One of the most enjoyable days of my life began at Glacier National Park (USA) and continued in the Canadian portion of the park (Waterton International Peace Park). The parks share a long border and amazing natural beauty.
Iceberg Lake Trail, Glacier National Park
This magical day was my fifth day at Glacier National Park, which had already been wonderful.
John Hunter, top of Bear’s Hump trail, Waterton International Peace Park
I have made multi-city reservations in the past and doing so was significantly or marginally cheaper than individual tickets for each leg of the journey.
For my next trip I plan to stop over in Bangkok for several days and then fly up to Chiang Mai, Thailand. The prices of airplane tickets in South East Asia are pretty good in my opinion. And these were fine too.
But I found a multi-city ticket was double what the same sites quote for buying the tickets separately. That seems pretty bizarre to me. I am not really sure what is driving that. I mean I could imagine they get tied up with what airlines will cooperate on the multi-city venture but I figured if none would they would just create an itinerary piecing together unrelated tickets. But that appears not to be true, or something weird is going on. Is this a common thing with multi-city trips in SE Asia?
It is also a joy to fly in South East Asia compared the horrendous mess the USA has made out of air travel. Flying in the USA just keeps getting more and more atrocious. It isn’t like travel in SE Asia is really so wonderful, but in comparison it is.
I prefer Hipmunk. I’ll also try airlines directly. I have read people suggesting Google travel search so I tried that. It did provide one cheaper (10%) flight that Hipmunk missed, otherwise they seem to find identical flights. It does seem like Google’s one is much faster, but I still really like Hipmunk (I would like it even more if I could just register with them and have all my pay, details etc. stored with them and they deal with the airline but even as it is it is decent).
Do people have suggestions about plane reservations in SE Asia? Now that I am going nomad I’ll travel much more. Are you wise to lock things in a month in advance, or what? Any special need to lock things in for the December period in Thailand this year?
Related: Finding Places to Stay to Stay with Decent wifi – Khao Lak, Thailand – Digital Nomad Guide to Chiang Mai
I am planning on trying out the nomad lifestyle for awhile in SE Asia (and maybe a bit further afield – Japan, Australia…).
I need to work while I am traveling and for me that requires a reliable “broadband” connection. Even just 1 Mbps is acceptable as long as it is reliable, though 5 Mbps is better. I need to use a out 1 Gb a day. I work from my condo now and plan to work from my room as I travel (working from a coffee shop or shared location won’t work for me).
I plan to visit places for 1 to 3 months such as: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand (Chiang Mai maybe elsewhere), Bali (Ubud probably), Japan… I’ll do tourist stuff and travel around in countries while visiting.
Internet options, wifi at hotel or serviced apartment good?
Cambodia
city (Siem Reap?, Phnom Penh?):
Indonesia
Bali (Ubud probably):
Malaysia
Kuching:
(maybe Langkawi, Penang)
Thailand
Chiang Mai: Curious Cat Digital Nomad Guide to Chiang Mai (as I am planing on going their next I am collecting and sharing what I find here)
maybe elsewhere:
Vietnam
city (Hoi An?):
Japan
Questions (if you have any ideas, please leave a comment):
What kind of wifi can I expect in the various countries and cities in a budget hotel or serviced apartment? For good wifi/internet are there specific lodgings suggested?
Would a mobile cell phone plan be best for certain countries cities? Reliable, good bandwidth, not very expensive for 1-2 Gb of data a day? I am assuming tethering from an iPad mini to my laptop won’t be an issue, right?
Will I have trouble traveling to any country with just a plane ticket in, but without purchasing the next plan ticket?
Which countries offer visa on arrival (for USA)? Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand do. Vietnam seems to require something in advance, I am looking into the details.
What will cost of budget (but not super cheap) hotel or service apartment be? $1,000 to $1,500 is fine for a nice place. Tips on looking for options in each location?
How do people deal with the limited amount of physical mail (and things like businesses that require an address and occasionally mail something that might be needed)?
