For many tourists in Thailand, the name Phang Nga is usually synonymous with Ao Phang Nga – the world-renowned bay with the towering limestone rocks, cliffs and caves, including the infamous “James Bond” island. It is one of South East Asia’s three famed karst waterscapes, along with Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and Bacuit Archipelago…
Category: Destinations
California National Parks Primer
My beloved state of California has a total of 9 national parks – more than any other state, including Utah, which I personally consider the most beautiful state for landscape photography. The sheer size of Golden State – slightly larger than Japan and slightly smaller than Sweden – allows for incredible geographic and geological diversity,…
Destination: Guatemala
My first and only trip to Guatemala was back in 2007, yet it stays in my memory as one of the most interesting ones I’ve taken, even now. I remember I got some free time fairly unexpectedly and was wondering where to go. Guatemala wasn’t on my radar initially, but my girlfriend at the time…
Thailand – 15 years later
RECENTLY, I returned from a month-long trip to Thailand. You might think, big deal, and for the most part, you’d be right. Thailand is the most visited Asian country after China, and Bangkok remains the world’s number one most visited city – that is, it’s ahead of Paris, London, New York and Tokyo among others….
Destination: Northeast India (part 2)
In part 1 of this destination guide, I wrote about the Northeast Indian states of Sikkim, Meghalaya, the region of Darjeeling and the general logistics and reasons for visiting of the Northeast. This post describes the remaining states of his fascinating part of India. Assam By far the biggest state of the Northeast by area…
Destination: Northeast India (part 1)
There is no other country for a backpacker like India. With the population of a quarter of the world and a vast territory, it has literally a wealth of things to see and to do, and you would need a lifetime to do them all. Any backpacker and really, pretty much anybody else should visit…
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Hanoi
Few countries in the world have the geographic and cultural bipolarity of Vietnam: it’s an elongated country, historically divided between the North and the South, and with a mighty hub city in each part. Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon or simply HCMC is the country’s biggest city and the dominant city of the South. Hanoi,…
Destination: Uzbekistan
When mentioning Asia, too many people, especially in North America, automatically mean East Asia – China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea. That’s only a fraction of the whole enormous continent, however. For anyone actually interested in the Asian history, the attention should be inevitable drawn to Central Asia, or the so-called “The ‘Stans” – the 5 former…
My Top 10 San Francisco Sights
There’s no question that San Francisco should be visited by anyone who sets foot in the US. Europeans, in particular, love it: its Victorian buildings and maritime setting reminds them of a few similarly set cities on the continent, plus its liberal traditions are closer to the hearts of many young European travelers. Just like…
Destination: Singapore
Ask any Singaporean about their home country, and the most common answer would be “it’s boring”. I take that with a big grain of salt – the Singaporeans are a practical, skeptical and self-deprecating bunch for the most part, and they aren’t going to toot their own horn much. Besides, they are usually so busy…