This Buddhist monk was sitting outside a temple in Vientiane, Laos and checking himself out in his little mirror for a good half hour. After a few minor adjustments, he seemed happy with what he saw. Who can blame him?
The Drunken Muay Thai Master
When I first got to Thailand, I thought it might be interesting to see a Muay Thai fight. It wasn’t high on my list of things to do, but I figured it could be fun. Then I spent a few days in Phuket dodging touts with Muay Thai flyers and being screamed at by promoters […]
Being Mooned by China’s Toddlers
I have no personal experience on which to base this statement, but I think I can safely say that changing diapers sucks. The invention of the disposable diaper has made the process somewhat less unpleasant, but what if I told you it could be easier still? What if I said you never have to worry […]
This Is How You Cruise the Streets of Marrakech
If you ask 100 people, you’d get 100 different definitions of ‘cool’, but this Moroccan woman fits every last one of them. Watching her cruise through the Djemaa El-Fna (Marrakech’s main square and the subject of this previous post) made me feel like real loser for walking across it all day on my own two […]
Japanese Gothic Lolita Dungeon Dining With a Christian Twist
I could do a whole series of posts on unusual restaurants and food traditions in Japan (many already have and there are even a few books on the subject), but for now, I’m just going to look at one: The Christon Café. Featuring a ridiculous amount of Christian imagery in a Gothic dungeon setting, this […]
Singing and Dancing in Malacca’s Chinatown Interferes With My Dinner
The city of Malacca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located 150 kilometers southeast of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is famous especially for the bright red buildings that make up the Portuguese built historical downtown area, but for this post I’m going to focus on Jonker Walk, also known as Malacca’s Chinatown; more specifically, […]
Wine Tasting in Myanmar at Inle Lake’s Red Mountain Estate
The Inle Lake area of Myanmar was my favorite of all the places I visited during my month in the country. While there, you can take a boat out on the lake, bike around the lake, walk to the lake……ok, so it doesn’t take too long to realize there’s not much to do that doesn’t […]
Warning: Picture of a Disgusting Chinese Toilet
In hindsight, I don’t know what more I could want—it has both a divider for a little privacy and select reading materials strewn about. I found this lovely squat toilet at one of the rest stops our bus made on the way from Lijiang to the Tiger Leaping Gorge in China’s Yunnan Province. You’ll find […]
Japanese Internet Café: Your Choice of Pain or Pleasure
Have you ever sat down to use a computer at an internet café and been frustrated by the complete lack of amenities? Were you forced to sit in a plastic chair? Did you have to wear your own uncomfortable shoes? No massage? No PlayStation to keep you busy during long loading times? Anyone who’s used […]
Hot Dog Man – The Stereotypical American
This mascot outside a fast food restaurant near the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin seems to show what the world really thinks of Americans. Except that he’s thin.