Bat Island Feb 20, 2025 1 min read Indonesia Komodo My first trip to the islands around Komodo was in 2009, not long after I got my Advanced Open Water certificate as a diver. To be honest, scuba diving this area is not really a good idea for an inexperienced diver, but there were only five divers on the boat and the dive master was forgiving of my inexperience. Continue reading
Pulau Weh Feb 16, 2025 1 min read Indonesia Beaches Aceh Among the places I've been scuba diving, Pulau Weh is perhaps one of the most off-the-radar destinations. The island sits just off the coast of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra, the very center of the 2004 tsunami that devastated a large area of Southeast Asia. Continue reading
Abandoned Olympic Pool Complex Feb 12, 2025 1 min read Madeira Architecture Given my penchant for ancient ruins, it's no surprise that I'm also fascinated by more modern abandoned places. Near the top of the hill that separates Machico from the airport, in the town of Agua de Pena, there's an abandoned swimming pool complex with an Olympic sized pool complete with diving towers. Continue reading
Torajan Rice Silo Feb 9, 2025 1 min read Indonesia Tana-Toraja Tana Toraja, in the center of Sulawesi island, has one of the most distinctive cultures you'll run across in all of Southeast Asia. The Torajans are fiercely proud of their heritage and continue most of the traditions they bought with them thousands of years ago. Continue reading
Banteay Kdei Feb 7, 2025 1 min read Cambodia Angkor I think this is the last Cambodia memory for now. Banteay Kdei is a small template in the giant complex of main temples. It isn't restored yet, but unlike other unrestored temples like Ta Prohm, it's not over-run with tourists. Continue reading
Kep Fishermen Feb 3, 2025 1 min read Cambodia Kep Back when I visited Kep in 2007 it was sitll a bit of a sleepy backwater just beginning to be rediscovered as a tourist destination. Since then there was talk of a massive casino development on the little island off the beach here. Continue reading
Proteas Feb 2, 2025 1 min read Madeira Bloomscrolling I'm back in Madeira again and staying in Machico, a town I discovered last time and fell in love with. On Saturdays they have a small farmers market in the plaza near the beach. One stall had buckets full of these flowers that I later found out were proteas. Continue reading
Shwedagon Pagoda Jan 31, 2025 1 min read Burma Yangon I've been a bit remiss in updating this site lately. It's mostly because I've been distracted moving and updating my old travel sites under the AsiaForVisitors.com umbrella. That project is now complete. It brought back a lot of memories of my travels through Southeast Asia, which I thought I'd share here. Continue reading