Chris Backe's Blog, page 98

Destination: the temple made from a million glass bottles

Call it the ultimate recycling program – over a million beer, soda, water, and other glass bottles have been used in constructing this temple’s buildings.

Call itWat Pa Maha Kaew if you prefer the official name, orWat Lan Kuad as the Thai nickname reflecting the million bottles. Thecollection and construction efforts first started in 1984 when monks used the bottles to decorate their shelters. People began donating more bottles, which allowed the monks to build more buildings, and the cycle...

Destination: Wat Prathong and the quirky temple museum

Wat Prathong’s main claim to fame is a golden Buddha that dates back centuries. The golden image, Luang Pho Phra Phut, was buried in an area where villagers raised cows and buffaloes. One day, a kid tied his buffalo to what he thought was a stone covered in mud. He died later that morning. His father went to find the buffalo, which had died as well. In a dream that night, the father learned the reason for their deaths: he had tied the buffalo to the top of a Buddha image (even today, touchin...

Life as a nomad: Krabi, southern Thailand

‘ 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!

So, tell me about Krabi.

Call it the gateway to southern Thailand – between the ports for the islands and plenty of places to see on the mainland, it’s a great place to begin exploring. Krabi Town is where you’ll arrive, but it’s not where you’ll want to stay – a handful of beaches are within a half-hour’s drive of...

The rest of 2015: Our traveling plans

No April Fools jokes today– between the government’s recent words regarding journalists and a need to share our travel plans, our plans take priority =)

Althoughour time in Thailand is coming to an end, there’s plenty more exploring to come.

If you’ll be in Bangkok on April 4th, make your way to the book release party ofA guidebook to offbeat Thailand, which covers over 100 of Thailand’s unusual, offbeat and bizarre destinations. It’s at CHOMP, which is a short walk from Khaosan road – the Fa...

Destination: Thavorn Hotel Lobby Museum – two steps to go decades back in time

Phuket has no shortage of strange attractions. Today, we set off to exploreone of the stranger ones.

Don’t confuse this Thavorn Hotel with a beach villa or grander resort of the same name. The vintage hotel dates back to 1960, when theThavornwongwongse family opted to build the island’s first full-service hotel. The family, which was wealthy from its tin mining operation, worked with then-Prime Minister and one of the best architects in Thailand to design the hotel.

It wasn’t until the Phuke...

Random pictures – the ‘mostly Krabi’ edition

As always, random pictures are those interesting photos taken during our travels that just don’t fit in any other post.

This pharmacy seems to have opened recently in Krabi, but we pass by it every so often… I’m sure the Apple virtual assistant will be more than happy to show you the way…

Step 1: Make a bunch of bags with the same wording on it (look carefully – it’s the same in Thai as well).

Step 2: Fill with different foods and at different price points.

Step 3: ???

Step 4: Profit!

One...

Saving money in Thailand: 8 ways to do it

One great thing about coming to Thailand, especially from the Western world: everything (or almost everything) is cheaper. That said, you’d be amazed to hear the stories of how tourists manage to pay far more than they expected.

Pick a few Western luxuriesyou can live without

The difference between a three-star and four-star hotel can be 50 USD or more a night. You’ll probably spend moreon hotels than anything else in Thailand, so choose wisely – two otherwise identical hotels can have two ve...

Destination: Dairy Hut Sheep Farm – they dyed the sheep WHAT color?!

It was on our wayfrom Phuket to Krabi that we spotted it – yet another sheep farm tospring up out of Thailand’scountryside.

That’s not a complaint, by the way – beyond being a perfect time for a break from the scooter (Phuket to Krabi is a long haul on a scooter), they’re sheep! Unsure of what to expect, we paid a reasonable 80 baht admission fee to enter.

Your admission includes a small bundle of grass tofeed the sheep – or the llamas, in this case. Unlike the Swiss sheep farm(where the sh...

March book reviews: becoming a wealthy English teacher, hundreds of Seoul restaurants, becoming location independent, and more

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

Want to get your travel book reviewed?Send it for review over at oneweirdglobe.com/review-book.

Presenting the travel books for March!

Life, Love, and a Hijacking – My Pan Am Memoir – Wendy Sue Knecht

Pan Am was the pinnacle of style for airlines – rewind the time machine for the late 70’s to 80’s and get a first-hand look at the li...

Destination: Wat Saen Suk – one of the best hell temples yet (NSFW)

Perhaps the best-known hell temple in Thailand, Wat Saen Suk is a pretty easy day trip from either Bangkok or Pattaya. I’m not sure whether it’s well-known because it had English signs, or it got famous and added the English signage later. Either way, Wat Saen Suk (also called Wang Saen Suk for some unknown reason) is one of the only hell temples with English around.

(By the way, this is your lastchance to click the ‘back’ button in case you’re not ready for the NSFW action…)

At around 10 m...