Luzon, Philippines

Luzon, Philippines

After finishing yet another contract as an English teacher in Taiwan, I decided to head to Thailand for some scuba diving and banana shakes… However, seeing that Cebu Pacific Airlines (which offered the cheapest flight) had a stopover in Manila ANYWAYS, it made sense to, well, explore a bit. Seeing that I was heading to Thailand’s beaches in a few days, I saw no reason to head into the Philippine ones, and instead a decision had been made to pop into the [...]

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Monkeetime North Korea

Monkeetime North Korea

I have been moderately fascinated by North Korea as long as I have been aware of its existence and its political system.  An isolated, poor country, shunned by its neighbours and run by a psychopathic government…  What’s there not to be curious about? Often referred to as “communist”, North Korea is as communist as Dick Cheney is a Democrat…  The label is there because of the masses of assistance the North got from the Soviets and the Chinese, and while [...]

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Lonely Planet – North Korea

Lonely Planet – North Korea

Introducing North Korea Eagerly assuming its place among the world’s top travel destinations, even more so since the 2009 Kimchaek nuclear test, North Korea is an epic adventure.  From the wide open and empty streets of Pyongyang to the push and shove of the interrogation room of the Yodok Concentration Camp for political dissidents, from the landmine-studded Demilitarized Zone to the countless orphanages filled with cute and not-at-all obese kiddies, a journey through this amazing country is a mesmerizing encounter [...]

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“Backpacking India (2009)” – a photo journey

“Backpacking India (2009)” – a photo journey

Photography is not my speciality.  Even though I started documenting my travels way back in 2003 using a Fuji digicam which shot grainy 1 megapixel snaps, I only seem to get one good photo out of maybe 1000 trigger pulls…  It is safe to say that Monkeetime is not and probably will not be about quality photos. For that, you better visit Nomadic Samuel’s page.  Sam is a longtime friend of mine who is so ridiculously filled with travel photography [...]

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“Nine Years of Backpacking” – A reflection on life, universe, and dusty trails.

“Nine Years of Backpacking” – A reflection on life, universe, and dusty trails.

I stepped off a plane on February 6th, 2003, and everything changed. Big time…  Since then, February 6th is a special date in my head. It’s not like anything extraordinary happens on this day, but I get a repeat of that flashbulb memory first shocker of arriving in a completely up-side-down place, the feeling of not knowing W.T.F. is going on, having to struggle for everything, and feeling tremendous sense of accomplishment over the silliest, smallest things that go right. It’s [...]

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Mongolia | Gers Gone Wild

Mongolia | Gers Gone Wild

Mongolia is a massive, landlocked, mostly deserted place where the sky seems to kiss the earth and where you easily forget that our planet is home to billions of people. Not exactly on any major backpacking routes, the country is still seldom visited, as most backpackers tend to roll through the “pancake trail” of South East Asia. Thus the land is an oasis, a place where few speak English, the pristine air is matched by the crystal water, where thousands [...]

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Recent Posts

  • Luzon, Philippines

    Luzon, Philippines

    After finishing yet another contract as an English teacher in Taiwan, I decided to head to Thailand for some scuba diving and banana shakes… However, seeing that Cebu Pacific Airlines (which offered the cheapest flight) had a stopover in Manila ANYWAYS, it made sense to, well, explore a bit. Seeing that I was heading to Thailand’s beaches in a few days, I saw no reason to head into the Philippine ones, and instead a decision had been made to pop into the [...]

    Continue reading »

  • Monkeetime North Korea

    Monkeetime North Korea

    I have been moderately fascinated by North Korea as long as I have been aware of its existence and its political system.  An isolated, poor country, shunned by its neighbours and run by a psychopathic government…  What’s there not to be curious about? Often referred to as “communist”, North Korea is as communist as Dick Cheney is a Democrat…  The label is there because of the masses of assistance the North got from the Soviets and the Chinese, and while [...]

    Continue reading »

  • Culture Shocker – Thai Children’s Book

    Culture Shocker – Thai Children’s Book

    A friend of mine who is working as an English teacher in Bangkok has sent me some pictures of a kiddie book used to teach English.  This stuff is amazing… Oh yeah… This is why we travel…  The good stuff… Seems like Thailand is completely unburdened by the idea that black people are no longer believed to be made of tar.  Yes, I understand that this is only a recycled Uncle Remus story about the Br’er Rabbit and a straw [...]

