Wandering Fractal

Amphawa floating market. Products and food are sold from boats. It's been seven years since I've been in Bangkok and the city has not changed much. And I still like it. Just the right amount of chaos and order. I spent a day to go visit a floating market and the famous railway market in the town close to the capital. I decided to go by myself with public transports and did both of them in a single day since the two places are close together. The railway market was a lot of fun. It was crowded and cramped. I was impressed of how swiftly the vendors retracted the stalls and moved the tourist on the side of the tracks. The floating market was beautiful, but since I arrived in the afternoon, I missed the heat of the action. Maybe going to the floating market in the morning and then at the railway market would have been better. To go to the town of Maeklong where the railway market is I first went to the southern bus station of Bangkok, Sai Tai Mai. It's fare from th...

Tanjung Bungah floating mosque. The city of George Town on Penang Island is full of historical buildings, great restaurants and of course shopping malls. My favorite eateries were : The Spicy Lemak (278 Lebuh Pantai). The place doesn't look fancy, but the Nasi Lemak was great. Yeap Noodles (227 Chulia St.). Homemade noodles with different flavors. Nasi Lemak at the Spicy Lemak restaurant. I took a day to go to the Feringghi beach on the north of the island. I rented a city bike to ride the 16km from my hostel to the beach. The first part was an easy stroll in the old town, but once I got out I was in the middle of traffic on huge roads with cars and trucks on my side. There was also some slopes and the bike had no gears. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The beach had nice sand. The water was a bit muddy but overall clean. You can swim but no more than a few meters from the shore because there is a lot of jet-ski and boats for paragliding. In conclusio...

Tea plantation Four hours of bus north of Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands are a welcome escape from the heat of the city. I stayed in the small town of Tanah Rata, 1400 meters above sea level. At this altitude the air is refreshing, even cold during the night. I stayed at De Native Guesthouse where a camp fire was made every night to keep us warm while we were drink beer and chatting. The region is packed with tea, strawberry, flower and other plantations. It also has some jungles where you can spot some amazing plants like the biggest flower in the world or the pitcher plant. I saw the rafflesia with a guided tour. You have more chance to see it like this because the flower blooms only for a few days and the guides know exactly where to find the next blooming one. The next day we went with others from the guesthouse for a trek to the mount Batu Brinchang, the highest mountain of the Cameron highlands. After a taxi to the town of Brinchang we started the trek. We used...

Kuala Lumpur is a modern city full of skyscrapers and malls. It also offers huge parks (try the KL Forest Eco Park to see wild monkeys) and traditional neighborhood like chinatown. Bird park. Bird park. Amusement park on the fifth floor of the Times Square mega mall. One of the many malls you can find between Bukit Bintang and KLCC. They are literally lined one after another !

River side walk. Malacca was a crucial port to control the Malacca strait. It has thus seen influence from all over the world. Now a day it has shifted its economy from a trading port to a touristic city. It's multi-cultural nature makes it a wonderful place to stroll around. Water monitor in the mangrove trees along the river side. Hotels and luxurious malls are popping up at an impressive pace.