Chris Backe's Blog, page 115

Weird Seoul – 3 Days of Oddball Destinations with a BONUS Day Trip Out of Seoul

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WEIRD SEEKERS, UNITE! No palaces, no temples, and very few other tourists along the way.

For tourists that have come to Korea before, or for anyone that would rather skip the mainstream sights this guide’s for you. Presenting over a dozen of the more unusual tourist destinations around Seoul and the surrounding province you can see in three days, al...

Laos: 5-7 days of exploring Vientiane and Luang Prabang

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Spend 5 to 7 days exploring Laos’ two major cities

With plenty of history and culture to go around, Vientiane (also spelled Wiang Chan) offers an excellent introduction to the country. Complete with Siamese and French influences, the Communist party line only mildly affects real life around the country. Between major road improvements and a more foc...

Korean for Tourists

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Get around Korea without the language barriers.Order, negotiate, understand, and travel without fear.Sections include:

~ Basics (including numbers and basic phrases like ‘where is the restroom’)
~ Practical stuff (e.g. electricity, water, internet)
~ Shopping and money
~ Eating
~ Drinking
~ Travel (including getting around Seoul, via taxi, and the r...

Korean Made Easy

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Learn Korean for real.Easy. Irreverent.Even, dare I say, fun?Get the book that makes it easy to learn Korean.Comes with a free downloadable audio guide for every lesson in the book.

One reviewer from Amazon:

“I love this book!! I bought a Rosetta Course but wasn’t actually learning anything so I started teaching myself from websites I would find onli...

Weird and Wonderful Korea

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This ain’t your typical guidebook.Get off-the-beaten-path in Korea.Precise directions.Dozens of itineraries in one comprehensive guide.Over 100 destinations.Go to some awesome places.

Korea has plenty of mainstream sights around – Seoul’s royal palaces, Insa-dong, and the DMZ are just a few. Yet just around the corner are the weird, oddball places t...

3 days in Chiang Mai

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Thailand’s second city charms almost every tourist that visits into a longer-than-expected stay. From a wonderful street market to hundreds of temples in the province, it’s hard to know where to start in Chiang Mai!

For 3 days in and around Chiang Mai, your plans are made.

This isn’t just a listing of places to check out – the itinerary includes phot...

7 Days in Northern Thailand

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Presenting one of the most comprehensive itineraries to northern Thailand. Travel off-the-beaten-path and independently in one of the country’s most exciting areas!

For 7 days in northern Thailand, your plans are made. The itinerary includes photos, addresses, GPS coordinates, clear directions, maps, and more. It’s a carefully selected guide to the...

Destination: Phitsanulok: an excellent trifecta of history, Buddhas, and birds

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It’s not exactly a day trip away, but Phitsanulok ticks all the boxes for a great place to check out in north-central Thailand. Best of all, all four places talked about in this post are within walking distance of the train station ( where the tuk-tuk will drop you off from the bus terminal).

Your first stop in Phitsanulok should really be theSergea...

VIDEO: the 5 rules of Songkran

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Be gentle, folks – it’s my first video. If you didn’t get the chance to attend a Songkran festival in Thailand, this is your chance to take a part of it in.

Watch me first before reading on!

Songkran is the annual Thai holiday of water. Sure, there are plenty of religious implications and reasons and things you can pay attention to if you look hard e...

Destination: the temple with horses… and a boxing ring? (Northern Thailand)

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Calling this area remote is not only stating the obvious – it’s an understatement. The temple collects alms from tiny villages 5-10 kilometers away, crossing mountains and paddy fields in the process. At a minimum, you are about 8 kilometers and 20 minutes from the highway (and as far as I can tell, the only named / marked road around). It’s about...