Co-working spaces, hacker spaces, startup meetups etc. for each location (to meet others, I prefer to work in my room)?
Blogs and websites for each location?
Good times of year, or times to avoid for each location?
I think this photo is from the Niamey Grand Market in Niger, Africa.
We lived in Nigeria (my Dad was a Chemical Engineering professor) and took a trip during winter vacation through Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin. I am nearly certain the photo is in Niger and very likely Niamey but it is possible it is elsewhere.
My mom and brother are in the photo, which is likely taken by my father (or maybe by me). In this part of the trip we were quite far off the beaten path. The only foreigners we noticed were a National Geographic film crew at the market.
My brother and I enjoyed the trip at times but also got tired of things and the attention we would get. We would often be surrounded and pointed and even poked at sometimes. Nothing that really was a big deal but as kids it sometimes got to be annoying.
We even would stop the car in the middle of the Sahel to eat lunch and were surrounded within 20 minutes when there didn’t seem to be hardly anyone around. I imagine this just happened occasionally but was memorable after we wanted to escape being the the center of attention and couldn’t even get away in seemingly nearly deserted areas.
Of course, now I treasure what an experience it was even more than I did at the time. At another time at this market (I think, or at another market) my Mom was negotiating from some mats made of straw and leather. It was difficult as we didn’t speak any common language but beyond that they didn’t use “arabic numerals” (or that was maybe a negotiating tactic – most places did use arabic numerals this was the only time we ran into that problem).
Eventually it worked out when my Mom just put out the cash directly. This isn’t a great for various reasons (not the least of which people will grab it and hold on – making it hard for you to walk away). So this was a last resort but she did it this time.
Later on that same trip we were out of money and Mom and Dad wanted some statues (outside Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) and we bartered for blue jeans and other things that I can’t remember. We had the art from that trip around our house the rest of my childhood (and it is still there).
Related: Cheetahs in Kenya – Giza Pyramids in Egypt – Dad and me on a beach in Malaysia
The scenery in Yangshuo (near Guilin), China was great. Floating down the river on bamboo rafts was wonderful. I floated down a second river the day after the first because I liked it so much.
I was happy with, Amy, my guide for Yangshuo. Her son was the driver. I don’t usually use guides but for China I am glad I did (it is very difficult to get by compared to Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc.). Th costs were much more than those places without a guide but the charges were reasonable. If you can afford it, I recommend getting a guide and Amy was good.
For many people connection to the internet has ceased to be a desire and has become a requirement while traveling. Getting a sim-card for your smart phone, or tablet, may suffice. Or using that connection to tether your laptop to may work.
But often that isn’t the best solution and you want a hotel with broadband that is really broadband and hopefully they don’t add fees for what seems to me a basic expectation today (or at least not ludicrously expensive as some fancy hotels charge for an internet connection).
Agoda notes what hotels offer free wifi and in general I like Agoda. The comments can sometimes help identify if the hotel has good, mediocre or bad wifi. Trip Advisor has some decent information on good hotels.
But for years I have asked for and looked for someone that will integrate information on what the actual wifi experience is for hotels. And if they had it (I never found any) then I wanted to be able to use it as a filter.
I found a site that is working on providing wifi quality data for hotels and tweeted about it: Hotel wifi test. And Speedspot noted they have what they think is an even better offering. It does seem a bit more complete to me, but both are pretty lacking for details on places I visit most.
So far they seem to have the largest amount of data on the most popular cities in rich countries – which isn’t surprising. Hopefully they will add more data soon on the places I want to go. We need more of this kind of data so we can make informed decisions and chose hotels that provide services modern travel want (decent wifi).
While the travel sites are at it I also wish they would let me filter for what I care about – a good nights sleep which means quiet rooms. They should really let us set our own criteria for agony and then provide results (Hipmunk style). Maybe we have to wait for Hipmunk to do it.
