Long before I ever made it to Thailand, I visited the North-African countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. The latter was a blast, accompanied by my Arabic speaking friend Marnix,…
Disgrace the Lord and Rob his Church
A couple years back, during the week running up to Old Year’s Eve, I pestered my mate almost incessantly, asking how we’d spend the night. He has a more laid…
How we Gave Up on being Pilgrims
For a while now Indi has been talking about going on a pilgrimage. The hikes have been going great, goals reached, peaks climbed. So she wants to increase the challenge,…
Different Priorities
Indi and I get along really well. Be it movies, music, or people, we often find our interests aligning, long conversations blooming where they cross, while also maintaining a sense…
Indi Tells a Story
The sky was blue and beautiful, a good day was in sight. Despite the poor sleep of our previous night, we were ready to hike up to Mount Gassan. The…
The Kingdom of the Monkey Skull
Noon on Yakushima Island. We have been hiking for nine hours, and are still far removed from our destination. Amidst the vines and boulders I spot something surprising right before…
The Return of the Fat Monkey
South of the Four Countries and the Nine Provinces there lies an island, touched, neither by the slow but all consuming hand of time, nor by the oft haphazard, chaotic,…
Out of Service: Escaping Tokyo’s Timetable
Tokyo is a world unto itself, with a population larger than most countries, innovation and creativity to match, and a public transit network that knows no equals. Over forty railway…
The Seventh Floor
Recently I came across an article by an interior designer, showing off a bar they opened about two months ago. Intrigued, I tried to locate it on a map of…
Warm Energy
Compared to the massive bulk of China, at first glance Taiwan looks like a tiny rock off the coast of the continent, where steep gorges cut the volcanic mountains into…