Many new posts from 2020-2023!

Well, there was this thing called Covid-19, and I have been neglecting this blog. But now I am all caught up on my travels from 2020 to 2023, even though really none of them after Bangladesh were in Asia. But what can I do, be silent? Find all my new posts now on my main blog page!

Bangladesh

All we know about Bangladesh is that they make cheap T-shirts. Time to fix this stereotype! In a few hours I'll get on a plane to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and as usual I am not too clear about where I'll end up. Follow me at my new blog site, https://blog.bitrot.de!

Cyprus

In November 2019 I visited the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Wreck diving - they have a huge ship at the bottom of the sea just off Larnaca, Roman ruins, ancient cities, in both the Greek and Turkish part of Cyprus. Read more at my new blog site!

Albania

In June 2019 I was in Albania, hiking throught the Accursed Mountains and visiting villages, cities, churches, forts, and bunkers. Read more at my new blog site!

Good bye Google!

Looks like Blogger is joining the ranks of abandoned Google properties. The API was recently changed so that mobile photo uploads are no longer possible, and Google's own Android app was last updated three years ago. Pathetic.

So please join me at my shiny new blog site:

https://blog.bitrot.de/hereinasia

I am writing this in Albania, and will post at the new site from now on. Hope to see you there!  

Bangkok

Final stop Bangkok. Good place to replace the polarizing filter I broke a few days ago. Bangkok is into refrigerated malls bigtime, perhaps no surprise in hot and humid tropical weather. Traffic somehow managed to become even more dysfunctional than last year, and pedestrians have no rights even at zebra crossings and the rare pedestrian lights. All taxis forbid transporting weapons like guns and durians, many have cameras that record passengers, a few have SOS buttons. Life in Bangkok is becoming rougher, although still much more pleasant than most other Asian megacities. 

Food is brilliant as always. Had a huge lunch at one of my favorites, the Baan Khanitha. 

Muang Mallika

To hours west of banglok is a historic village that shows life in Thailand at the time of King Rama IV. The entrance is a wooden covered bridge with rows of stalls on both sides. Everywhere are costumed people doing period things, like theshing rice, and selling period products. They even have their own old currency, copper coins with holes to string them up, which must be purchased at the entrance.

On the way to Bangkok is the bridge over the river Kwai, built during the Japanese occupation 1942-45 to connect Thailand to Burma (now Myanmar). Thousands of POWs died during construction. The bridge is still in use, and also a tourist attraction. You can walk across, but must step into one of the safety platforms when a train approaches.

Hua Hin

Hua Hin, the beach town favored by the Thai Kings... I fondly remember a sleepy white city with wide boulevards and sandy beaches, where a rickshaw once took me to the train station.

Well, no more. It's a crowded mess of traffic and tangled power lines, and the beaches are mostly private and difficult reach. The King's Home homestay is lovely though, an eclectic museum filled with everything from oil paintings to tacky figurines, in the best way, run by two old ladies. And it's easy to find good food.

Ko Payam

Ko Payam is one of the northernmost Thai islands off the west coast. It's a little difficult to reach, which may be the reason why it hasn't really been discovered yet except by Westerners who spend the winter here. No hordes of tourists, no fancy hotels, just a few quiet beach resorts. There isn't much tourist infrastructure at all, besides motorcycle rentals. The only way to get here is from Ranong, a small town north at the mouth of the Kraburi River, which is the border to Myanmar.  

I had been advised on the boat that the nicest place on the island is Ao Yai on long Beach, a 5km walk from the pier. Ao Yai is just a small cluster of restaurants and a dive shop where people are so terminally relaxed that they won't dive until the end of the week. Oh well... 

So I just walk a lot on the island, and discover things like that the bridge over the only river has been under construction for over ten years and the locals kind of lost interest. Entire forests of rubber trees, each with a little spout and a little bucket to collect natural latex. 

Thailand

Change of scenery... I am following the sun and went to Ko Lanta. That's an island south of the tourist epicenter of Phuket and Ko Phi Phi, and far quieter than these. The beach resorts are widely spaced along its west coast, and it's all sand and not paved. To get there I had to pass a night in Phuket Town, and it was actually much more pleasant than I remember from earlier trips. The Thai cuisine might have something to do with that.

So what to do on Ko Lanta? Diving of course. Saw a shark and several turtles. Followed one with a bright read shield for several minutes, so close that I could have touched it. Amazing how these creatures are so slow and awkward on land, and so quick and elegant under water! 

Quiet Bali

It happened that the hall of the my chosen villa was full of French and Quebecois people, including a couple who live nearby. They know all the best restaurants so we got on a flock of motorbikes and had an excellent lunch. Much of the afternoon we stayed at their place, a big house filled with Balinese art, and a pool in a tropical garden.

The town of Ubud uses to be a sleepy artist colony, but now it's strangled by thunderous traffic. A disappointment. 

Back to Bali

I seem to be having a lot of connectivity issues... Catching up.

Diving on Gili Air, and enjoying the mellow atmosphere of the island that is so sadly missing on Gili T. Then on to a couple more days on Bali - but not in those frenetic southern towns, but in a villa out in the fields. I don't expect to be doing much at all, other than some fine Thai dining. 

Gili Air

The idea was to head east, but since the weather is turning rainy (and tropical rain means serious business) and the forecast east is just awful, I am turning west. When my connections didn't work out and I got stuck in Lombok for many hours, my moto driver turned out to be a professional guide and too care of me. Saw many interesting places, including an ancient cross-faith palace templp. In the end I even met his family and a happy crowd of local children. 

If I hadn't insisted, he wouldn't even take a fee. So if you ever find yourself east of Bali, give Rahmat a call: +62(0)81917946551 (also WhatsApp), or rahmatragel75@gmail.com. A good friendly guide can make all the difference if you want to see more than just tourist photo opportunities. 

Anyway, Gili Air is like Gili Trawangan was ten years ago: just the right mix of barefoot Beach promenade, pretty restaurants, and pretty little resorts (mine is the Orong Village). Had a red snapper for dinner, grilled with lots of garlic by the fisherman who had caught it hours earlier. 

Sumbawa

It takes time to reach Sumbawa - a boat from the Gilis to Lombok, the crossing Lombok to a harbor on the other side, then a ferry to Sumbawa. I arrived at the Yoyo's Resort at 2 o'clock at night, after many hours in a very crowded minivan. A guy with a flashlight was waiting for me.

Yoyo's is very unlike Gili. It has most of a large bay to itself. Lots of green space ringed by steep forested hills. There's almost no people in these parts. It's a place to sit on a bean bag, read books, and hope for Wifi. The weather appears to get worse the farther I go east though, didn't see much sun today.