Over a month ago I said the next post would be ‘following soon’. Apparently I operate on a flexible idea of soon… Nevertheless it is far past time to wrap up the summer activities. So with my sisters along for the ride, we made it from Harbin back to Beijing for a day, as I… Read More The Back Nine
Following the end of the school term and our release from our work contracts, the foreign teachers all part ways, many returning home and others of us staying to travel for a while yet. For me, it meant a trip up north to Beijing to arrange my future, specifically in the shorter-term. Beginning in September… Read More Sister, Sister, Sister
The second part of my week in Korea was consumed with exploring its capital and megacity, Seoul. My grandpa had told me stories of the city in the late 1940s, telling it as desperate place rank with poverty, illness, and mud that vacillated between extremes in weather. I guess I should tell him that Seoul… Read More Seoul by Rail
My poor students were subjected to the GaoKao, the infamous college entrance exam that heaps pressure upon the seniors of China as their fate is decided well into the future. Something like the SATs, and then multiplied by several factors. While pressure is piled upon the students, for myself and the other foreign teachers, it… Read More Rushing Through the Hermit Kingdom
Daybreak brought the soggy, humid wet season weather with it. While the week itself, when we are in theory hard at work but really just when we teachers confined to a narrow orbit of our respective campuses, the weather is warm but gorgeous and clear. In most countries this would make a lovely excuse to… Read More Anatomy of a Day
Mandalay is a name that is present in people’s mind, if not for the works of Rudyard Kipling than at least for the prominence of Las Vegas and her casinos in present day society. Whatever romantic evocations the name may hold were quickly quashed for me in the functional but somewhat listless city. Regardless of… Read More Relics of an Empire
Having reached Bangkok, Tori and I passed the time exploring Khao San Road, the backpacker hub of the entire country, and a place that frankly I could do without. it is the epicenter of tourism in Southeast Asia, the place where all those weird, disturbing things one may have heard about in relation to Thailand come… Read More Onwards to Burma
Tori and I made our way over the border from Thailand into Cambodia, where we paid far more than a person should for the 2 hour taxi ride out to Anlong Veng. Anlong Veng is the capital of Preah Vihear province, though in this case capital is a bit of an optimistic term for a… Read More Kampuchea Once Again
One of the major goals of this trip, for both Tori and myself, has been to explore the many, many ruins of the Khmer Empire. In Vietnam there are none, but in Laos it is another story. Thus from Savannakhet we moved south to Pakse, our operating base for a trip to the ruins of… Read More Of Temples, Crickets, and Hitchhiking
As alluded to previously, our hope was to reach Savannakhet before the sun came down on us. This seemed relatively straightforward, a seemingly direct line between Vinh and our destination were there. As can happen in Asia, simplicity was overrated. The journey began with us seeking out a ride at 2.30am in Vinh. Cracking out… Read More 24 Hours In Motion
Zak Abroad 