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  • “Eating in India doesnt give you diarrhea!” (Backpacking India: Part 18 – Pushkar)

    “Eating in India doesnt give you diarrhea!” (Backpacking India: Part 18 – Pushkar)

    There is drama over the Pushkar video, which apparently is a massive source of hurt feelings… From Neem0droid Dude, Seems like you come to India to see monkeys/Cows, lol.. And I don’t want to blame the American Tourists. there are a million good ones,who come to India to understand the culture or experience the diversities..and many more things. Seems like you guys were stuck to stalking animals. lol. what a waste of ur trip…Go to Vegas you wont find no [...]

    Continue reading »

  • Lonely Planet – North Korea

    Lonely Planet – North Korea

    Introducing North Korea Eagerly assuming its place among the world’s top travel destinations, even more so since the 2009 Kimchaek nuclear test, North Korea is an epic adventure.  From the wide open and empty streets of Pyongyang to the push and shove of the interrogation room of the Yodok Concentration Camp for political dissidents, from the landmine-studded Demilitarized Zone to the countless orphanages filled with cute and not-at-all obese kiddies, a journey through this amazing country is a mesmerizing encounter [...]

    Continue reading »

  • “Backpacking India (2009)” – a photo journey

    “Backpacking India (2009)” – a photo journey

    Photography is not my speciality.  Even though I started documenting my travels way back in 2003 using a Fuji digicam which shot grainy 1 megapixel snaps, I only seem to get one good photo out of maybe 1000 trigger pulls…  It is safe to say that Monkeetime is not and probably will not be about quality photos. For that, you better visit Nomadic Samuel’s page.  Sam is a longtime friend of mine who is so ridiculously filled with travel photography [...]

    Continue reading »

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  • “Momo Madness!” – Monkeetime on CNN Go (briefly…)

    “Momo Madness!” – Monkeetime on CNN Go (briefly…)

    A few days ago I was asked to make a contribution to a CNN Go article about momos, the Himalayan dumpling whose popularity has spread it like a wildfire to various places throughout South and East Asia.  Monkeetime devotees know that I tend to not care a whole lot about local foods as for me grub is all about nourishment and sustenance, as opposed to the “search for flavour” many people embark on.  But, having spent a shitload of time [...]

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  • Ashes and riots…

    Ashes and riots…

    As I type this (Feb 29, 2012), various news channels are filled with reports of riots in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) as a response to some copies of the Koran being burned at the Bagram Air Base.  Being a rabid antitheist, and, for the time being, free of the various forces of censorship which normally shut down free speech out there in the world, I am going to go ahead and label the protesters as a bunch of morons.  Unfortunately, plenty [...]

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  • Animal Keychains… A short rant about runaway consumerism.

    Animal Keychains… A short rant about runaway consumerism.

    Every time I have visited China, there was some sort of new fad, something cute, some sort of accessory that everyone wanted, something, anything.  Recently a new, rather sick craze took over the land: animal keychains. Not injection-moulded plastic elephants and giraffes, but live turtles, salamanders and fish jammed into a plactic, water-filled  bag, sealed, and sold for as little as 5 yuan (less than US $1).  Popular with the brainless masses of infantile Chinese women who think this is the [...]

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  • I’m an ugly freak with long girlish hair… (another North Korea comment)

    I’m an ugly freak with long girlish hair… (another North Korea comment)

    This Crew particularly the ugly freak with the long girlish hair and the ignorant vulgar mouthed one with the Scandinavian accent make the polite and well mannered communist North Koreans the hero’s in this video series. I hope the North Koreans don’t think that the rest of us in the non communist World are like these disrespectful dirty low life’s! From @frbjoernLA My reply: @frbjoernLA I think you meant to say “I like turtles”… Not surprisingly, I got a response: @monkeetime No! I [...]

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  • Mongolia | Gers gone CUT!!!! – Outtakes and X-tras!

    Mongolia | Gers gone CUT!!!! – Outtakes and X-tras!

    Gers Gone Wild (which you may or may not have seen already) was a 3 week romp through the spanktacular and diverse scenery that is on tap in Mongolia.  Many days of driving, countless adventures, heaps of new stuff, no shortage of challenges: it was everything that travel is supposed to be, and one of the best expeditions I had gone on. Shooting these videos was one of the most fun projects for me, as it was a highly social [...]

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  • “Nine Years of Backpacking” – A reflection on life, universe, and dusty trails.

    “Nine Years of Backpacking” – A reflection on life, universe, and dusty trails.

    I stepped off a plane on February 6th, 2003, and everything changed. Big time…  Since then, February 6th is a special date in my head. It’s not like anything extraordinary happens on this day, but I get a repeat of that flashbulb memory first shocker of arriving in a completely up-side-down place, the feeling of not knowing W.T.F. is going on, having to struggle for everything, and feeling tremendous sense of accomplishment over the silliest, smallest things that go right. It’s [...]

    Continue reading »

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