Wandering Fractal

On the Thới Sơn Island in the Mekong delta. Ho Chi Minh city is a bustling megalopolis with many sights. The city has like the country a lot of history to tell. If you want to see temples, the Jade Emperor Pagoda is a must see. It's a small worshiping place with mostly locals. You can admire the figure of the Jade Emperor, but also the turtles and fishes in the ponds. If you want to learn more about the Vietnam war, head to the War Remnants Museum . It depicts the horrors of the war. It's less a history museum and more a memorial to make sure that the victims are never forgotten. If you are more interested by the times of the french colonization, check Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office . If you want to go shopping, go to the Chợ bến thành market , or if you want a less touristic experience take a bus to the Binh Tay market in Cholon. Cholon was a town made by Chinese immigrants, now a quarter of Ho Chi Minh city. During my time in the city, ...

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...

Taruko cafe in the Sianok Canyon. The walk from the city to the cafe was mostly on a small road full of scooters and cars, but the landscape is beautiful. Unfortunately for me, the cafe was closed during Ramadan. From the Kerinci valley I took a night bus to reach Bukittinggi (10 hours). It's a pretty city perched on the side of a canyon and surrounded by three volcanoes. From Bukittinggi I booked a bus to Dumai on the east coast. It's the gateway to go to Malaysia by ferry. The company BWE has a night bus that will reach Dumai in the morning so that you can directly board on a ferry. You can go to the BWE office to book a ticket. It's close to the market (check on Google Maps). The ferry took 3 hours to cross the Malacca strait and reach the city of the same name. Price: Bus: 160'000 IDR Ferry + taxe + big baggage storage: 320'000 + 50'000 + 10'000 = 380'000 IDR Bukittinggi has many buildings with traditional roof.

The Weka is a flightless bird endemic of New Zealand. On the south island, I went sea kayaking and trekking in the Abel Tasman National Park. There I could see: stingrays, seals, fishes, cormorant and the Weka. The best experience was sleeping in a boat in the middle of the park, where we could admire the Milky way in the sky and a bio-luminescent sea around the boat. The water was filled by plankton that would emit light if disturbed, thus moving your arm in the sea would make it glow. All the fishes moving around the boat where leaving a trail of light. It was a magical night. Part of the park seen from the trail. Cormorant. Swimming back to the boat after having jumped from its roof. Drifted stick on the beach growing back.

View of the city from the botanical garden. Capital of New Zealand, Wellington is a small city full of charm. It's also the gateway to the south island. Ferry is used to go on the south island.