Chris Backe's Blog, page 116

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While up north to see the Golden Triangle and the Hall of Opium, we decided to check out the Mae Salong area in northernmost Thailand. Officially called Santikhiri, or ‘hill of peace’, the new name was given only in the late 1980′s. The hope was to make the area’s relatively recent opium production and warring factions a distant memory. The area is...

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The Golden Triangle presents the unusual opportunity to see two other countries from a single point. The Mekong River serves as the boundary between Thailand and Laos (to the east), while the curvy Ruak / Ruek stream serves at the boundary between Thailand and Myanmar (to the north). If you liken this triangle to a Y, Thailand controls the left sid...

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Renting a scooter or motorcycle and just seeing what’s out there might not always sound like a great use of a Sunday. That was the plan, though – to fill it up with gas and see where the wheels took us. After perusing the map, we set upon an area northeast of Chiang Mai where we hadn’t been before.

As my wife kept an eye on the map to see what poppe...

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Here at One Weird Globe, I’d like to think I’m up for an adventure on most any day that ends in a ‘y’. I am, usually, but my taste for adventure pales next to Niall’s. When you decide to spendyears traveling the world without flying, that’ll make for an interesting story. It’s the part where he decides to cross an ocean in cargo ship – without the...

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Khon Kaen (pronounced ‘kawn ken’) doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Bangkok is well-enough known the world over, while Chiang Mai is becoming a great city in its own right.

A great question. But first, some context:

Original photo credit:mapofthailand.org

The two gray circles represent (roughly) where we’ve sp...

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There’s something to be said about finding the right place to work – especially if you’d prefer to get out of your apartment or hotel room to do it. Chiang Mai (especially the Nimmanhaemin road area) seems to have more coffee shops than many first-world cities, and the city is filled with fellow digital nomads.

Note that this scene is incredibly flu...

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Touring southeast Asia means embracing the visa run, and visiting Thailand for any length of time means you’ll need to do one. Thankfully, this one is a relative breeze. Compared to, say, entering Laos via Vientianeor to Huay Xai, Laos from Chiang Khong, Thailand, it’s bound to be a bit cheaper as well.

I should note that due to limited bus schedule...

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Beginning today, 7-11′s across the country will be rolling out a bold plan to use the store’s large presence in Thailand in a brand new way.

“We’ve been the go-to resource for tourists for years,” said a 7-11 brand VP, who requested anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the public. “Until recently, we’ve been content with selling bottles...

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And it came to pass – it was time for yet another visa run. Having gone to Huay Xai and Vientiane in Laos, along with Malaysia (and even a visa run to Osaka, Japan from Korea), we thought we’d give Myanmar a try. The immigration checkpoint only opened to foreigners in August 2013, so it’s a chance to be ahead of the curve.

To be clear from the start...

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The day this post went live (27 March 2014), I said goodbye to Chiang Mai and hello to Khon Kaen. Less than a week ago, I celebrated six years in Asia. Whether you’re a believer in anniversaries or not, this is an opportunity to reflect and be thankful.

Quite possibly the dorkiest photo of me taken in awhile. Taken with my GoPro.

When we moved to Tha...