28-31 March 2024 From Copan Ruinas in Honduras, I returned to Guatemala at Chiquimula, to go to Tikal in the north. First I aimed for Ro Dulce to break from the long journey. I arrived...
26-27 March 2024 From Antigua, I took a chicken bus to Guatemala City, then another bus to Chiquimula. I stayed a night there, and at 8 am, I was on my way to the border...
21 -22 March 2024 After spending 2 days in Antigua, I took a shuttle bus to Lake Atitlan, which is about 2 hours away. This is another very popular tourist destination, a lake formed by...
18-20 March 2024 From El Tunco on the east coast of El Salvador, I made an ambitious attempt to reach Antigua in Guatemala on the same day. First I caught an early morning bus back...
16-17 March 2024 I wanted to cross into El Salvador at La Union from Potosi in Nicaragua by boat. Upon arriving at the crossing, there was no one except me. The border crossing was shuttered,...
10-13 March 2024 From Granada, I boarded a local bus to Managua, and from there, I caught a shared taxi straight to Leon. In many ways, Leon feels like Granada – a small Spanish colonial...
7-9 March 2024 From Ometepe, I returned to the mainland of Nicaragua before taking a shared taxi to Granada, by Nicaragua Lake in the north. This is a small town of humble folks going about...
4-6 March 2024 From La Fortuna, I attempted to cross into Nicaragua, via the Panas Blancas border crossing to Ometepe. Initially, I took a taxi to a small bus stop at El Tanque, where I...
29 Feb – 2 March 2024 I was making my way towards Nicaragua. From San Jose I rode a bus heading for La Fortuna, in Spanish means The Fortune. Let’s see. Enormous and head and shoulders...
27-28 February 2024 From the shore of Puerto Viejo of the Caribbean, I took a bus for 5 hours to the capital of Costa Rica – San Jose, in the heart of the country. The...
23-26 February 2024 After Bocas del Toro, I set my sights on Costa Rica. I boarded a boat to Almirante on the mainland, then proceeded to the border crossing at Guabito-Sixaoli. At the Costa Rica...
20-22 February 2024 From Boquete, I now made my way further north to the island of Bocas del Toro. The shuttle bus carried the bus load of us, Western tourists, plus one Asian, along the...
18-19 February 2024 After spending 3 days in Panama City enjoying the sea, I boarded a night bus bound for the mountainous town of Boquete near the border with Costa Rica. At an elevation of 1200m,...
14-16th February 2024 After 32 hours, I finally arrived in Panama City, the capital of Panama, from Kuala Lumpur. This is the start of the trip to Central America. Despite its negative reputation due to...
20 October 2024 Ha Long Bay For many travelers, Ha Long Bay best epitomizes Vietnam’s unique beauty. Wherever we are traveling around Vietnam, a pilgrimage to Ha Long Bay is too sacrilegious to miss. It...
17-18, 23 October 2022 From Hue, I flew to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, located in the northern part of the country. I started my journey on the 6 October, nearly 2 weeks ago, from...
15-16 October 2024 My next destination from Hoi An is Hue, still in Central Vietnam. The rain followed me from Hoi An, and it was damp and dark when I arrived in Hue in the...
13-14 October 2022 My next stop from Da Nang was Hoi An, only 20 km away. Of all the destinations in Vietnam, this one sounds particularly Chinese, it is ( in Chinese 会安）. It was...
12-13 October 2022 My next destination is Da Nang, which lies along the coast but is more than 500 Km by road and would take more than 10 hours to reach. Instead, I opted for...
9-11 October 2022 After spending 4 nights in Ho Chi Ming City, I rode the train going north to Nha Trang, a coastal city eight hours away. I arrived just in time for dinner, so...
6-8 October 2022 I remember Vietnam well growing up, alas, not in a good way. It was imploding fighting each other, the North against the South, a battle between those who believed in communism and...
Xian, China. Visited 15-19 August 2024 I wanted to culminate my travel along the Silk Route in Xian, where it started. It was also the ancient capital of 13 dynasties. I read the stories of Qin...
Lanzhou, Gansu, China. Visited on 14 August 2024 From Zhangye, I made an unplan detour to Xining in Qinghai after hearing that there were attractions worth seeing. The train only took 2 hours to arrive....
Zhangye (张掖), Gansu, China. Visited 11-12 August 2024 After scaling the Great Wall at Jiayuguan and reconnecting with ancestral history, I continued eastward in northern China, pretty much still along the ancient Silk Route. The...
9-10 August 2024 Jiayuguan (嘉峪关), Gansu, China From Dunhuang, I next went to Jiayuguan, 360 km away. The high-speed train whizzed me to my destination in less than 3 hours. Godspeed to my journey! You...
Dunhuang, Gansu, China. Visited 8 August 2024 I started this journey by flying from Kuala Lumpur to Urumqi on 12 June 2024. I toured South and then North Xinjiang in 25 days. I then explored...
Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Visited 30 July – 4 August 2024 After a night at Iskandarkul Lake, I made my way to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, less than a 3-hour bus ride away. I ended up staying...
Iskanderkul Lake, Tajikistan. Visited 29 July 2024. I left Panjakent in a shared MPV. It dropped me at the junction of a highway and the mountain road leading to Iskanderkul Lake, 22 km short of...
27 July 2024 Panjakent and The Seven Lakes (Haft Kul), Tajikistan My journey in Tajikistan started with Khujand. I then took a shared shuttle bus to Panjakent, five hours away. In Panjakent, I joined a...
Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) to Khujand (Tajikistan). Visited 20-25 July 2024. I planned to go south to Nardyn and then to Osh after Karakol. When I heard there was flooding down south, I changed my plan to...
