Mark Wiens has spent most of his free time from Yaowarat Chinatown to Victory Munch (also known as Victory Monument), pursuing a mastery in the edible arts of Bangkok.  He has naturally partaken of most edible things in sight and has sampled seemingly infinite tidbits.  With a voracious Thai food eating habit, he has managed to start making som tam (papaya salad) at his personal street cart vendor and has even patented a dish to his name at a neighborhood eatery (hint: # 29).
I feel like a King every single day in Bangkok due to the ambrosial and affordable cuisine I devour.
This list does …

I spent 4 days in Jakarta before proceeding onwards in my journey through Indonesia towards Yogyakarta to climb Mt. Merapi and check out the Borobudur temple complex.  Jakarta is a massive bustling metropolis that can be somewhat overwhelming.
If you don’t just want to spend time getting lost in Jakarta’s labyrinth (which is usually a great thing to do), and have a few days, here are some worthwhile things to do.Â
Monas: National Monument
One of the central and noticeable landmarks in Jakarta is the Monas National Monument, known in slang terms as “Sokareno’s last …

No shower, check, no house cleaning, check, no bad thoughts or words, check, no hair cut, (haven’t in 15 months) check, engorge on delicious foods, check … WOW, Chinese New Years in Thailand is starting to sound a lot like my daily routine… in fact, I barely have to change anything.
With the Chinese influence in Thailand, being in Bangkok, and my half Chinese American-ism, there was tremendous reason to celebrate 2010 as the year of the Tiger on Feb 14th  and 15th, 2010.
I took the initiative to ask a few of my English students and Thai friends some …

I forced the cab driver to stop on the side of Sheikh Zayed highway and strained my neck to a 90 degree angle with my back. I had just landed in Dubai and I was trying to fathom the earth’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Dubai. The immensity of cranes dominating the skyline looked like flamingos on Lake Nakuru in Kenya.

With the barest essential of all plans, I jetted to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to take a one month Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) course with TEFL International Buenos Aires.  Apparently, TESOL and TEFL are practically the same thing.
Still dazzled and overwhelmed with kilos of beef due to my recent landing in Argentina, the course started off on schedule.  The course was held in the ritzy district of Recoleta in a beautiful historical mansion known as the Recoleta Institute.   The prestigious and very European area of Buenos Aires is home to  numerous fancy restaurants, …

At times, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, can feel a bit hectic and maybe a little intimidating.  I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and while there learned various survival tactics in order to make visiting Phnom Penh slightly easier and more manageable.    Some of these survival tactics might even teach you a few lessons on how to be native in Cambodia.  In any way, have an awesome time in Phnom Penh; a city that I consider to have a great mixture of entertainment, delicacies, humor, and great folks.
1.  Tune Out a Little
It is utterly unavoidable that all operators of all forms of motorized transportation will pursue you for a ride.  Motorcycles will pass, notice …

From spending 24 Hours at Angkor Wat to aimlessly walking around the capital of Phnom Penh, in order to fit in to the Cambodian lifestyle, you will need to follow a few or possibly all of these tips.
1.  Parkas and Gore-Tex
If you venture outside or somewhere onto the street, whatever you do, don’t forget the North Face down parkas.  Locals don’t appreciate the glorious sunshine.  I saw numerous people rocking the latest in mittens, leggings,  scarves, and long johns.
2.  100cc Family Vehicle
The Dodge Caravan is no longer the family of 5 vehicle …

Â
1.  Mo Chit Station- Bangkok
Start at Mo Chit Station- Bangkok’s Northern bus terminal.  Take a bus to Aranyaprathet that departs every 30 minutes starting at about 4 am for the price of around 200 baht (US $6).  Bus takes about 4 hours.Â
2.   Rongklua Market- Border
The bus will either take you all the way to the border or it will drop you in town and you will need to spend less than 100 baht (US $3) on a tuk tuk to the actual border at Rongklua Market.Â
CAUTION: If you take a tuk tuk, don’t let …

With a time constraint in Cambodia, I was only able to allot a single day to the brilliant World Heritage Site of the Angkor Wat Temples near Siem Reap.  I was able to see a significant amount of temples that were truly spectacular in complete regards.
The single day really began on the evening before the day.  We arrived to Siem Reap in the mid afternoon and tuk tuked our way to the entrance by around 5pm.  If you arrive at 5pm, you can purchase your $20 single day ticket in the evening for the following day.  That …

When 2009 rolled in, I had just returned to the the United States from Patagonia to attend my sisters wedding in Phoenix, Arizona.
It was in February 2009 under the influence of a carne asada burrito that I decided it was time to record my migrationology travels in the form of online documentation. I knew next to nothing about the web world, (twitter was literally just the sound of a bird to me).  Utilizing gallons of my parents coffee and my addiction to yerba mate from Argentina, along with free internet, I …