
2010 was a year of friendship and eating. Being half stabilized in Bangkok, Thailand, allowed me to develop incredible relationships and pursue my radical addiction to street food. Though I taught English for over half of 2010, I was able to slip away for a few incredible trips. Here is the Migrationology travel round-up of 2010!
1. Cambodia
At the beginning of 2010, I had the privilege of visiting the mind blowing temples of Angkor Wat and spending some time submerged in the brilliance of Phnom Penh.


2. Thailand
I finished up a year of teaching English at Wall Street Institute in Bangkok. It was a great year of learning, eating Thai food and traveling around Thailand. I investigated fascinating places in Thailand like Sangkhlaburi, discovered what to NEVER do in Krabi, indulged in over 100 dishes to eat in Thailand and saw the Maeklong Train Market.


3. Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
I was back to KL again, this time en-route to Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. My favorite things to do in Kuala Lumpur revolved around exquisite Malay food and the almighty Durian Buffet!


4. Borneo, Malaysia
We arrived in Kota Kinabalu with the intention of climbing Mount Kinabalu in 1 day. Though sour weather declined us from reaching the summit, it was an incredible hike and we enjoyed every moment. Back in town, we spent hours in the Kota Kinabalu night market, eating phenomenal grilled seafood and basking in the late afternoon sunsets.


5. Brunei
While in Kota Kinabalu we decided to quickly take the ferry to the small country of Brunei. It was a quick but worthwhile journey to Bandar Seri Begawan which included an enchanting view of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and my first sample of the traditional sago palm starch called ambuyat.
Get exclusive updates
Enter your email and I’ll send you the best travel food content.


6. Vietnam, Hanoi
In Hanoi, I drowned myself in as much Vietnamese street food as possible, braved Hanoi’s midnight market madness at Long Bien market, and examined Hanoi in a collage of dimensions! We were able to take a 2 day tour to Halong Bay and put together a Hanoi Budget Travel Guide.


7. Hong Kong
A friend of mine came from the States to visit Thailand and in the process, he wanted to hop over to Hong Kong for a few days. I got my fill of Lin Heung dim sum, spent the night in the notorious Chungking Mansions, and took loads of photos of Hong Kong.


8. Macau
We took a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau and went on a rampage through the city, doing as many things as we could with 12 hours in Macau.


9. Egypt
In November I flew to Egypt to explore the land of the Pharaohs and expose chaotic Cairo through photos. Egypt was simply an enchanting place. I was able to see the Pyramids, explore ancient structures in Luxor, visit Abu Simbel, sail the Nile River on a felucca (traditional Egyptian sailboat), and hang out as a nomad in the Siwa Oasis.


10. Kenya
I headed back to Nairobi (where I grew up) to visit some good friends and have some quality hanging out. Cruising around Nairobi was a random adventure as usual. I got my fill of nyama choma (raosted goat meat), ate at all my old favorite eateries and visited the shadier parts of town!
Articles and Pictures to come!


11. Zanzibar
In an effort to get back to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Nairobi, I went via Stone Town, Zanzibar. Our activities included a visit to Prison Island, a quick trip to Bwejuu and Paje beaches, shopping in Stone Town, and my share of Zanzibari cuisine and market hopping!
Articles and Pictures to come!


12. Tanzania
I landed in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to spend Christmas with my parents. As I write this, I am basking in the humid air, sweating profusely, dining on my Mom’s home cooking and enjoying every moment!
Stay Tuned for Articles and Photos of East Africa!

