open mind, empty stomach
travel, food, and fun
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Author: open mind, empty stomach
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A lot of people say Delhi is a place you fly into, then get out of as fast as you can to experience the real India. While I make it a point NOT to do what a lot of people say, my relatively brief amount of time to spend in India (5 weeks) led me…
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Southeast Asia is home to a some great street food cities, but a few stand out above the rest, most notably Singapore and Penang. My 3 day eating stopover in the latter turned into a 3 month semi-residency that allowed me to taste quite a bit of what Penang has to offer. It was delicious!…
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The best way to ensure something will not happen is to plan on it. When traveling, I try to maintain as much flexibility as possible. Sometimes, I plan on spending a week in a place and am ready to leave after a few days, as was the case in BARIO. There are also times when…
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Borneo. The name inspired visions of wild jungle and indigenous peoples carrying on a way of life that has changed little for hundreds of years. My yearning for adventure took me to the Malaysian part of the island, which is also shared by Brunei and Indonesia. Searching for the most authentic, real Borneo experience brought…
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Miri is an oil city in Sarawak that has transitioned to producing palm oil after its fossil fuel deposits began to run dry. The city itself is totally void of character and charm and reminds me of the bad parts of America. There are cars everywhere, way too many shopping malls for a place its…
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Kapit is your quintessential lazy little town on a river and my favorite place in Sarawak. The only way to reach Kapit is by boat from Sibu. A oneway ticket runs about 25 ringgit ($8) and the ride takes a couple hours. Lodging is not cheap and there are no dorms/hostels. The least expensive hotel…
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Kuching, the Cat City, was my gateway from Singapore to Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Located on the northwest of the island, Kuching is a common port of arrival for visitors to Borneo. Yet again, I was able to find a great CouchSurfing host. Elly already had an American Surfer named Jay staying with her when I…
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The worst part of getting food poisoning on my last night in Jakarta was knowing that I had to fly to Singapore the next day. I was going to Singapore for one reason: to eat. My sickness lasted violently through the morning, but I still managed to make it to the airport and arrive safely…
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Indonesia’s capital was unlike any other place I’d been in the country. For starters, it actually resembled a proper city, most notably when it comes to transportation. Like any other major city, traffic is a huge problem, but it’s still possible to get around Jakarta very affordably in a reasonable amount of time. There are…
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This may be an awkward opener, but I’ve got to say it up front. Yogyakarta has the cheapest laundry service I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world. The going rate is 2500 IDR/kilo, but I did see one place advertising 2000. That works out to about a dime a pound! The price of laundry is…
open mind, empty stomach 