Explore the World

This blog is for everyone who loves  a healthy, travel lifestyle

Top Tips For Using ATMs in Southeast Asia

Update 2020 I learned another valuable ATM lesson I feel compelled to share.  After the Bali incident in the update below, I was down to one and only one bank card which was really my lifeline. Unfortunately it really started acting up, not working at all for a week or more. I called my bank […]

A Few Days in Songkhla

Recently, to soothe the wanderlust, I went on a brief sojourn to deep southern Thailand. I have been to a handful of coastal destinations in southern Thailand, most of  the usual suspects : Koh Phanghan, Koh Chang, Chumphon, Koh Lipe, and Krabi.  One of the closest coastal  destinations to Penang is Songkhla and it has […]

Satva Yoga in Chiang Mai

In my recent stay in Chiang Mai, a highlight was time spent at Satva Yoga.  I had been to Satva years before in the old location and I wanted to reconnect again in their new space.    It is still located in the Santitham area, which is the neighborhood I like to call home when I […]

A Tale of 3 coffees in Chiang Mai

I love me a good cup of coffee and one of the many reasons I love Chiang Mai is it seems wherever you are in the city, a good cup of java is just around the corner.   The coffee scene has really exploded here in the last five years with new shops opening daily. With […]

Nomad Top 20 Travel Items

    Keen sandals     Tilley hat     Toshiba Netbook NB200     Blanket     Northface tshirt and pants     Klean Kanteen     Grapfruit seed extract     Captains of Crush Gripper     Clothesline     Swisstool     Fisher Space Pen     Tatonka backpack     Tatonka flight case     Eaglecreek packing cube     Indian hilltribe bag I have been […]

Chiang Mai Larb Challenge

Chicken Larb from Lao kitchen,  a Vientiance favourite I am a huge fan of a dish called larb (other spellings are larp, laab,laap), which is a  minced meat salad with  chicken, pork, duck or fish to name a few options.   I have had this dish a lot in the Esarn (NE) part of Thailand and […]

A Nice Morning Ride

I started this Asia trip in the far south of Thailand, mainly in the rural area around Nakhon Si Thammarat. After a few days I was feeling like I needed to spread my wings so I took the motor scooter out for a ride on my own. I did not know the countryside very well […]

The Remarkable Chi Nei Tsang

It’s official, I am now trained in the amazing therapeutic technique known as Chi Nei Tsang. You may recall me mentioning this massage in my blog: http://bradthenomad.blogspot.com/2011/03/yoga-in-thailand.html. What exactly is Chi Nei Tsang? It is an in-depth abdominal massage handed down from ancient Chinese Taoist tradition. This style of massage was almost lost but for […]

Koh Lipe Thailand

Koh Lipeclick on photo to view album Even though there are some renowned islands in the south of Thailand I am reluctant to check them out because I got rather spoiled by the amazing beaches in the Bahamas and fear disappointment. This past weekend I got the opportunity to check out the beautiful Koh Lipe […]

Elephant Nature Park , Chiang Mai

Elephant Nature ParkSome years ago, Thailand banned commercial logging. While this likely has saved a lot of forest, it put many domesticated elephants out of work. As tourism is a huge industry in Thailand, this was a natural avenue to put the elephants to use. Sometimes, like having elephants beg in downtown Bangkok, this is […]