Karakol, Kyrgystan. Visited 16th July 2024 The following morning, I took a shuttle bus to go towards the eastern end of the lake, Karakol. A large part of the road was unsealed as it was...
Bokonbayevo/Issyk-Kul Lake. Visited 12 -13 July 2024. After 2 nights in Bishkek, I rode a public shuttle eastward for 5 hours to Bokonbayevo, almost touching Issyk–Kul Lake. Bokonbayevo is a small town; even the head...
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Visited 10-11 July 2024. After spending 25 days exploring Xinjiang in China, I wanted to hop over to Kyrgyzstan, next door to Xinjiang, a neighbor of China. So, on the 9th of July,...
Hemu, Xinjiang. Visited 6 July 2024 From Kanas, I booked a taxi to take me to Hemu, only an hour away. In the Hemu Scenic Area, I took the cable car up to the summit...
Kanas Lake, Xinjiang. Visited 5 July 2024 After spending a day in Buerjin, I am now ready for Kanas Lake. As with most scenic spots, the Kanas Scenic Area is gated so visitors could be...
Buerjin, Xinjiang (布尔津). Visited 4 July 2024 From Yining, I returned to Urumqi by train, then took the night train to arrive at Beitun (北屯), and the last leg by bus to Buerjin (布尔津). Buerjin...
Sailimu (Sayram) Lake, Xinjiang. Visited 30 June 2024. I stayed a few days in Yining, Ili, to rest from the gallops on the grass the past few days. While resting, I made a day trip...
Yining, Ili, Xinjiang. Visited 29 June – 1 July 2024 I arrived in Yining, the capital of Ili State, Xinjiang, after exploring the grasslands of Nalati and Kuerdening. I took the opportunity to take in...
Kuerdening, Ili, Xinjiang. Visited on 27th June 2024. After a full day enjoying the grassland in Nalati, I again joined a pool car to go westward into the state of Ili. Many from around China...
Duku Scenic Drive (独库公路) to Nalati. Visited 25-26 June 2024. With the Kashgar visit, I completed my tour of Southern Xinjiang, known more for its cultural experience. I now set my sights on Northern Xinjiang,...
Kashgar, Xinjiang, visited on 22-23 June 2024 From Kuqa, I took the night train to near the Western border, Kashgar, perhaps the most well-known of the Uyghur cities in Xinjiang. The old city is extensive,...
Kuqa, Xinjiang, China, visited 18 -21 June 2024 From Kuele, I now boarded the train which sped across a desert landscape to arrive in Kuqa, less than 4 hours away. Kuqa was the homeland of...
16-18 June 2024 Kuerle, Xinjiang I went to the train station to try to catch the train after failing to book the ticket online. After waiting for half a day at the train station, I...
From Urumqi, I next headed to Turpan, 180 km away. I provided my passport number and bought my train ticket online. At the train station, after they verified my passport in a split second, I...
The route: China Urumqi > Turpan > Kuerle > Kuqa > Kashgar > Kuqa > Nalati (via Duku Scenic Drive) > Kuerdening > Yining > Sailimu Lake > Yining > Urumqi > Buerjin > Kanas...
Stop 9 – Miyajima, Japan. Visited 16th October 2024 After a serious day in Hiroshima, I made a day trip to Miyajima island, the train ride and ferry took about 1-2 hours. As soon we...
Stop 8 – Hiroshima, Japan. Visited 15th October 2024 If ever there is one great poignant reminder of human tragedy, Hiroshima stands out foremost in my mind. And it is so close to home. Japan was...
Stop 7 – Himeji, Japan. Visited 13-14th October 2024 From Nara, I continued my journey westward, this time to Himeji, a mere 130 km train ride. Arriving in the city center, the castle can be seen...
Stop 6 – Nara, Japan. Visited 11-12th October 2024 From Osaka, I proceeded to Nara, only 32 km away – almost a short commute. As I passed through Nara Park on my way to my accommodation,...
Stop 5 – Osaka, Japan. Visited 7-10th October 2024 From Kyoto, I rode the train to Osaka, only 60 km away, barely time to warm the seat. Osaka is one of the largest cities in Japan,...
Stop 4 – Kyoto, Japan. Visited from 3 October 2024 From Hakone, I moved on to Kyoto. Others along the way told me I was going to like it. How do they know, right? It...
Stop 3 – Hakone, Japan. Visited 1st October 2024 From Nikko, I returned to Tokyo to proceed westward to Hakone, about 86 km away. Hakone is an illustrious hot spring town, also known for museums,...
Stop 2 – Nikko, Japan 29 September 2024 Japan is more than just Tokyo. So, after 6 days in Tokyo, I went north searching for more. I headed to Nikko, a mountain town 2 hours...
Stop 1 – Tokyo, Japan 21st September 2024. I flew into Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur. By the time I cleared the customs, it was already midnight. Public transport had stopped. So I joined many others for...
Stop 3 – Busan, South Korea. Visited 27 – 31st October 2024 From Gyeongju, I traveled a further 80 km south to the southern coastal city of Busan, Korea’s second-largest city. It had been drizzling. I...
Stop 2 – Gyeongju, South Korea. Visited 25 – 26th October 2024 After six days in Seoul, I rode the train southward to Gyeongju. The train arrived at the station at Gyeongju earlier than I anticipated....
Stop 1 – Seoul, South Korea. Visited 19 – 20 October 2024 I have spent almost 25 days in Japan in the past few weeks. From the last stop in Japan, Hiroshima, I flew to Seoul,...
