Well, it only took a year, but this week I uploaded the final video instalment covering my 2016 overland adventure from Milton Keynes to Singapore. I didn’t initially set out to create a travel film but figured I’d assemble all the various clips and images together into an 80 minute documentary of my experience. All the video was shot on an iPhone 6S (which yielded…
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Before I departed on my overland trip through Asia last July, one of my greatest anticipations – aside from visiting many incredible countries – was to write this blog post at the very end. I was keen to know how this experience would change me. To justify it to the various curious people, I described this as an adventure “within” and a “character building experience”….
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When I wasn’t exploring new towns, trekking or doing any of the countless activities over the past few months, I’d usually pick up my phone or tablet in the dead of night and write about my observations. Typing feverishly about the adventures wasn’t just a way of telling friends, family and colleagues that I was still alive and well, but a chance for me…
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I put a great big cross on my bucket list on November 27th as I stepped out of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands MRT station to be greeted with the high-rise view of my end destination. I had accomplished my ambition of an overland adventure spanning an entire continent, and it took days to wipe an everlasting smile off my face. There was a noticeable spring…
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Arriving into Kuala Lumpur came as a welcome change after a few weeks away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. I was beginning to miss some urban comforts, especially after my last adventure in the jungles. As the MRT subway train pulled up into the city, the ambience became quite energetic. There were huge crows of people wearing yellow t-shirts in support of…
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The Cameron Highlands is a region in the heart of the Malaysian peninsula famous for its tea plantations, orchards and mossy forests. Its cooler climate provides much needed respite from the otherwise hot and humid climate at sea level. Despite the persistent rain this came as a welcome comfort as I stepped off the coach in Brinchang. Over two days I trekked through 4 of the main trails…
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It was a long day en-route from Koh Lanta to the Malaysian city of Penang. First up was an early morning minivan back to Krabi, followed by a 5 hour coach ride to Hat Yai, and another minivan to the border town of Padang Besar. The crossing into Malaysia involved a 20 minute walk through the border region amid what seemed like lacklustre security, with hardly…
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My next destination from Chiang Mai was the sunshine island of Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand, some 1500 kilometres south. It’s possible to take a couple of trains all the way to the nearby town of Surat Thani, but again my last-minute decision cost me a seat on the first one to Bangkok, leaving only road based transport to get there. I hadn’t…
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I can’t fault the overnight sleeper train service from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I’d rank it on par with the Paris-Moscow express in terms of comfort. There are only one or two second class sleeper AC carriages on the train, and most of the passengers are foreign tourists. The seating/sleeping configuration isn’t arranged in compartments, but it’s still spacious with only one upper and lower bed either…
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A swift three hour coach ride from Siem Reap took me to the chaotic border town of Poi Pet. It’s a hectic town but I wasn’t there for long – after clearing customs it was only a short walk across the border to Thailand customs. After some lunch at the train station (only plain rice and monkey nuts unfortunately) I boarded a 7hr train to…
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