Chris Backe's Blog, page 106

Guest post: the Turtle Museum, Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden all in one (Singapore)

One of Singapore’s claims to fame is its green space, with about 10% of the city allotted for parks and nature reserves and plenty of other green to go around. This makes it not only an attractive city, but one where you can find yourself surrounded by plant life and silence in some places even in the middle of the metropolis. One such area is the complex including the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, the former of which includes the “Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum”, my destination for the day....

Guest post: Changi War Museum – see Singapore’s dark past

Changi Prison was originally built by the British, who ruled Singapore at the time, in 1936 for civilian prisoners. After the city fell to the Japanese in 1942, the prison was used for several thousand civilian prisoners of theirs while POWs from Allied nations were kept in the nearby Selarang Barracks. Over time, the name Changi Prison came to be used to refer to both. The prison remained in use after the conclusion of the war and was finally demolished in 2000 to make way for a new consolid...

You’ve heard of Dia De Los Muertos – 5 other awesome and weird Mexican festivals to join

So Mexico (and a few expats around the world) recently celebrated Dia De Los Muertos – the Day of the Dead. The two-day festival features people honoring their loved ones at the graveyard in a fiesta-like atmosphere.

It got me thinking, though – what other weird festivals does Mexico celebrate throughout the year? We’ll be headed to Central / South America at some point in the not-too-distant future, so here goes nothing:
Night of the Radishes


Photo credit: Drew Leavy

Sculpted oversized radishes,...

Pre-networking – six ways to connect with fellow travelers before you arrive

Make the most of your limited travel time by connecting with locals before you arrive.

Arriving at the airport or bus terminal is usually a lonely experience – unless you’re traveling home, there probably isn’t someone waiting for you when you arrive. Getting to know people takes time, and by the time you’re feeling connected, it’s time to move on…

So what if there was a better way to meet people before you arrived?

This post aims to uncover six ways to connect with locals and local expats befor...

Sai Ngam – the creepiest-looking forest with 10,000 trees – Phimai

Called sai yoi (‘Sweeping Banyans’), this creepy-looking forest of 10,000 trees has almost no beginning – and no end.

Also called the Sai Ngam Spirit House or spelled as Sai Ngarm. The pronunciation is a little tricky –merge the two words into one if that helps (roughly: sign-nyam). It might look like the set of a horror movie. With dangling branches that grow in all directions, the seedssproutin the nooks and cranniesof the growntree. The seed grows, sprouts more seeds, and the cycle begins a...

The Phallic Shrine and Phra Nang Beach – phalluses only accessible by boat

The side attraction for most was our main destination today. The beach was a nice bonus, though.

So it’s clear, you’ll arrive at the same place to reach Railay Beach West or East – in fact, just off to the right of this picture is the East beach. The bouncy floating pier is where you’ll land no matter which beach you’re trying to reach. (A quick pro tip: walk along the small circles that join the larger square pieces – it’ll be less bouncy.)

As you walk along the main path, you’ll be reminded t...

My new favorite, secret beach – Ao Nam Mao (southern Thailand)

I didn’t really want to write this post.

I don’t want to see this magical place change one single iota.

In fact, I’d rather you stop reading this post right now. Go on, read about some other touristy places around Krabi. I want to keep this one to myself.

Still with me? Damn. OK, fine then – in the interest of sharing the good stuff, let me tell you why and how it’s become my favorite:

It’s relatively easy to reach from Krabi Town or Ao Nang (a scooter or car is best, but a songthaew will get you...

1,237 steps to the top of the Tiger Cave – Wat Tham Sua, Krabi, southern Thailand

If you came to a beautiful beach-side town to hike an exhausting set of steps, you need to get your head examined.

Wat Tham Sua (also spelled Wat Thumsua,Wat Tham Suea, and also called the Tiger Cave Temple) is the home to one of Krabi’s most famous tourist attractions. Founded in 1975, a Buddhist monk saw tigers roaming around the cave during his meditations, and tiger paw prints have been discovered in the cave.

Since there are plenty of jungles and forests around, this isn’t all that far-fet...

Life as a Nomad: Hong Kong

This Life as a Nomad post comes at you from the awesome Jonny Blair at dontstopliving.net.

Want to tell your ‘ Life as a Nomad ‘story? Head to this page for more information.

So, tell me about Hong Kong.

I had travelled around Taiwan and China before, but never made it to Hong Kong until 2011. Then an encounter that changed my life, saw me relocate to Hong Kong from my previous base in Parramatta, Australia. I met my Hong Kongese girlfriend while backpacking in Antarctica and decided to head to Hong...

Destination: Chokchai Farm – Thailand’s most tourist-friendly farm turned theme park

Farm Chokchai – the farm where the cow is king.

If you’ve seen an ‘Umm… Milk!’ ice cream location, you might have wondered where the milk came from. Whether you’re interested in the Chokchai legacy (and the Chokchai Museum) or the only farm that’s considered a tourist attraction / theme park in its own right.

First started in 1957 by Chokchai Bulakul, the fully integrated dairy farm has 8,000 acres of land and 5,000 head of cattle. While the history is relegated to a whitewashed video at the be...