I’ve seen quite a few fireworks shows over the years for both the 4th of July as well as new years. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with a good friend who is a pyrotechnic professional where I learned to make shells for fire works (four and six inch[…]
Read More »
After surviving the destruction of the earth as the Myan calendar ended on December 21st, I spent my 2012 xmas in Hong Kong. I’m not sure what I expected, but I think somehow xmas would be celebrated in some small way here in Hong Kong. However, I was in for[…]
Read More »
Two thumbs down! Poor Service! I feel I’m a very patient person; it takes a lot to annoy me. We bought our bus ticket in Kala Lumpur to Butterworth for the 1:00pm bus on platform 13. No problem. We were down at the platform 10 minutes early and saw a[…]
Read More »
I could smell the stinky fruit from half a football field away. The three of us had just finished dinner and were headed toward the night market in Singapore. I thought to myself, “What is that smell?” As I turned to look at our local guide for the evening, she[…]
Read More »
It is a competitive business trying to get tourists to take a ride in your trishaw in Malaka, Malaysia. In order to convince tourists to pay 40 rinkets an hour (about $13 USA), owners of the trishaws have gone to great lengths to decorate their rides with colorful plastic flowers,[…]
Read More »
I’ve heard some border crossings are more difficult than others and I’m certain that many are far more challenging than going from Singapore to Malaysia. But, I’ve crossed borders into 14 countries now and none has taken much more than 30 or 40 minutes. Maybe I was lucky or perhaps[…]
Read More »
I kid you not, there are big, giant, freaky, metal trees in Singapore. They look like something out of a 1980s Tetris video game going hundreds of feet in the air. And, if you pay some money, you can walk along a skyway up to touch them. I opted to[…]
Read More »
I was told about betel nuts before I every actually saw one or noticed anyone eating them. However, it in now way prepared me for my first encounter. I was walking down the street when a man walked toward me. With a thick Taiwanese accent, he said, “Welcome, please come[…]
Read More »
While sitting at dinner in a small street cafe, I heard mechanical music off in the distance. At first I thought it was the ice cream truck coming and had a pavlovian reaction. My mouth started watering and I started craving ice cream. I was curious to see what kind[…]
Read More »
One of the great challenges for me in Taiwan was adjusting to their bathrooms. Picture this, you just ate some new funky food like chicken feet to impress your Taiwanese friends. An hour later after leaving the night market you really, really need to use the bathroom. The situation becomes[…]
Read More »
Buddhist monks and nuns don’t eat like the rest of us and don’t allow photos or videos to document it. However, I was invited to experience a dinner with them first hand. Prior to the dinner Master Jiru, who was our guide while were stayed at the monastery, gave us[…]
Read More »
While traveling in Taiwan I came upon a unique opportunity to stay at Fo Guang Shan Monatery near Kaoshsiung (which many believe is one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the world). Before this trip, I had no idea you could stay in one. Apparently most of them offer limited[…]
Read More »