Related: Worse Hotel Service the More You Pay (2010) – Travel photos blog
The Majestic Hippodrome Casino (London, UK)
Photo of London Hippodrome by Paul Hermans
Looming over London since 1900, the London Hippodrome has seen and adapted to all of the different phases of British culture. Found on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square – two of the most renowned places in all of Westminster – this old building is one of the most recognisable destinations for both London locals and tourists.
The name “Hippodrome” was used for many different music halls and entertainment centers in its time, however, the iconic Hippodrome in London is among the last few survivors. Originally built as a centre for circus entertainment and variety shows, the building once held a 230 ft. 100,000 gallon water tank for aquatic performances. This architectural marvel once became known for high-flying, death-defying circus acts and live performances unrivaled by any other establishment in London.
Its status as a circus was short-lived, however, as it was soon converted into a music hall that ran record-breaking shows from 1909-1951. All this before the Hippodrome was transformed into the Talk of the Town, an illustrious nightclub that featured a host of the most famous stars of their time, including The Jackson 5, Tom Jones, and Shirley Bassey. The Hippodrome also received the distinction of being named as one of 12 venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the U.K. 2008 saw the theatre turned into a stage for the international burlesque cabaret “La Clique”, which successfully ran for four months until 2009, when the theatre closed down to make way for new developments in the Hippodrome’s future.
In 2012, amidst a growing demand for casino gaming and online gambling portals illustrated by Amaya Gaming’s acquisition of Intercasino and other Cryptologic brands, the Hippodrome reopened as one of the largest casinos in London. The Hippodrome Casino boasts of being the entertainment venue in London, with live sporting event coverage, music shows by the world’s top artists, and promotions with the biggest brands and names.
But while the casino is sure to be a wonderful place for any gamblers, those simply looking to experience old London will also enjoy visiting the Hippodrome. The majestic building has an exterior made from red sandstone, brick, and terracotta, all arranged in a free classical style with Ionic pilasters supported on elongated brackets. As though the building wasn’t large enough, entrepreneurs Jimmy and Simon Thomas also acquired the neighboring Cranbourn Mansions and built this apartment block into the design of the renovated casino. It’s truly an architectural marvel, and one that has stood the test of time.
Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex in the world, situated at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city.
As the best-preserved temple in the Siem Reap area, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture.
As you would expect this UNESCO world heritage site is amazing. It is very large with a huge temple. The carvings are exceptional and numerous. I was there in the slow part of the season and while there were lots of people, there was plenty of room.
I went to Angkor Wat on 3 days. I was going elsewhere for a sunset visit (on my first day) but as it was cloudy I decided to go to Angkor instead (saving the sunset for another day) and get some photos in the nice light late in the day. I went to see the sunrise and continued on with my guide. Then I went back late in the afternoon on one of the other days – there was a bit more sun so I hoped for better photos and also it is huge, there is plenty to see.
Looking at my photos now they don’t convey the size of Angkor Wat. This last photo is taken inside the building several floors up above ground level. Angkor Wat is an absolutely wonderful destination and is surrounded in the larger temple complex (over a site 400 km square) by several other world class sites.
On this blog I will primarily describe my travels which are focused in North America, Asia, Europe and Africa – so far.
Currently I am living in Malaysia and traveling around Asia, Since moving here I have traveled to Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, around Malaysia and to China.
Curious Cat Travel Videos includes short videos on Asia (so far).
I have enjoyed travel since my parents dragged me around the world as a toddler.
I have been posting information about my travels online for over 10 years in various places including Curious Cat Travel Destinations, Curious Cat Travel Photos, Curious Cat Travel Photo Blog, Living in Malaysia, Singapore Travels and more.
This blog will allow me to collect updates relating to travel in one place. Over the next year I hope to have quite a bit added to the various Curious Cat travel resources. In the last year a great deal of work has been done to get things ready, including quite a bit on the main web site for Curious Cat Travel Destinations. And this blog has been a long time in the making.
A photo from my current trip, in China:
