Too lazy to ready? Check out installment one of our Thailand Video Series Here.

Everyone and their dog knows about the mighty metropolis of Bangkok, from streets dedicated to any vice imaginable to palaces built on the sweat of slaves,  the city has more legend, allure and supposed debauchery than any other location in South East Asia. Look hard enough and you can literally do anything your heart desires, whether it’s legal or not is an entirely different question. We both loved Bangkok, it’s a mix between its somewhat shady past and its relatively new superstar status and evidence of both realms can easily be found all over the city. In no way is this list going to appeal to everyone, but these are the ways we spent our time in the strangely named City of Angels:

1. Cruise the Chao Praya River

For some reason, seeing things from a body of water is always more exciting than seeing the same things from dry land, I have no idea why this rings true with so many locations but it does. Bangkok is situated on the Chao Praya River and many of the most “famous” tourist sites are located within walking distance of the mighty river. That being said, the whole experience of cruising down the river is better than the sites themselves, with one glance towards the horizon you can see a dilapidated boat house, an ancient Khmer temple, an ultramodern glass skyscraper and a random person fishing from a shoddy looking dock. The city has a water taxi service and I highly recommend using it rather than going on a tourist cruise. Not only will it save you a copious amount of money but you will be in the company of people who use the river for their primary method of transport which is always more wholesome than sharing the space with a bunch of people from the same corner of the world as you. To sweeten the deal, the cost of admission is under $1.

All kinds of nifty things to look at on the river

2. Go blind at the Grand Palace

If someone told you a place existed that was covered in so many pieces of decorated glass, gold leaf and exotic jewels that you would go blind looking at it, this would be what fills your imagination. The Thai royal palace is coated in millions of shiny objects and every square inch gleams when the sun’s rays glance off the polished surfaces. The place was built in the late 1700’s and rivals any of the world’s greatest places of royal residence. It is excessive, it is ornate and it is full of history, even if you aren’t into “castles” this place will blow you away. Get there early before the crowds and don’t forget your sunglasses or you seriously might go blind.

Gold Statues Covered in Jewels Everywhere, a 5 Year Old Girl with a Bedazzler’s Dream

3. Party in the City of Angels

I don’t even know where to start on this one. There are so many “party” regions in Bangkok you could literally throw a dart on a map and head to the location and have the wildest night of your life. Most of what you have heard about the City of Angels is true, but not all. We ended up hanging out and partying in the area of Sukhumvit Soi 11 which plays host to a good cross section of establishments with varying quality and theme. Not as debaucherous as Nana Plaza, as sleazy as Soi Cowboy or as backpacker enclave as Khao San Road, Soi 11 was the perfect mix between a good night out and some interesting encounters. Although a little higher class than what we are used to, Soi 11 was an absolute riot. For the most part Jackie and I hung out at the bar and chatted with the local bartenders about life after being transported to the big city, their favorite local dishes and other chat. We learned some useful Thai for the upcoming Songkran and woke up with a headache that proved that the night before was either a smashing success or a dismal failure; luckily our night on Soi 11 was the former. As always – have fun, be respectful and the night will go well…be an asshole and you could find yourself on the wrong end of a Doctor’s bill.

Not My Cup of Tea, but it Could Be Yours

4. Sukhumvit by Day

Sukhumvit is the main drag that runs through all of Bangkok, couple eight lanes of traffic with the skytrain and you have a recipe for one of the busiest and most electric avenues on the planet. Navigating the side walks of the city gets increasingly difficult as you battle street vendors and Moto dop taxi’s using the area as an apparent shortcut. The street forces you to be on the ball at all moments of the day and in doing so forces you to be aware of your surroundings. Vendors on the street have almost anything imaginable for sale, look closely and you will definitely find items that are illegal in most developed countries, the cherry on top is that they are usually being sold by a cute Thai lady that resembles your grandma back home more than a villain in a B-Grade Gangster movie.  Check out the merchandise, observe the perilous driving skills, assault your eyeballs with the surroundings and top it off with an ice cold drink and a pat on the back for experiencing one of the busiest streets in the busiest continent on the planet.

5. Get Some Clothes Tailored

Thailand, – and South East Asia – have become the Mecca for people who want to get relatively cheap custom clothes designed and produced. Bangkok is littered with tailors, literally hundreds of them competing for your business and depending on what you are after you can walk away with a nice addition to your wardrobe. Although not for everyone, I opted to go to an upper end tailor and get some shirts made for a very reasonable price, $80 per shirt. It is expensive for Bangkok but the materials and craftsmanship were worth it to me. If you are after one of the famous 2 suits/2 ties/5 shirts deals, give this a read before proceeding, but if that’s what you are after you will easily find it. Some do great work others do garbage, use your judgment and know what you want and you will not go wrong getting something custom made for you all at the fraction of the cost of a Seville Row Master Tailor’s hourly charge. Need some inspiration or an idea of what to create? See below.

6. Hunt down some independent designers

Shopping may not be a priority for all you adventurers out there, and I can see where you are coming from, but you would definitely be doing yourself a disservice by not discovering some of BKK’s indie designers. Bangkok, as any major city, has it’s fair share of stylish people and the facilities to accommodate them. There are plenty of areas to choose from and one of our favourites was close to the Siam Paragon mega shopping center. In the ‘ancient’ Siam Centre is a retail area that is exclusively set aside for independent retailers in Bangkok that design limited runs of some very unique pieces. Usually the designer themselves is operating the stand and can field any questions that you have in regards to their collection and you will easily find something that you will never stumble upon at home. Unique design, cool ambience and an artistic and collaborative environment are reason enough to check out this hidden gem, good luck walking away empty handed. Top floor, Siam Centre, you can’t miss the place once you are there.

7. Find a rooftop bar

Rooftop bars sound so cliché, but they are popular for a reason: where else can you knock one back and enjoy the bright lights thinly veiled by clouds of smog? Bangkok has a tonne of rooftop bars, in fact it seems totally disproportionate to any other huge city we visited but this is a good thing. We attempted to get into the most famous rooftop bar, the “Sky Bar” but someone in our party was wearing sandals which equals a big NO ENTRY when it comes to this place. The bar is on the 63 floor offering an incredible vista over the entire city, but this view comes with a price, expect to pay around $30.00 for a drink. Steep when you consider a bottle of Hong Thong whiskey sells for $3.00! Luckily, there are a lot of other rooftop bars to choose from and many middle sized hotels have them, although the view might not be as spectacular, take comfort in knowing that you won’t be paying triple the price along with 4000 other people jammed onto a rooftop platform.

Orkhon waterfall was the last stop on the steppe before we headed south to the Gobi desert. Since this was our last opportunity to snap pictures of the vibrant green landscape, we took advantage of it, rattling off pictures of waterfalls, golden eagles, yaks and some gers for good measure. This area of Mongolia is beautiful and without a doubt one of the most scenic spots in the entire country.

We only had two days left with the Russian van and the Wizard and I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad that it was coming to an end. It’s like being a kid and seeing all the back to school ads on TV knowing that your days of freedom are waning and you will soon be forced to sit through the agonizing drone of the teacher’s voice as they blab on about boring subject matter. Omra told us we were going to a waterfall that was the biggest and/or highest in Mongolia depending on how you read into her broken English. Life started feeling like the twilight zone, everyday we would wake up, eat stale bread and milk tea, lug our asses in the van and arrive at a shimmering new part of the countryside four to eight hours later.

Orkhon Waterfall

Our envoy eventually made it to the waterfall, which I had low expectations for, although I’m not really sure why. I figured my suspicion would be confirmed as the entire area was totally flat and any sensible person knows that a waterfall requires a dramatic drop off in the land in order to exist. We were pointed in the general direction of the falls and headed off. As we approached a giant chasm carved out of the earth we could hear the sound of water crashing against the rocks. We were at the waterfall and it was pretty damn impressive. The landscape above the drop was flat as a pancake for miles and if you stood two hundred meters up the calm stream that was the source of the fall you would have no idea that the waterfall even existed. Since it was a great site we fired off a few snaps and decided to make our way down a dicey rock path to the bottom of the falls.

The view from the bottom

Not much to report from the bottom half of the falls, except that the water was violent and the view was fantastic. We hung out and partook in my favourite pastime, throwing rocks, and made our way back to the ger for supper. On the way back I saw a goat tied to a wagon wheel and wondered why it was in such a disheveled state so I asked the guide. She tried to explain, in the nicest way possible, that the goat was selected next for the chopping block, all good things come to an end I guess little guy. We ate another meat and noodle concoction that we have been stuffing ourselves with for the past ten meals and for the first time in my life I had a little hankering for a salad or some other righteous greens which are 100% non existent on the great Mongol steppes.

Horses on the Mongolian steppes

To watch the sunset we decided to head up a nearby mountain to grab a panoramic view of the entire valley and to snap some photos of the golden eagles that were circling above us with serious authority. These birds are magnificent and I almost had a straight up stroke the first time our driver stopped to show us one. It was sitting proudly in a field probably twenty meters away from us and was probably up to my loins in height. The biggest animal with wings that I had ever seen, probably a direct descendent of the mighty pterodactyl. There were a bunch of them circling the mountain for prey and we figured we could get up close and personal with a few of the apex predators. A side note: in western Mongolia people train these birds to become their personal hunting partners who routinely hunt marmots and, more impressively, wolves from the big blue skies. Yes you read it right, wolves. They hunt and kill wolves, a battle that would have to go down as one of the most impressive showdowns on planet earth, the things my dreams are made of. Sorry for the side rant but these birds are absolutely incredible.

Quintessential Mongolia

Golden Eagle Ripping Around

We passed the old wagon wheel that was now empty and knew the fate of the previous occupant and continued through a group of grazing horses to climb the mountain. We got to the peak rather quickly and were rewarded with an unbeatable view of the valley. Our place of residence was on the edge of a cliff next to a prayerstone that was built god knows when, and we bunkered down for the next few hours observing live on the steppes with a birds eye view. We saw horses running wild in the valleys below and I admit that I have become a convert for these animals, I never gave a shit about them before but they are absolutely beautiful and I can thank the steppes for instilling me with respect for the animals. Now I need to take eight to twelve benadryls, tempt fate and battle natural weakness and go for a ride one day hahaha. As the sun set light began glimmering off all sources of water it illuminated every aspect of the valley in the softest light imaginable. As per our daily regime we waited for old sunny to hit the hay behind the mountains in the distance and we made our way down the mountain for a reunion with the rest of our group. We played cards until our candle burnt out and figured that it was time to crash, we had a long last full day ahead of us towards the northern end of the great Gobi desert.

Another day in the bag...

Too lazy to read? See our video webisode on Malaysia by clicking here.

Malaysia is a country that is often skipped over by travelers and backpackers alike, most make their way north to more popular destinations, like Thailand. That is good news for you because Malaysia offers some truly unique experiences and it hasn’t seen the massive influx of worldly travelers that other South East Asian nations have. We only did peninsular Malaysia and looking back we wish we would have hit up Borneo but we only had so much time and to help you decided what to do while in Malaysia we have compiled the top 5 experiences we had while there.

1. Explore the world’s oldest rainforest at Taman Negara

This was a deal maker for us to go to Malaysia, friends of ours had been to Taman Negara and said they had an awesome time exploring the vast jungle. We arrived on very short notice and had very little cash on us, this was as mistake as there is NO access to ATM’s or any source of cash while at the National Park. We ended up staying in a mediocre hotel which was the only place that took credit cards otherwise we would have been right out of luck. Also due to a shortage of funds we didn’t get to hire a guide to take us through the jungle, I think it would have been beneficial because the guide could have pointed out things that we wouldn’t have a chance in hell of seeing…he will also prevent you from getting lost as the maps given out by the Park Office resemble a maze on the back of a Captain Crunch box. Anyways – we hiked for an entire day and the trail system is definitely challenging, it took us seven hours to do a loop and that included a trip to the Canopy Walkway where you are suspended hundreds of feet in the air above the jungle canopy. The hike was challenging at many points and the rain, mud and leeches didn’t make things easier, but running up and down dirt slopes and traversing on thin ridges was an incredible rush. We didn’t see any animals, save for a single monitor lizard, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t around to see us (why you should get a guide). Awesome experience and easily one of the top 5 treks we did on the planet.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE BABY! sorry, GNR fan, couldn't resist. This is a typical path in Taman Negara

2. Experience the slightly chaotic but always delicious Penang night market

You know a food market is legit when its full of locals and the people at the stands speak minimal English. Without communication you are reduced to the point and pray where you hope you know what you are getting yourself into. The night market has hundreds of options so give yourself some time to carouse before deciding on anything. From traditional Chinese food to incredible Indian food, the night market has it all in spades and there will likely be more than one stand in each category to satisfy your hunger. We went every single night in Penang and after testing out fifteen to twenty stands Jackie and I both agreed that the of all the dishes we had, the traditional Chinese noodle soup was the best, too bad I cant remember what stall it was in!

3. Cool down in the Cameron Highlands

When we were in Kuala Lumpur the mercury hit 35 degrees Celsius, throw humidity and smog in the mix and you have an all around sweat festival. To escape the heat we decided we would increase the altitude we were at and head to the Cameron Highlands, an area famous for its lush tea plantations. I don’t care about tea, but the prospect of cooler weather had me sold. We stayed in a town called Tanah Rata which had an astonishing array of places to eat. Food is a common theme in Malaysia as you can obviously tell, but there is an Indian food restaurant that made incredible Banana Leaf curries and breakfast Roti, we ate there every single day and the staff have gigantic personalities. I don’t remember the name of the place but if you are walking down the street you can’t miss it, it’s always full. The tea plantations are actually really cool and for someone who knew nothing about tea I had a really good time visiting the Boh Tea Center. The scenery is second to none and when the leaves are in full bloom all you can see for miles is a sea of vibrant green bushes lining every inch of the countryside.

Hard to beat the scenery

4. Experience multiple places of worship

Malaysia’s biggest strength is the fact that it is a cultural crossroads for almost every nation in Asia. I loved the fact that we could dine on almost any type of authentic Asian food, but the best part for me was seeing the peaceful coexistence of multiple religions. There is no specific place to “do” this activity, although our favorites were the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, the temple lined streets of Penang and the early morning prayer calls in Kota Bharu. In Penang we literally walked down the street and visited a Hindu temple, a Muslim mosque, a Chinese Ancestral Temple and a Buddhist temple, all on the same block. If you have any interest in local religion then you can’t go wrong exploring the incredible array of options available in Malaysia.

One of many temples in Penang

5. Get lost in Kuala Lumpur

This city is a perfect microcosm for the country of Malaysia, one street is lined with food selling vendors and the next is filled with skyscrapers and Louis Vutton stores. Malaysia is a prosperous nation that is changing rapidly and nowhere is this more evident than Kuala Lumpur. Wander the city and you will find that there is more than meets the eye and pretty much anything you want to do…you can do. We loved getting lost in the streets of Petaling and window shopping in the Golden Triangle, they are such diametrically opposed areas and I think that’s what makes the city so unique. Bring some cash and a sense of adventure and you will not be disappointed in this Asian megatropolis.

The most overrated travel experience in Malaysia

Fireflies at Kuala Selangor

Now I don’t mean to harp here, but the sad fact of travelling is sometimes your expectations far exceed reality. This was the case with the so-called fireflies at Kuala Selangor. We paid an exorbitant amount of money to get to the area where we were shuffled along with fifty to sixty tourists onto an uncovered boat in the pouring rain. To top it off, we had to pay extra money to have our own boat…sharing a boat was apparently not possible because everyone else at the area had boat partners. So we paid, got on the boat and saw maybe 20 fireflies sporadically blinking in the bushes that lined the river. It was OK to see but not worth the money, if you are considering the flies, know that you can get the same effect by looking at Christmas lights.

Chuulut gorge is a massive canyon filled with vegetation and trees. That sounds OK until you realize that the trees are home to a tonne of eagles that rip around the canyon with reckless abandon hunting down whatever prey their talons can get their hands on. I love eagles, scratch that, I love birds of prey and these bad boys live up to their species description. After grabbing a couple shots we ripped back into the dusty road warrior to continue on to the land of the natural hot spring, Tsenkher, where we soaked our grit glossed bodies in natural hot pools and enjoyed a couple adult beverages.

At this point in the trip we had seen so much cool stuff that we were curious to what old Mongolia would throw our way next. Blessings by shamans cloaked in snow leopard fur? Reindeer herders moving their packs to new pastures? Gypsy groups selling animal teeth, talons and yak wool for a buck? After hopping in the old van we started cruising wondering if the majority of our adventure was coming to a close as we had been on the road for over a week.

Chuulut Gorge

En route to our next destination we pulled over to a seemingly flat piece of land and listened to our interpreter explain what we were doing, she described this spot as a “big hole”. Well that can easily be taken out of context and luckily by “big hole” she meant a massive gorge and not a backwater dive of a town. The gorge actually has a name, which for some reason was withheld from us by Omra, but it goes by the name of Chuulut gorge. Although the steppes are covered with idyllic scenery, this gorge was something else. Deep down in the canyon a tumultuous river carved the earth out ever so slowly. It was strange because the canyon literally came out of nowhere, it’s the kind of thing where you could be driving along, make a left turn and the next thing you and your Russian van are on a one way ticket to the bottom of the canyon. We obviously avoided that perilous outcome, and I got to throw rocks into the canyon so I was happy to say the least and after a quick lunch break we were off for the push to our end destination.

Who doesn't love smashing rocks?

Omra told us we were headed to a set of natural hots springs renowned for its healing powers of the skin and whatnot. A little bit anticlimactic after the previous few days but we needed a little time to unwind reflect on the past days events. We spent four hours on the Mongolian superhighway and ended up at a pristine location sandwiched between two grassy hills and a spruce covered mountain. In the distance you could see sprouts of sporadic steam which was the true indicator that we had arrived at our destination.

Tsenkher Hot Springs

We offloaded the van into our first “tourist” ger and were told that we could shower here for free which was music to our dirty and wax filled ears since we hadn’t felt the sense of cleanliness since departing Ulaanbaatar over eight days ago. We scrubbed up and felt like a new man and woman, knowing the feeling was only temporary as five minutes in the dusty Mongolian countryside render any form of cleanliness obsolete.

Hot water for the first time in a long time

Drunken Hijinx?

On the way back to the ger a rather intoxicated man was being led by his poor son to his ger, apparently too many bottles of vodka before supper and the guy couldn’t stand up or walk straight. As we walked by he began jabbering to me in a dialect of Mongol-drunken-wantoness and I wondered what the guy wanted. To say this fellow was three sheets to the wind would be a severe understatement, I think he drank more in one night than Keith Richards did in the 70′s, needless to say I got a little nervous after our previous encounter with Mongolian drunks. For the uninformed, Mongolians are warriors tried and true and are some of the toughest and strongest people on the planet. I mean they were bred for war for how many centuries and managed to take over half the planet before the English navy was even a glint in the king’s eye. Anyways, the dude wrapped his arm around me like I would my friends after too many White Russians on a Saturday night and proceeded to pull me towards his ger. His son was apologizing profusely in broken English and I tried to keep it cool not wanting to irritate the old man. This went on for five minutes or so and Jackie and I got a bit weary of the whole gig so I tried my best to explain that I had to go and he wrapped me up in some hybrid headlock/drunken support hold. Two other people saw this drunkard and came over and pried my head out from his arm and started giving him hell in their native tongue, smiled at me and took him away to rest up for the shittiest hangover of his life. As they left his son let out one last sorry, looking super embarrassed, and I really couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor kid who was reduced to carting around his wasted father during their summer family getaway.

The action was enough for the day and after reaching our minimal quota of strange run ins we decided to hit the springs for some relaxation. The night slipped away from us as we kicked back in the steamy pools drinking cold beers. As the sun ducked behind the mountains and the evening made the official transition from day to night I looked up at the stars thinking that this could be a mountain weekend at home with all the pals drinking under the sky in the hot tub after a great day of riding on the mountain. A litte homesick and ready for bed we headed back to the ger to lie our heads for a few hours before hitting the road again.

Heading to Malaysia? Check out our travel webisode series on the country here.

1. Marvel at Batu Caves

A massive limestone outcrop in the northern half of the city has been transformed into a place of worship for the Hindu population of Kuala Lumpur. Batu caves are extensive and filled with the deities, both major and minor, associated to the Hindu Faith. The only way to explain the experience is out worldly, you are greeted by a sky-scraper sized statue of Lord Muruga who guards the couple hundred stairs to the entrance of the caves. Once at the top you will see statues of Hindu gods jammed into every nook and cranny within the limestone labyrinth. To enhance the experience, the statues are all lit up by colorful floodlights and if you are lucky you may come across the devout openly worshipping the figures that mean everything to them.

B-B-B-B-BATU CAVES!

2.  Step foot inside Low Yat Plaza

Unabashed consumerism and the worship of all things technological drive the existence of a seven story mega mall dedicated solely to electronics. With whole floors dedicated to camera gear and cell phones, chances are if it has a microchip in it you will find it here. The beauty of this place is that with so many sellers hawking the exact same thing you can pit them against each other to find a deal. Sounds great in theory and there are opportunities to be had but buyer beware, a 200 dollar Ipad does exist,  it will just blow up in your hands after two uses. Anyways, the place is equal parts amazing and weird but a trip is well warranted even if you aren’t in the market for anything.

Seriously, 7 floors, all electronics

3. Watch the Petronas Towers light up and dominate the sky

They are an international landmark and a Malaysian institution, when lit up you can see them from the moon (that’s a slight exaggeration). Although they can’t be seen from outer space, the towers definitely take the Malaysian skyline over like a hot blonde at New Year’s party. They shimmer, sparkle and shine and although they look good by day – they look amazing by night. Like two perfect twins perched on a branch above the city, the towers are an architectural masterpiece and should be stared at by anyone who visits Kuala Lumpur. Our suggestion for the best place to view them is KLCC park which is obvious when you take a wander around the grounds…or from the view of your luxury hotel…see below.

4. Eat on the streets of Jalon Alor

I am tossed up, maybe this should be number one, but it doesn’t really matter, eating on the streets is a must do in Asia and Kuala Lumpur has no shortage of facilities waiting to accommodate your salivating mouths and ferocious appetites. Now I am not suggesting you starve yourself for a day and then gourd yourself at Jalon Alor by night but I do suggest you go on an empty stomach. The restaurants, that by day line the low rise buildings, spill on to the street for what looks like an impromptu street festival. Bright lights, delicious smells, colourful characters and way too many options to choose from will keep you coming back night after night. Our favorite satay that we had in all of Malaysia was on this street – sorry Penang – but I will let you discover the nooks and crannies for your own personal number one.

This is maybe 10% of the street, food everywhere..especially by night

5. Live in the lap of luxury for a couple nights

Apparently Kuala Lumpur has some of cheapest five star hotel rates in the world, which is pretty impressive considering the vast array of luxury hotels to choose from. Even on a budget these places are relatively affordable. We had been on the road and technically homeless for almost 3 months when we decided to treat ourselves to a room in KL. We decided on the over-the-top Shangri-La and for $130 a night we booked a room. The gentleman at the front desk was so accommodating he upgraded us to an executive suite with a direct view of the Petronas Towers. Wow. I have NEVER been in a bed that comfortable, a room that big or a place to sleep with a better urban view. Take advantage of it because when we looked at doing a similar ‘break’ in Hong Kong the same hotel charged a mere $650 a night for the same level of luxury.

6. Barter, Haggle and Carouse at Petaling Street

KL is home to an ungodly amount of supermalls that cater to the never satisfied consumer fire that burns in each and every human being. We checked a few luxury malls out and found they offer the same sterile environment offering overpriced luxury goods as they do at home, just we couldn’t afford anything. A good little side tip is to use the bathrooms here – they are sparkling and clean, unlike some of the “washrooms” you may find else wear in the city. That being said we had the most memorable shopping experience was on Petaling Street where you can find anything that is sold at the luxury malls for an absolute fraction of the price. Bootleg Louis Vutton bags are a dime a dozen and if you are in the market for pirated DVD’s you came to the right place. Petaling does come with its hassles – being a tourist you will be haggled and possibly harassed by the sellers, but in my opinion that’s half the fun! I love bartering and I do drive a hard, yet fair, negotiation and this was the place to test it out. We bought a couple bootleg wallets to send back home for a couple dollars as well as a few other random trip items and had a riot interacting with the merchants and speculating who was a con man and who was legit. This was the only place on the trip where the “walk away” method of getting a better price didn’t work. That guy drove a hard bargain for those pants and I will never be seen wearing them, I guess some things aren’t meant to be, so go find out where your consumerist fate resides. Also, if you are headed here, watch your pockets lots of sticky fingers lurking in the hustle and bustle of the market.

7. Wander Around Chow Kit

If you have never seen a ‘wet’ market then Chow Kit is the place to start. Anything you can imagine from the shores of the Pacific to the jungles of Malaysia will be sold here. You can get fresh fish or freshly harvested fruit, even if you aren’t in the market to purchase something you can easily wander the place for hours observing people and market stands which both come in an astonishing array.

Staying right on the lake was the theme of our Mongolian adventure and it proved to be the perfect place to hang out, take pictures and do whatever the hell we wanted. After Khosvgol Nuur, our next lake experience was Terkhiin Tsagaan also known as the white lake, where we took pictures of perfect sunsets as the bright light in the sky dipped ever so slowly beyond the distant horizon.

To read about our time at the White Lake, click here.

Terkhiin Tsagaan, the White Lake

Getting the van nice and early after our nomad adventure was a little bittersweet for this cowboy, it was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to doing the most. Either way we needed to press on to another of Mongolia’s natural wonders, Terkhiin Tsagaan, known in English as White Lake.

After seeing Khosvgol Nuur we were all a little skeptical about visiting another lake and having it meet one tenth the beauty of the blue pearl but it was next on the list. We drove for seven hours on ass busting roads and pulled into our ger on the lake which at first was a little lackluster. After getting settled the sun began to set and we got ready for our daily ritual of watching the glowing orb dip beyond the hilly distance. The moment the sun began setting behind the mountains we knew the place was top notch, the sky exploded with incredible colours that made for an amazing contrast against the silhouette of the mountains in the foreground. O yeah, forgot to mention the almost perfect reflection that was cast across the entire lake and after a couple beers and a few rounds of thirty one we called it a night.

High Stakes Game of 31, few thousand tugrik on the line

Khorgo Volcano

Up and at em early as always, we ate some stale bread and made our way towards Khorgo volcano where we were going to hike for the day. En route the Wizard locked up the brakes and motionied to me and said ‘agui’ one of the only Mongolian words I picked up from the phrase book: cave. Wiz went in first and I followed through a narrow opening that I could barely fit through. We didn’t come prepared so I used the camera as a flashlight and periodically sent off the stock 60D flash to give us an idea of where we were headed. The labryinth was quite confusing and we really couldn’t see much of anything so after twenty minutes we pulled the pin and met up with the rest of the group to head to the volcano.

Caving with the Wizard

Our guide Omra was supposed to do the hike with us bout came down with a disgustingly serious eye infection. To make matters worse the day before she got the nomads to apply a home remedy to treat the eye. I am sure you are curious as to what the process entailed but it’s not for the faint of heart. The nomads went up to the guard dog/wolf and plucked a whisker from it’s face which made it go buck with anger. No one got attacked and stage one was complete. The whisker was given to Omra who poked the sore on her eye and waited for the puss to ooze out. Hmmmm sounds like a great medicinal remedy for the old eyeball, in reality, it made things obviously worse. Since she didn’t want to do the hike looking like a pirate we continued on without her.

After easily reaching the top of the volcano we decided to make our way around the crater which made for some excellent views. The volcanic eruption rendered the plains below into a volcanic moonlike wasteland with very sporadic spurts of growth amongst the blackened rock. This landscape, coupled with the bright red volcanic sand made for some great photo ops.

Livin' On the EDGE! of Khorgo Volcano

The volcano climb came easy and we started our long walk back to camp as the Wizard needed to take Omra to the doctor. Jackie and I went one way and Matt went the other, all in hopes of finding something cool. Our first little stroll through the volcanic wasteland took about an hour and was not strenuous at all. Looking for a challenge and what I believed to be a shortcut I convinced Jackie to climb up and over a mountain to reach our camp. Against her better judgement, she trusted my garbage sense of direction and we eventually got lost and split up due to a little flip out on my behalf. After reaching the top of the mountain I realized we went the wrong way and had to turn around, go down and circumvent the entire mountain…wrong again Jarrett, wrong again.

Hanging on the shores of white lake after the ordeal

We finally made it back to camp where we headed out to a rock formation on the lake to gain a killer vantage point on the lake. We wasted the night away wandering the lake shores watching somewhat tame horses bath and drink from the waters edge and retired to the old ger camp nice and early.

Casting Spells from a Hundred foot rock on White Lake

To see more pictures from the White Lake Adventure, Click Here.

That is a severe  understatement, because when Pol Pot and the radical Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975 they had a single goal: to create a communist utopia. The methods and mindset to achieve such a state was the use of domestic terrorism, ultimately resulting in the genocide of over two million Cambodians. Phnom Penh, the capital city, became the epicenter for the Khmer Rouge to live out their insane policies and practice their barbaric methods of torture and murder on the population. In this episode we explore Phnom Penh on todays terms before heading to the gruesome Choeung Ek, also known as the Killing Fields, where thousands of Cambodians met their untimely and overly violent deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. After the shock of the Killing Fields we go to Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, a former school turned prison by the Khmer Rouge. It was here that thousands of people were tortured by their captors and forced to live in confined cells before being sent out to the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh. The whole situation is impossible to describe or understand – I cannot begin to imagine what it was like to live through this. This one was hard to film, and even harder to edit.