Let me get this out of the way right off the bat: I'm not a huge basketball fan. I don't especially mind watching it, but if given the choice, I would prefer to watch pretty much any other sport (and no, I'm not including golf and car racing in my definition of sport). As for actually playing basketball…pure torture. It involves a lot of running and…well, that's really all it … [Read more...]
A Good Day in Hsipaw Spent With Kids, Cows and Trash
If you spend a reasonable amount of time in any country, visiting that country's top tourist attraction will never be the most memorable thing you do while there and in many cases, it will actually be quite disappointing. Instead, the best moments are unplanned and generally come when you least expect them. Knowing this, I've actually started skipping the main attractions in … [Read more...]
Barcelona Hides Its Bus Stations Well
When the bus pulled over in a pitch black residential area on the outskirts of Barcelona and the driver practically shoved us out the door, we knew for sure we had missed our stop. We had tickets on a night bus to Madrid and had decided to take a city bus to the long distance bus station, because we didn't want to pay for taxi and getting to the station by bus seemed easy … [Read more...]
The Hassle of Finding a Hotel in Rural China
I enjoy traveling in China overall, but that enjoyment does not generally extend to the accommodation search outside of popular destinations. Only hotels with the proper license are allowed to accept foreign guests and the Chinese government does not seem to hand out many of those licenses in less visited destinations. In many small towns only one or two places will be allowed … [Read more...]
Bargain Prices on Elephant Torture in Chiang Mai
Most visitors to Thailand have a good-sized list of things they want to experience in the country and riding an elephant is usually one of them, but if they knew the treatment those elephants are forced to endure, most would probably make a new list. The problem isn't the riding itself, though. Unless, you top the scales somewhere around the 'morbidly obese' range (that's a … [Read more...]