I want to say a big Thank You to all my readers and followers of Migrationology. Thank you for your continued support and I wish you all the best for 2011!
As for me, I’m still not sure what 2011 will entail or what migrations might fall into place. I do know 1 thing, 2011 will be loaded full of travel culture adventures and around the world portions of street food!
– Migration Mark
Get exclusive updates
Enter your email and I'll send you the best travel food content.
Martin Jonsson
13 years ago
Looks like you’ve had a much deserved fantastic year. Your blog is a source of inspiration (and, no doubt, jealousy) for many. I look forward to reading it for many a more year. 🙂
Renee
13 years ago
Ack…see I knew that I was dreaming too big. I do like the itinerary that you’ve suggested; great food for thought and thankfully I have time to think about it. Happy New Year’s to you too!
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
@Norbert: Thanks! Happy New Year, and hopefully our travels will cross at some point!
@Renee: Renee! 2 weeks is quite a short time to accomplish that much, but if you must, it can be done. You would really need to decide what you want to see/visit in each country and have pretty well thought out plan, including flights. I might do something like 1 day in HK, 5 days in Vietnam, 5 days in Thailand, and 3 days in Malaysia. It would be very fast, but possible. Hope this helps a bit and Happy New Year!
Renee
13 years ago
Mark,
Great photos! I love your Asia itinerary and I am making plans to visit there in 2012, so I’m doing a lot of research now. I want to stay for at least two weeks which is hard to do when working F/T, the boss usually wants me to limit vacations to one week at a time. Blah. I wanted to know…how long did it take you to visit Thailand, Vietnam, HK, Malaysia? Is it realistic to think that I can cover that much ground in two short weeks and do either of the cities justice? This page is definitely getting bookmarked….good stuff!
Norbert
13 years ago
Wow! What an amazing year of travel you had. You clearly visited a lot of interesting destinations that I’m looking forward to visit in the near future. Here’s to an even better 2011!
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
Jozef: Thanks Jozef!
@John: Thanks! Happy New Year!
John
13 years ago
Your blogs arouse my interests in travelling ! Happy New Year for all !!!
Jozef Maxted
13 years ago
Great post, looks like you’ve had an excellent year. Definitely be adding some of these to my places to visit list. Its gettig too long!
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
@Cathy: Thanks so much! Wish you a Happy New year too!
@Ayngelina: I guess you will have to return, to fully photos of everything you eat in SEA! Happy New Year!
@Lorna: Thanks! Wish you the best for 2011 too!
Lorna – the roamantics
13 years ago
what an incredible travel year and captured in gorgeous photos. can’t wait to see what 2011 holds. will stay tuned 🙂
ayngelina
13 years ago
yay love the food photos, unbelievably in SEA I hardly took any food shots.
Cathy Sweeney
13 years ago
Friendship and eating in fabulous places. How much better can you get?
Looking forward to your 2011 adventures!
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
@Greg: Thanks!
@Laurel: Cool, thanks Laurel! Thailand is a great place to call home base for a while. I’ll be heading back in a few weeks.
@Inka: Thank you very much! I wish you all the best as well!
@Ben: Yes, that ambuyat is pretty unique! I’m sure you would love East Africa too!
adventureswithben
13 years ago
The paste caught my attention. What an interesting texture. I love Africa too, though I’ve never been to East or North Africa – just the South.
inka
13 years ago
This must be the best round up I have seen. What destinations and what a talented photogrpaher you are. Hope so see more of the same in the coming year for which I wish you happiness and health.
Laurel
13 years ago
It looks like you’ve had an amazing year! Love your photos! I lived in Thailand for 2 years and can see why that’s on your list. I haven’t made it to the other places you mentioned but they look good as well!
greg urbano
13 years ago
great shots indicate a great year !
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
@EatLaughLoveAnon: Thanks!
@Jeremy: I really appreciate those words, Thanks so much Jeremy! Happy New Year to you!
@Jamie: Thanks! Hope you guys have a great New Year too!
@Kristy: Thanks! African meat, the meat that’s grass fed and grazes freely is truly some of the tastiest! Yes, would be great to meet you this coming year! Hope you are doing well!
Kirsty
13 years ago
Great wrap Mark! I love the photos. I’m with you on the roasted goat meat… meat on a stick is one of my favourites here in Rwanda. Never would have expected that!
All the best for 2011! Maybe it’ll be the year we finally cross paths. 🙂
jamie
13 years ago
wow, what an epic year!
you packed in a whole variety of places, and foods by the looks.
nice shots, hope 2011 is just as grand!
Jeremy B
13 years ago
Mark, what a great list of countries and awesome photos!! You have been to places many people will never go to and that’s awesome! I am a world traveler myself and I’ve never even considered some of these destinations. Thanks for sharing and look forward to more of your adventures in 2011!
eat-laugh-love-anon
13 years ago
Wow! What a year.
Mark Wiens
13 years ago
@Paulo: Thanks Paulo!
@Rebecca: Very cool, Yes, in the next couple weeks I will be posting a lot about East Africa!
@Ciki: Thanks!
@Juno: Hehe, Thanks Juno! Good thing there’s amazing food in Korea!!!
Juno
13 years ago
Wow. You had some exciting year! Really inspiring. 🙂
Wish I could post something like that in short future!
And you know what? You just made me so hungry…. darn it.
🙂
ciki
13 years ago
Fantastic! What a gastronomic roller-coaster! I am totally inspired to let my stomach lead the way as well 😀 great post Mark;)
Rebecca
13 years ago
Awesome year!! You’ve been to some amazing places. Next year I’m heading to East Africa, so can’t wait to read your posts about your travels there.
paulo
13 years ago
An amazing log of your travels. Very impressive. I can’t wait to see the book you will be putting together someday! Continued success Mark Happy New Year!