I spent three weeks at Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Indonesia on two separate occasions and did virtually nothing both times. It's not my fault, though. Between lazing in a hammock, swimming in the thermally heated lake, and eating some of the best grilled fish I've ever had anywhere, my days were pretty full. Nevertheless, on both visits, I managed to move some things around … [Read more...]
Just Hanging Out and Chewing Some Watermelon
Apparently bats don't just suck blood. Maybe it's simply the red color, but this bat in the hills of Kintamani, Bali in Indonesia really seems to be enjoying that piece of watermelon. It also seems huge (the bat, not the watermelon), so maybe the locals feed it fruit to keep it full and keep its mind off their blood (yes, I know only vampire bats live on blood)... This … [Read more...]
How to Enjoy, but Not Visit, the Taj Mahal in Agra
The difference between the words 'enjoy' and 'visit' in that title is very important. This is not a guide on how to visit the Taj Mahal, but one on how to enjoy it despite not visiting at all. Why would anyone go all the way to Agra and not visit the Taj Mahal, you ask? Well, they probably wouldn't. Most people I know visited and some of them even felt they got their money's … [Read more...]
Signs of a Good Beer Garden: a Dedicated Vomit Sink
I recently went to a touristy beer garden in Berlin where they apparently charge customers to use the restrooms. That is bad customer service. The Pod Wawelem in Krakow, Poland clearly believes in good customer service and I'm sure some of their heavier-drinking clientele appreciate this. That said, the guy who accidentally uses this sink to wash his hands just as someone … [Read more...]
Jagat to Tal: Our First Real Day of Trekking
When I left off last time, we had just checked into our guesthouse in Jagat and were looking forward to a solar heated shower. Getting one would turn out to be a little more difficult than you might think. The little shower room looked like the boiler room of an aircraft carrier, with a maze of pipes covering the walls and ceiling and buttons and dials of all sizes dotted … [Read more...]