Chris Backe's Blog, page 97
May 1, 2015
Destination: the Egyptologist museum where a Bond movie was made
Whether you’re fans of Egypt, the famous James Bond franchise, or just want to take in an offbeat attraction, the Gayer-Anderson Museum has a bit of it all. As a bonus, the Mosque of Ibn Talun (no, that’s not a typo) is right next door, but keep reading for a warning about it.
Much like the Jim Thompson house in Bangkok, Thailand, the name and present condition of the house is thanks to an expat gone native. Originally built in 1632, the house passed through a number of owners until it was...
April 29, 2015
Life as a nomad: Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain
‘ Life as aNomad ‘ is an occasional series that focuses on the nomadic life and where we’ve lived it.Readthe whole ‘Life as a Nomad‘ series, including guest posts from fellow nomads!
Today we take a tour to the middle of nowhere –Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain – and your nomad guide is none other than Casie Tennin of A Wandering Casiedilla. Take it away, Casie!
So, tell me about Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain.
How in the world did I end up in Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain? Good flippin’ question. I...
April 27, 2015
On the Pyramid Syndrome, and Why They’re Still Worth Checking Out
Most travelers have heard of the Paris Syndrome: the mental breakdown a small number of peoplesuffer from after realizing a place isn’t what theyexpected. The Wikipedia page offers a few reasons for this: the language barriers, the cultural differences, the idealized image of an area (often built up by well-meaning marketing), and exhaustion.
You’ve probably never heard of the Pyramid Syndrome, however, because I just made it up. I’d define the Pyramid Syndrome asthe physical and mental issu...
April 24, 2015
Destination: Museum of Egyptian Antiquities – the iconic Egyptian museum – Cairo, Egypt
If you’ve been following our trip, you’ve seen the warning about how blog posts will be a few weeks (or more) behind our visit. While it won’t matter as much for posterity’s sake, do take a moment to follow the story on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram=)
Cairo is not precisely a hotbed of tourism at the moment. Thank the recent revolution and coup d’etat of 2013 for that, and some anti-American sentiment still lingers which never helps. Just days before we arrived, a bombing took out a bridg...
April 21, 2015
Life as a Nomad: Edinburgh, Scotland
‘ Life as aNomad ‘ is an occasional series that focuses on the nomadic life and where we’ve lived it.Readthe whole ‘Life as a Nomad‘ series, including guest posts from fellow nomads!
A great interview today byJoão Sá aboutEdinburgh –whether northern Europe is in your plans or not, read up on the city from someone who’s lived there!
So, tell me about Edinburgh.
I never had planned to stay in Edinburgh for more than 5 days, let alone three months! It all happened after attending the World Travel...
April 20, 2015
April book reviews: Digital Nomads in Chiang Mai, Query Letters, Crazy British Traditions, and more
Once a month, I put together the books I’ve recently readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.
Traveling and reading go hand-in-hand, so I had plenty of time to catch up on my reading list this month. What Ididn’t have, however, were many submissions. This month’s books include some books I picked up as they were relevant to our travels – and hey, I’ve read them, so I can review them =)
A quick disclaimer: review copi...
April 16, 2015
Destination: an afternoon in old town Phuket
Wrapping up a trip to Phuket can mean one of two things: go out with a blast along the island’s many beaches, or take it down a notch and take in some of the lesser-seen sights.I love the beaches, but a walk around Phuket’s Old Town was in the cards.
To be clear, this is far from a complete walk around – you could easily spend an entire day in this walkable area and still not see it all. It’s also an area where most of theshops close as the sun falls. Still, one can stay, eat, and see plenty...
April 14, 2015
Destination: Phuket Mining Museum – a curious case of pink buildings
If your time machine can send you back to Phuket from a few centuries ago, you wouldn’t have found any tourists. There was no bridge to this island, and the main industry was tin mining courtesy of Chinese laborers. Today’s tourists may easily pass by this history without hearing much about it – this museum is fairly off-the-beaten-path in both location and information.
Opened in 2008, the museum has gone through some minor incarnations over the years. It aims to cover the city’s history as...
April 12, 2015
Destination: Dino Park Mini-golf – one of the most fun courses I’ve ever played
If we’ve met in person, there’s a fair chance you’ve seen the playful, sometimes silly side of me. I’m the sort that when I see someone taking a picture of someone else, I sneak up behind the picture-taker and give them bunny ears. I then sneak away while they have a laugh, acting as if nothing ever happened.
It’s also possible you’ve seen a side of me that talks tech and geek like I’ve been surrounded by it my entire life. That goes out the window when there’s some fun to be had – MINI GOLF!...
April 9, 2015
Random pictures: the ‘farewell Thailand!’ edition
As always, Random Pictures posts show some of the shots that didn’t make it into other posts. See previous random pictures over here.
Don’t ask why Al Gore has a nursery named after him – I really don’t know. Seen on Ko Jum.
How innovative are gloves, really? Five fingers, fabric…? Guess the touchscreen gloves were kinda innovative…
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Thailish, but we’ll throw the last couple in this post since there won’t be any more =) In this case you understand the meani...
