Over the last decade or so, I have traveled to a number of islands in Thailand. After spending some time in the relatively obscure island of Koh Libong, I believe that I have finally identified my ideal beach destination. Located in the southern province of Trang, Koh Libong is known primarily as a refuge for the Dugong (often referred to as a sea cow), a large marine mammal which is closely related to the manatee.

With only a handful of small and somewhat primitive bungalow resorts scattered around the island, the tourism infrastructure on Koh Libong is somewhat basic. There are no gaudy resort hotels with swim up bars, no shopping district with tacky souvenir and tourist shops and there is virtually no nightlife to speak of – no nightclubs or bars.

The island’s population is primarily Muslim; scattered around the island are four small fishing villages and most of inhabitants on the island are Muslim. That would explain the absence of nightclubs and bars – in traditional Muslim culture, the consumption (and sale) of alcohol is prohibited. That doesn’t mean that you cannot get a drink on the island; at the various bungalow resorts, you can buy alcohol and beer. Buddhists own these “resorts”.

Island life for the tourist in Koh Libong is pretty quiet. Watching the tide come in, reading a good book and collecting seashells are some of the most popular activities for visitors. In addition, there are some very spectacular sunsets. Admittedly without the bar scene, Koh Libong is pretty dead at night. The social scene for a tourist is pretty much restricted to the restaurants of the various bungalow resorts - hotel guests will often linger after dinner, enjoying a round of drinks together before retiring for the evening.

Going on a Dugong Sighting Tour – more commonly known as a “Dugong Safari” - is one of the most popular excursions for visitors.

For most people, Koh Libong is too primitive and way too quiet. For yours truly, I can do without the resort scene, clutter and commercialism (not too mention the noisy jet skis) of Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya - just not my cup of tea. As they say - different strokes for different folks.

On the 3d and final leg of my journey through Loei province, I stopped in the small town of Pak Chom. Situated on the Mekong River about 1 1/2 hours east of Chiang Khan, Pak Chom was a rather pleasant city, but lacked the charm and the tourist infrastructure of Chiang Khan. The cute gift shops, boutiques and trendy coffee shops that were so abundant in Chiang Khan were nonexistent in Pak Chom. Furthermore, Pak Chom, with a population of about 50,000, was a considerably larger town than Chiang Khan – it even had its own hospital.

Tourist friendly accommodations are relatively scarce in Pak Chom - there are just a handful of small bungalow style motels, most of them located just off the highway and close to the river. Most travelers stay in Pak Chom for only night before they move on to their destination. From what I have read, a lot of bikers will often overnight in this small city.

I stayed at Ruenrat Resort, a place I found listed in the Internet. A small family run motel, Ruenrat Resort was located about 1 mile from town. The owners were very friendly and tried to make my stay as comfortable as possible. During the days, I kept myself occupied by bicycling around town and along the Mekong River.

Looking back, I enjoyed my brief four-day stay in Pak Chom – it gave me an opportunity to be away from my fellow tourists – both farang and Thai – and experience a part of Thailand that few visitors are able to.

My exploration of Loei province started in the small mountain hamlet of Phu Ruea. From there, I proceeded to Chiang Khan, a sleepy town situated on the banks of the Mekong River. Chiang Khan has loads of ambiance with its many old wooden buildings, teak houses and Laotian-Thai style temples.

There is a special aura about this town – sort of reminds of old town Xingping in China - as it captures the essence of Thailand of days gone by. As evidenced by the popularity of Chiang Khan with Thai tourists – mostly from Bangkok - it is fast becoming “the hippest” tourist town in Northern Thailand.

Chiang Khan has often been compared to Pai, a small tourist mecca located in the mountains of Mae Hong Son Province. The difference is that Pai caters primarily to a young Western tourist crowd, many of whom are backpackers on the cheap; while Chiang Khan feels like ‘Thailand’, and for now, the tourists are predominantly Thai.

Walking along the main drag, which runs parallel to the Mekong River, I observed numerous guesthouses, chic boutiques and cafes - many of them housed in old wooden and teak buildings. In particular, there are numerous small coffee shops in the tourist zone. Thai people – especially young Thai people - just love to hang out at coffee ships.

Many camera toting tourists (and HiSo Thai girls) from Bangkok paraded down the streets, taking pictures of the old houses and shopping at one of the many cute gift shops. Fortunately, I did not see any Starbucks or KFC outlets. From what I could see, the bar scene has not yet contaminated Chiang Khan – so the town is fairly quiet at night.

There is an abundance of small guesthouses, hostels and homestays- many of them with just a handful of rooms. The room rates in general run from 250 baht – 900 baht or higher depending on the location of the hostel and the size of the rooms. The riverfront hostels command a higher price than those hostels that are 3-4 blocks away.

