Going traveling without doing any homework whatsoever is a strange experience. About six months ago our friends invented us to go on vacation with them over Chinese New Year and we agreed. Since we didn’t have any strong preference, they selected Phuket in Thailand as the destination. During the months before taking off, we were too busy to do any research so when we landed, the only piece of information we had was the location of our hotel. Luckily my wife had booked a villa with a private pool so we spent the first morning relaxing poolside while trying to … Read the rest
Just a few meters out from the beach the sand gives way to an entirely different landscape; forests of bony coral fingers covered in green algae; meter wide shelves of brown coral in uneven stacks, so thin and brittle they look like they would break at the slightest touch; clusters of sea urchins with spikes 20 centimeters long. I must stay mindful of how I move, lest I should hurt myself or damage the coral. Hundreds or even thousands of fishes swim back and fourth through this landscape; tiny blue ones flitting out of sight in a moment, flat black and white ones with long filaments at the ends of their fins, gliding majestically along, big silver ones nibbling on the coral, and ones that lie still on the ocean floor, their mottled skin acting as near perfect camouflage. A few meters further out the seabed drops precipitously away beneath my feet and the water turns a deeper shade of blue. I suddenly find myself floating in the middle of a school of neon yellow, tiger striped fish. They whirl around me, nervously at first, but as I slow my movement to a minimum they come in closer, curious about this new presence. As soon as I move a hand towards one, it swims away with a flash. Moments later another comes inching closer again. It's like a curious dance we're doing, the school of fishes and I. It lasts a few minutes until I take off in a different direction, continuing to explore.
The massive Mercury four-stroke is churning up a huge swell as it pushes us forward, shooting a plume of foam into the air behind us. The drone of the engine is competing with the noise of the wind to drown out the sound of conversation. Despite the relatively calm sea, we are bouncing on the waves with a rhythmic thud, thud thud; riding up the crests then crashing down into the troughs, spray soaring into the air with each beat. We are quickly passing little islands - lush green hills poking out from the turquoise sea - as the mainland recedes into the distance behind us.
9:12am: The water is gushing down on me, trying to push me off the rock I’m standing on. A thought rushes through my head, should I give up, take the easy route? I shrug it off, find a new handhold, fight back against the force. It’s go time! With the water spraying into my face I push off with my legs and heave myself up. I’m through! What a rush! Soaking wet, I pump my fists in the air.
9:19am: I’m trudging through knee deep rapids, feel the force against my legs. I clamber over a boulder and as I … Read the rest
A friend of mine named Sofie used to live in Taiwan. During her time there, me and my wife would often take her out and shower her around. To show her appreciation, she invited us to come stay with her on the west coast of Sweden for a couple of days so she could repay the favour. This year we finally had a good chance to take her up on her offer. For those who don’t know, the west coast of Sweden consists of a long chain of islands that stretches from Gothenburg in the South all the way to … Read the rest
My family is fortunate enough to have a cabin by a lake out in the woods. When I was young I always enjoyed spending time there; swimming in the lake, rowing the boat, or going going for a stroll in the woods. It’s not too far from my parent’s house so we never stayed there for more than a couple of days in a row, instead opting for shorter but more frequent visits. It is however a very long way from my family’s house in Taiwan, so when we finally did go back to Sweden this summer, we thought it … Read the rest
We go tramping through the forest like giants, mostly unconcerned with where we step. It’s not until you kneel down to pick some berries or mushrooms that your perspective changes and you notice it: The forest floor is like a landscape within a landscape. There are groves of blueberry bushes with fields of grass in between. There are deep gullies winding their way between moss covered hills. There are anthills the size of cities and paths that no human has ever walked. There are irregular patches of lichen scrubland. There are bright red, yellow, and purple mushrooms shooting up from … Read the rest
One of the first beers I ever drank that wasn’t a boring lager was a blue Chimay. A nerdy factoid I learned while drinking it, is that it’s a special type of beer known as Trappist, which is brewed by monks and is only made in six monasteries in Belgium. Years later my wife’s friend Naomi got a Belgian boyfriend and over the years we’ve often talked about visiting him and going on a tour to the Trappist monasteries. As we were planning this year’s trip back to Sweden, we figured it was about time to make something of those … Read the rest