Is Haw Par Villa the Weirdest Tourist Attraction in the World?

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A crab boy at Haw Par Villa, Singapore

Are you looking for something different in a tourist attraction? How about something a little bit weird (and a bit scary if you’re a kid!) Haw Par Villa might be the place for you, it’s definitely one of the strangest places in Singapore!

The Ten Courts of Hell

For some reason I thought Buddhism was a peaceful religion. That all changed when I entered the Ten Courts of Hell exhibit at Haw Par Villa, Singapore. Models of decapitations, people getting thrown on spikes, chucked into pools of boiling blood and almost every other gruesome torture you can imagine greet those who enter. The fact that punishments for things like cheating on exams and wasting food seemed just as harsh as the ones for rape and murder confused me, and I walked out of the exhibit completely rethinking my view of Buddhism. In reality that view was based on almost nothing, as the only time I’ve come in contact with the religion is at temples, and I’m not really one to ask too many questions about the spiritual side of them; I just like how they look. The Ten Courts of Hell is definitely one of the scariest places in Singapore, make sure you visit but warn your children first!

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Four Old Capitals in Mandalay, Myanmar For the Price of One

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A yellow temple in Innwa, one of the old capitals in Mandalay, Myanmar

I should probably do more research before I reach a destination. I had no idea what there was to see in Mandalay until a motorcycle taxi driver said something about 4 old capital cities, and that he would take me to them for $12, not bad on a backpacker budget! All up it would take … Read more

Am I a Lazy Traveller?

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If you asked me whether I’m a lazy person the answer would probably be yes. I’ve always seen work as a bit of an inconvenience and my life’s goal is to find a way to pretty much not work.  At the moment I’m working hard (if you can call teaching around 22 hours a week hard) to save enough to travel for around 3 years and sometimes people ask me why. I usually give the same answer: it’s a socially acceptable way to not have a job. If I stayed in New Zealand for 3 years and just sat around and watched TV people would abuse me for it, but since I’m travelling I’m suddenly doing something worthwhile and respectable. Of course that isn’t the only reason I want to travel, in fact it’s pretty far down the list, but not working for 3 years really does excite me.

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Don Det: One of the Best Places to Relax in Southeast Asia

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Don Det, on of the 4000 Islands in Laos

While researching southern Laos I stumbled across two interesting facts: 1.) Laos, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, has islands. 2.) It doesn’t just have one or two; apparently there are 4000 of them! That was more than enough information to convince me to check them out, so off I went on an all … Read more

The Best Places to See Monkeys in Southeast Asia

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Ubud, a great place to see monkeys in Southeast Asia

One of the things I love about Southeast Asia is being able to see so many monkeys. I’m not sure why I’m so interested in them (in my defense, they do kinda look like people) but I could spend hours watching them go about their lives. Here are some of the best places to mix … Read more