Unfortunately my visit to Chiang Khan coincided with one of the most popular holiday weekends of the year – the King’s Birthday, a national holiday. As a result, the town was booked solid and I was only able to get a small closet of a room in a guesthouse located about ¼ mile from the main drag, albeit for only one night. Due to the unavailability of rooms, I was forced to relocate to another town/village along the Mekong River for the remainder of my stay in Loei Province. Next - the Adventure continues in Pak Chom….

Chiang Khan is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Loei. By songtaew, the trip takes about one hour.

My wondrous journey to China started in the incredibly beautiful city of Guilin in Guangxi Province. From Guilin, I continued by bus to Xingping, a small historic town located about 60 kilometers south of Guilin. Situated on the Li River, the ancient town of Xingping - settled in 265AD - oozes with ambiance and authenticity.

Traveling by bus to Xingping from Guilin, you’ll have to change buses in Yangshuo which is further south. The bus trip takes about 2 hours.

Spectacular Karst Mountains and lush greenery dominate the landscape of the Li River Valley. The Karst landscape is most outstanding between Yangdi Village south to Yangshuo; Xingping is located in the middle of this stretch.

Xingping is considerably less developed and more serene than the more popular and touristy Yangshuo. Walking Street, the lively tourist district of Yangshuo, is brimming with trendy nightclubs, bars, boutiques and restaurants - there is even a KFC and McDonald’s. Some say that Xingping is what Yangshuo used to be like 20 years ago.

If you’re a tourist, there are number of inexpensive guesthouses and hostels in Old Town. A better option is to stay in one of small hotels/guesthouses in Dahebei Village which is located on the other side of the Li River. In order to get to the village, you have to cross the river by ferry. The journey takes less than 5 minutes and the cost is nominal.

There seems to be a real construction boom in Dahebei Village as new condos and small hotels are popping up. According to Shirly, the amiable owner of Our Inn, many wealthy Chinese people - primarily from Guilin - are building family vacation homes in the village. Times are a changing in Xingping…

FYI - Unless you understand some Mandarin, communications can be very difficult as only a handful of people in Xingping speak English

After going on the Dugong spotting tour in Koh Libong, I had an opportunity to talk to one of the tour guides from Trang who had reasonable facility with English. When I told him that we had sighted four individual dugongs, he said that we were very lucky as from his experience, only 10% of such tours are successful in seeing a dugong. When I asked about the social behavior of the dugongs, he told me that dugongs usually travel in a herd of up to 8 individuals.

Doing some further investigation on my own, I learned that the dugong herd typically consists of females and their calves; the males - for the most part - are solitary, only getting together with the females to mate. Furthermore, during the day the dugongs stay (resting quietly) in the deep sea coming to the shallow coastal areas, inlets and mangroves at night to feed eat on sea grass.

That could explain, why there are so few dugong sightings on these day tours as the herds are active mostly at night. I surmise that the individuals that we saw were solitary males patrolling their territory, but who I am to know!

As sort of a gag, I produced an impromptu video where I am seen swimming in the open seas impersonating a female dugong, in the hope of attracting a male dugong. Bret, the young and affable Canadian, provided the humorous narration

One of the more popular activities for visitors to Koh Libong, a relatively obscure island destination in southern Thailand, is a Dugong spotting tour. There are a reported 70-80 dugongs that live in the shallow waters and mangroves off the southeastern coast of this small island.

Commonly refered to as a sea cow because it’s diet consists primarily of sea grass, the dugong is a relatively large sea mammal and is related to the manatee. Since the early 20th century, the dugong populations in the wild have been in severe decline and they are now considered a rare or endangered species.

The Dugong spotting tour consists of going out to sea early in the morning by motorized longtail boat to a location where the dugongs have been observed before, and sitting there quietly in the hope that one will show up. If there is a dugong in the area, the creature will periodically come up for air - albeit for less than a second - before it submerges in the water. When the Dugong appears, the boatman will point and say Dugong – then before you can say boo, the creature is gone.

While I was in Koh Libong, I went on the Dugong tour with a Canadian couple - Bret and Annabell - apparently there were four individual sightings, however I was only able to observe only two as I was busy shooting the breeze with Bret. I distinctly remember the last sighting - one large dugong came up for air, then rolled over displaying a cream colored belly. That was quite impressive – but it lasted for no more than two seconds at the most.

It’s too bad these guides do not know more than just a few words of English so they could share their knowledge about the natural history of these unique creatures. Because of the lack of commentary, the tour is sort of a waste of time (and money) unless you’re your sole purpose was to have an opportunity to get a brief glimpse of this rare sea mammal. Remember there is no guarantee that you will even see this elusive creature.

Over the years, I have traveled extensively to five countries in South American – Colombia (1984), Peru and Ecuador (2007) and lastly Bolivia and Brazil (2010). I must admit that I had a wonderful time in all these countries (I always have a great time wherever I go), but if I had to select only one of these countries for a return visit, it would have to be BOLIVIA.

