The Soi 38 Night Market just off Sukhumvit - my personal go-to in the city

“One Please” – Eating on the Street in Bangkok

When traveling through Southeast Asia for the first time, one of most apparent aspects of the culture that will remain in your mind is the unavoidable presence of the street food vendors.  Whether they are small carts pulled by a motorbike, full-on trucks decks out with grills and burners, open-air shophouses with chairs thrown out on the sidewalk, or […]

Continue reading

Glittering Temples, Muay Thai, and Smog in Bangkok

When thinking about the world’s most dubious cities — the places where anything goes, where the party rages all night long, and dirty deeds occur on a regular basis — places like Las Vegas or Amsterdam always spring to mind, but usually the one that takes the cake is the chaotic capital city of Bangkok.  Whereas […]

Continue reading

More of a Good Thing on Thailand’s Southern Gulf Coast

I’ve honestly never thought of myself as much of a beach person, but after the quantity and quality of beaches I’ve been seeing in Thailand so far, I’m finally warming up to the joys of plopping down on the sand and seeing how many hours I can go without moving.  After spending the better part of a week along the Andaman Coast, I was […]

Continue reading

White Sands and Blue Waters Along the Andaman Coast

Though many begin their Thailand adventures in the infamous capital of Bangkok, I choose to save the most notorious for a later date and head straight for what is arguably the most beautiful: The Andaman Coast.  This stretch of island-dotted coastline, which lies along the very Southwest edge of the Thailand Peninsula, consistently accounts for a significant chunk of every travel […]

Continue reading

Pulau Pinang: The Pearl of the Orient

Near the very northwest corner of Malaysia lies the island of Penang, once dubbed “The Pearl of the Orient” due to its mish-mash of Asian and European cultures — a result of its geographic location at the mouth of the Strait of Melaka.  This heritage-heavy hot-spot is one of the earliest European colonial settlements in this part […]

Continue reading

Tower-Hopping in Kuala Lumpur

After growing comfortable with the laid-back pace of life in Melaka, I was in for a bit of a shock when I arrived in Malaysia’s cutting-edge and chaotic capital of Kuala Lumpur.  Part futuristic metropolis, part decaying remnant of a former industrial town, and part melting pot of every culture imaginable, you’ll equally as likely to encounter […]

Continue reading

A Splash of Color in Malacca

After leaving the comfortable confines of Singapore, my next destination was just a few hours up the coast, in that of Melaka, Malaysia.  Formerly a historically significant port in the region, Melaka now has the feel of a sleepy, rural town that – whether due to its relatively small size or the growing presence of nearby cities such […]

Continue reading

Chicken Rice, Chili Crab, and Hawker Centers

Eating in Singapore is practically a national obsession — everyone has their own opinions as to who’s serving “the best” and everyone you meet will be more than willing to give you their recommendations as far as their favorite dishes and where to find them, whether you ask them to or not.  And there is absolutely no settling for a mediocre dish […]

Continue reading

Bumboats, Bike Rides, and Bars in the Sky — Additional Activities in Singapore

As my stay in Singapore has now continued well past what I had initially planned, I’ve managed to break away from my quest to try every available dish in Singapore (an absurdly impossible notion, but again, more on that later) and have squeezed in a few additional sites around the city in an attempt to show a few […]

Continue reading

Singapore: A Beginner’s Guide to Asia

Often referred to as an introduction to Asia or Asia 101, the city/country/island of Singapore is a true melting pot of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Western influences — amongst many others — presenting the first-time visitor a chance to sample the culture and cuisine of each.  Add to that the fact that English is the primary language, […]

Continue reading