nomad4ever

Asian women inspired the fantasies of men around the world for ages. In recent times you can see more and more Asian actresses like Lucy Liu, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh on the big screen as well; as Hollywood got aware of their obvious features and attraction to the male population of this planet.

That wasn’t always the case in the western hemisphere.

Let’s go R&R!

Before the American GI’s ‘erected’ their first R&R (Rest & Relaxation) camps in Philippines during and after WWII or in Thailand during the Vietnam war, this part of the world sparsely saw more than a few naughty Europeans or Americans. Reports during the old Colonial Times rarely mention this topic at all. This of course all changed back then and more.

written by Chris

In Singapore or Hong Kong, traffic follows designated laws and common sense rules, issuing driving licenses requires that you learn driving and prove your skills first and pass a driving test afterwards. The rules are enforced by a proper funded and highly motivated Police Force as well.

So far so good.

Unfortunately, this rosy picture isn’t the case in most other places in Asia, even cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila or Denpasar are pure Chaos during Rush Hour and still near-battle zones during any other time. Get out to the country-side and it even gets better, as you can run into Ox Carts, 5 people riding 1 bike or trucks loaded up to the horizon with whatever grows on the fields or got killed along the way.

written by Chris

Can you imagine the capitals or countries of Asia as women? No? That is what blogger Indcoup did recently. What a funny idea! But it gets better. Why not start with that and add the vitae of more and other visited places? Here is how it goes – read on:

“I think it would help to imagine Jakarta as some sort of a woman. And in that case I reckon that despite being a bit low in the IQ department, painstakingly slow at doing anything and a compulsive chain smoker to boot – you’d still be drawn to her more positive attributes like her deep cleavage, long jet black hair and happy-go-lucky attitude.

written by Chris

The thing I like about a place like Bali is the sheer variety of venues on where to eat, drink, relax or just hang out. One of those special places where you can do all of the above is Khaima.

What’s the venue?

Khaima is a chilled restaurant in Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi, the new ‘IN’ area of Bali. It’s one of the most well regarded restaurants in Bali and the only authentic Moroccan eatery on the island. It’s run by a Belgian/Moroccan couple.

Here you can eat like in a normal restaurant at a table – or chill Arabic style on large pillows and ground beds and smoke a Shisha (water pipe or hookah).

written by Chris

I used to pay around 400-600 Euro for my Health Insurance – per month! Not that I didn’t try to reduce that or even get around it at all. Why not pay for what you use only?

But back in my home country Germany, you have no choice. You have to pay for a health insurance and you basically pay for it with an arm and a leg. That is, if you earn a good income. The service you receive, when things go wrong, can range from mediocre to great, although you have limited influence, on which doctor or hospital to chose.

written by Chris

Actually I wanted to post this one here 3 days ago. But nothing worked – obviously.

An earthquake disrupted internet services in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Japan. I currently still have heavy problems accessing my e-mail not to talk about websurfing. Seems to be one of the biggest disaster since 1999, when a major internet outage occured in Asia.

written by Chris

Added some more travel pictures from all around Asia here:

Bali:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomads-vagabonds/tags/bali/

Thailand:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomads-vagabonds/tags/thailand/

Philippines:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomads-vagabonds/tags/philippines/

Laos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomads-vagabonds/tags/laos/

written by Chris

When living a while in one location, you establish a base, from where you can travel to other places. What mode of transport you prefer, is up to you, in Asia’s equatorial weather, for me the best way to get around is by motorcycle.

Driving 20.000 km around Bali and surrounding islands over the last 2 years, I used a Honda Vario 110ccm CBS, which was a great way to use as my day-2-day vehicle. So when Honda came out with the 2012 model, I naturally had to take a closer look. Here is what I think about that bike after using it for 1 month and app. 1.000 kilometer:

written by Chris