Although Bolivia does not have any beach towns or seaside resorts by virtue of being a landlocked country, there are so many fascinating and interesting places to keep you busy for weeks on end.

On my recent trip to Bolivia, I barely scratched the surface but I managed to visit four unique and different areas - La Paz and Lake Titicaca (the Altiplano), Rurrenabaque and the lowland rainforests of the Amazon basin as well as Samaipata, a small mountain resort in Southern Bolivia.

What makes Bolivia so desirable to me as a traveler - besides being the most affordable country in South America - is that much of the country is still relatively undeveloped and has escaped from the excesses of mass tourism. Did I mention Bolivia is very cheap? I’ve been to Thailand many times, and I think your monies will go just as far in Bolivia.

Last but not least, the dogs in Bolivia are very clean and congenial (and there are many) - especially the dogs in highlands – and they have very few fleas. You’ve probably guessed by now, that I have special affinity with dogs.

By all means, check out the video below. Entitled Poco Picante, it captures some of my most memorable and outlandishly amusing moments in Bolivia. ENJOY!

I heard from some fellow travelers, that ‘free’ cocaine was being offered by a number of tourist-oriented bars in La Paz, Bolivia. I was ready to dismiss these reports as being just hearsay until I was offered to snort some cocaine by the bartender at a popular bar in the tourist zone of La Paz. After finishing my beer and ready to head out the door, he suggested I go into the back room of the bar and do a line or two.

From what I have read, the bars pay off the local authorities in order to sell cocaine to their mostly tourist clientele.

Even though I am not averse to snorting cocaine every now and then, I really wasn’t tempted to indulge even if the bartender’s offer was sincere. After all, there was always the possibility I could be walking into a trap – as a tourist in one of the poorest countries in South America, I represented somebody’s big payday. In Bolivia - like everywhere in the world - Cocaine is against the law!

Who knows - after accepting his hospitality maybe the bartender would be calling one of his cronies in the police department. Then I would be faced with paying a heavy fine/bribe in order to avoid possible imprisonment. Personally, I would not want to take that sort of risk.

Furthermore, I did not travel to South America to fool around with drugs – not my sort of trip.

Wouldn’t you know it but while I was staying in the small mountain resort of Samaipata in Southern Bolivia, a fellow tourist also told me about a “hip local bar” (forgot the name) that was offering cocaine to its customers. I told him, I would pass on that one.

I understand these Cocaine Bars are a relatively new thing in Bolivia, having started sometime in 2009.

Travel is very rewarding. Every day is an adventure (that’s for sure)
as you meet new people, have new experiences and visit foreign
and exotic new places. From my experience, there is never, ever a dull moment. That is precisely why I love to travel.

This short video entitled “Muy Picante” captures some of my most outlandish and humorous not to mention some of my x-rated moments on a recent trip to Brazil.

After watching this video, you might conclude that I have a fascination with dogs. Admittedly I have a special relationship with man’s best friend as well as other creatures. This traveler just likes to have fun!!!

I hope you are amused and entertained as you step into my world – the world of a traveler. Me abraca a me beija! ENJOY!

I found out about a hidden monument in the jungles of Bukit Larut from a group of Malaysian hikers that I met along the road. With the help of a Malaysian guy who was doing some road repairs, I was finally able to locate the trail head and he volunteered to escort me on the jungle trail to the monument. See part I of story

Although a short hike of only 250 meters, one should not attempt it alone. It is so easy to get lost and the footing up the muddy slope is somewhat difficult as the trail is overgrown by the dense jungle vegetation. I found myself climbing over branches and vines; fortunately, my guide knew exactly where to step.

Of course, one must be prepared to “pick up” a couple of leeches.

After about 15 minutes of relatively strenuous hiking, we finally reached the monument. Partially covered by vines and jungle greenery, the monument commemorates the visit of Mr. Birch, the first Englishman to climb this hill. Engraved on the stone was the following:

“THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO CLIMB THIS HILL WAS MR T.W.W. BIRCH. FIRST BRITISH RESIDENT OF PERAK IN 1875”

The hill to the monument was later remained Birch Hill after the famous Englishman.

After returning to the main road safe and sound, I breathed a sigh of relief after completing this minitrek successfully without incident. Too bad that my all my camera batteries were dead so I wasn’t able to take any pictures of my expedition. Just the same, there was definitely a sense of exhilaration of having been one of the privileged few to have actually seen this almost forgotten monument – truly an important piece of Malaysian history.

While writing this blogpost, I did some research about this monument. It seems there is a discrepancy about the correctness of the inscription. An excellent report about the rediscovery of the forgotten monument and its context in Malaysian history (and the history of the state of Perak) explains everything.