Why you should visit Halong Bay, even if it is a tourist trap
Tourist traps are the curse of travellers who seek some solitary inspiration. Often, destinations like Ha Long Bay, that have been massively talked up, create a great deal of anticipation and can’t survive the hype. Leaving you disappointed and with the feeling that you wasted valuable time and an unreasonable amount of money. But [...]
Understanding the dark recent history of Vietnam
Visiting the War Remants Museum of Ho Chi Minh City isn’t a happy day out; the whole thing is quite an emotional roller coaster that never peaks. At the entrance, fat armchair war nerds take pictures, smiling as they stand next to old Chinook helicopters while drinking from a can of coke. Everything goes downhill [...]
The jelly fish incident on the shores of Cambodia
Something strange and terrible happened the other day. I was at the beach, waiting for a mango salad at one of the many restaurants lined up along the shore. When a routine fart turned into a shart. Instinctively I ran towards the ocean resembling a penguin while I did so. Once in the water I [...]
A spork in the road: it’s time to go our separate ways
Since we left Australia we’ve had an incredible 16 months travelling together in South America and next week things are about to be very different. But super exciting. I’m flying to Panama on Tuesday to start my whirlwind Central American exploration and Andres is making his way to Cambodia via a decent stop in Russia [...]
Back in the Bogota groove
Andres grew up in Bogota in the early eighties, a city with a bad reputation and a politically turbulent history. Leaving to study in Australia in 2006, he’s been a long time coming home; returning to a much changed Colombia. I wondered how much. Does time away from Colombia make you feel disconnected from your [...]
Medical tourism for vagabonds
Hospitals might be the last place a traveller feels like visiting while exploring a new place, unless the purpose of their trip is to get that [insert organ/procedure] for a fraction of what it would cost you at home. In my case there is nothing to replace, yet, and nothing I want to make easier [...]
Peninsulas and pimples
The first time Kris and I studied an Argentinean map with wandering intent, Peninsula Valdes piqued our curiosity in the same way a pimple decorating the tip on the nose of a gorgeous anchorwoman would. Never mind the two dozen babies on the bus rolling down the cliff, smashing a nursery of baby pandas; I [...]
Raising awareness of awareness raisers
A couple of months ago we added a section called Stuff we like, basically a bunch of links to pages that have been useful to us. Last week however, we listed two more links solely because of the fuzzy-feelings provided. Because that section is the dark corner of our website, I feel it is my [...]
Hike through a Patagonian forest, as you do a visa run to Chile
Bought to you by Dodgy Planet – a scabs guide. It has been 90 days since our pesky visa run to Colonia, Uruguay. This time we trekked to Chile and back. It wasn’t pesky at all, only bad ass. Lake Puelo crossing was the natural choice for us. It’s the nearest place where you can [...]
A dedo [Verb]: By thumb, hitchhiking to Patagonia
Bought to you by Dodgy Planet – a scabs guide. Hitchhiking is more than a way to avoid transportation expenses while surrendering to chance. ‘Thumbing it’ is also a guaranteed way to encounter colorful individuals, as you visit far-off places and ruminate what you would not appreciate otherwise. That, or a shortcut to the front [...]
