No such thing as goodbye

Sunset in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Maybe its because there’s only one main route through Vietnam. Perhaps its because it’s the low season for tourists. Or it could be both, but during this discovery of Vietnam it seems inevitable that you cross paths with people multiple times in different cities and on different tours without knowing each other...

Read More

The faces of Vietnam

Most countries have that quintessential image that when you see it you can't help but think "yeah, that's definitely x country - it can't be anywhere else". It could be a landmark - the Eiffel Tower - a festival - Carnaval - something which you associate with a particular country without even thinking. After 10 days in Vietnam I don't think...

Read More

Up the Mekong without a paddle (w/ video)

The famed Mekong River Delta, Vietnam My arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon and HCMC) Vietnam several days ago was marked with an air of excitement, a new currency system (the Dong as well as the US dollar), cooler weather than Thailand (it actually rained a bit) and an insanely large of motorbikes and scooters. The motorbike riders are...

Read More

Lessons from Thailand

The end of the first leg of this trip almost over - I leave for Vietnam on Tuesday - so I thought I'd share a few things I've learned which will help you survive and enjoy Thailand. Drink - enough water and more than enough Chang. I've started a ritual of buying two 950ml bottles of water from the 7/11 down the street no matter how long I'm going out for. I keep them in my bag which also keeps them cool for longer and for 7 baht each ($0.30NZD) you can't really go wrong. The weight is negligible, but you can buy water along almost every street...

Read More

Ruins and monkeys (The benefits of travelling alone)

A headless buddha statue at Wat Maha That, Ayutthaya, Thailand I had prepared myself for a costly day when I decided to go to Thailand's historic capital of Ayutthaya, about 90km north of Bangkok. Surrounded by three rivers, the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers, the once prosperous city was, in 1700, the worlds largest with a population...

Read More

Bangkok by night

I tried a bit of night shooting at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok...

Read More

Temple fatigue - its a real thing.

Buddha statues at Wat Pho, Bangkok. Monks mix with tourist at The Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew), Bangkok After my time in Thailand I think I will have seen enough Buddha's to last me a lifetime (and well into the next). I kind of understand what people say now about how sick they get of seeing Wats (temples) and statues of Buddha that they...

Read More

Who said sleeping wasn’t an experience?

My new favourite thing is sleeper cars on trains. They bring together my two greatest loves – sleeping and trains. As I am writing this I am on my way in a second class air-conditioned sleeper carriage train from Surat Thani in southern Thailand to the capital Bangkok (Approx 698B = $28NZD). About 12 hours total on a train which, really is nothing...

Read More

Ko Phi Phi: An island made for two (or more)

The weather takes a turn over Phi Phi Ley. Taken from Long Beach.  From the moment you step onto the pier at Ton Sai on Thailand's tourist mecca Koh Phi Phi Island you can tell this place is made for couples and groups. Not only do they dominate and roam the long, brown sugar coloured beaches but they get things cheaper than a serial singleton...

Read More