Volunteering at New Life Foundation, Part I

Before I left in August, I had the goal of volunteering at some point during my…

Anichcha — Leaving Bangkok Empty-Handed

After completing my ten-day Vipassana retreat, I arrive back to Bangkok. The silence and freedom I experienced the past ten days is being shocked back to reality as the metropolitan city assaults my senses, especially the eyes and ears.. But a bigger shock was…

Angkor Wat

The time for the first milestone of my trip had come. This ancient Hindu temple I had heard of, somewhere in Cambodia. It was the first image in my head when I embarked on my journey to Southeast Asia. And I was now here in Siem Reap to experience it.

Retracing Footsteps in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is my favorite place in Thailand, and one of my favorite cities in Southeast Asia so far. There is just something about the atmosphere that gave the city a quaint and relaxed vibe. I’ll try to articulate some of the qualities I like about it.

Deserted on Gili Air

After spending a week in Ubud, I feel inclined to stay on an island, which I haven’t done yet during my trip. There are three islands to choose from: Gili Taranwagan (the party island), Gili Air (the relaxed island), and Gili Meno (the deserted island). I take a speedboat to a small island…

Welcome to Indonesia: Bali!

While doing some research about where to go after Thailand, I learned quite a bit about Indonesia. Seventeen-thousand islands over a three-thousand mile span! How did I almost overlook such a huge country? Filled with natural sites such as numerous active volcanoes, Komodo…

The King of Fruits

In Southeast Asia, durian is regarded as “the king of fruits”. This is a fruit you love or hate.

At this point the worst fruit I’ve tasted is papaya — to me it smells like dirty socks. The smell of durian is so offensive to some that it is banned from being brought…