Bangkok with Øyvind

January 12, 2020Leave a comment

“Shopping in Thailand is super cheap and generally high quality. Bangkok is also safe. If you see anybody wearing camouflage holding a machete, don’t be scared. They sell coconuts.“
– Bobby Lee

After Chiang Rai I hopped on a plane to Bangkok to meet up with my friend, Øyvind, who decided to merge his holiday with my trip. We stayed in Bangkok a week, then headed to Krabi, then I managed to get him to join me in Kuala Lumpur, because… Well, just because.

Here’s a tidbit I was told by my guide the day I got my tattoo: Bangkok is NOT called Bangkok anymore. It is now known as “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon” (or Krung Thep for short, The City of Angels). My mind was blown…

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The White Temple of Chiang Rai (and EVERY other thing you ever wanna see around Chiang Rai)

January 10, 2020Leave a comment

“Only death can stop my dream, but cannot stop my project,“
– Chalermchai Kositpipa

Wat Rong Khun is a privately owned art installation in the style of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. It is owned by Chalermchai Kositpipat, who designed, constructed, and opened it to visitors in 1997.

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Plain of Jars (Phonsavan, Laos)

November 9, 2019Leave a comment

“When the water rises, the fish eat the ants; when the water falls, the ants eat the fish.“
– Laotian Proverb

I knew I wanted to see “the Stonehenge of Asia”… Uhm… Not sure if anyone other than me calls it that, but whatever…
The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape. There are thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau. The jars are mostly arranged in clusters ranging in number from one to several hundred and here’s the kicker: no one knows exactly what their purpose was. There are many theories, all from food storage to burial site (which is the most popular one, given the fact that a scientist on one of the sites found human bone in one of the jars, however there are those saying this is coincidence rather than absolute proof). At least all of this is what our guide said… 😉

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Luang Prabang (Laos)

November 9, 2019Leave a comment

“When the buffaloes fight it is the grass that suffers..”
– Laotian Proverb

Luang Prabang literally means “Royal Buddha Image”. It consists of 58 villages and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for “unique and remarkably well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.”

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Kuang Si Falls (Laos)

November 9, 2019November 9, 2019Leave a comment

“You know, you teach. You do not know, you learn..”
– Laotian Proverb

Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the history of the world. From 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail and try to stanch a Communist insurgency—more than was dropped on all of Germany and Japan during World War II.

None of this was foremost in my mind while I was dipping around the pools at Kuang Si Falls.

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Zhangjiajie / Avatar Mountain (China)

September 18, 2019January 12, 2020Leave a comment

“Keep the general goal in sight while tackling daily tasks.”
– Chinese Proverb

That’s what I was thinking the whole way down from where we started at Avatar National Park in Zhangjiajie (where the “Avatar” movie was filmed).

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Shanghai (China)

September 9, 2019January 12, 2020Leave a comment

“New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down, and not just because there is no room.”
– Patricia Marx

What can I say about Shanghai other than it has 50.000 % more colour than Beijing, 60 % more night lights, and the Bund.

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The Great Wall Mutianyu – Second visit

September 9, 2019July 8, 2020Leave a comment

“If you want to know where the Great Wall is, it’s at the bottom of people’s hearts.”
– Chinese Proverb

It means: if the people make a concerted effort, and their wills unite like the Great Wall, the people will overcome all troubles together.

Other than that, this post isn’t about Chinese proverbs or uniting to overcome obstacles, it’s about my second visit to The Great Wall of China (first visit – click here).

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Teach and Travel China (TTC)

August 14, 2019September 9, 2019Leave a comment

”One of my students realized he could clap too, like I do when I want them to be quiet. That was the moment the line between student and teacher got wiped out… This kid… His face… It was like he… like almost FERAL.”
– Joshua Cremer

How do I sum up five months living and working in China? I don’t even know where to start…
I can sum up one night of work Rachel and I had to do, where the Chinese aid told us:
“You have to go on stage and maybe teach, maybe singa song, maybe teach animals. We have cards with colours, maybe sing a song, maybe Baby Shark, maybe? All foreign teachers sing Baby Shark, maybe we have cards for colours and cards for animals and maybe ten minutes before the play you sing a song…”

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The Forbidden City

April 21, 20191 Comment

“It’s important to be comfortable with uncertainty.”
– Xiaolu Guo

I stayed in Beijing for two weeks preparing for my teaching assignment and during that time I checked off several bucket list items. The Forbidden City was nr. 2.

The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of Beijing. The former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (1420-1912), it now houses the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.

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