while ago I finally gave up and just started collecting it. Now I have money from nearly every country I have visited. In …
I took this photo a few years ago when I was traveling around New England with my dad. I am from a small town, but my hometown is literally a desert, so we don’t have the trees like New England. It was wonderful too see all these small towns with the beautiful foliage. I particularly …
Oh yes, bugs! Not too many people eat bugs anymore in Bangkok, but they are a staple in other part of the country. Before you wrinkle your nose up at them, they aren’t half bad. I’ve had silkworms before, but the crickets were new to me this time around. They both taste kind of nutty. …
I was in Vientiane, Laos last week getting a new visa for Thailand. That’s not where I was supposed to be, but it’s where I ended up, almost last-minute. I left the day my visa expired (with the extra 30 day extension), which is something I try not to do. I was supposed to be …
Continue reading “A Visit to Vientiane (via Suvarnabhumi and Hau Lamphong)”
Nicaragua is often referred to as “the country of Lakes and Volcanoes.” Masaya Volcano is close to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It is really easy to get to and hike around, though the constant stream of poisonous gases does make it a little challenging to breath at times, especially when you are huffing it …
There are some people around the world that, well, they are just really wonderful. I actually had a really hard time deciding which countries should be on this list. I wanted to add so many, but I wanted to keep it limited to the top five like I did with the rudest countries (mostly because …
The Panama Canal really is a modern marvel. America favored a canal across Nicaragua, which probably made more sense given the geology of the area, but in their rush to begin construction on the canal, the French began building a sea-level canal through the then northern province of Columbia without doing the proper research. The …
I’ve been to quite a few places around the world and I can honestly say I have never been any place where people flat-out disliked me because I was visiting (or because I am American). Nonetheless, there are some places that have people who are just not very nice. I know, it is not very …
Painted Hills is named after the colorful hills that make up this interesting geological formation. Painted Hills is part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The reds, oranges, and yellows are all from different geological eras (in a different part of the Monument, there are greens and blues). While the colors are rather …