The Smiling Statues of San Agustin, Colombia

A smiling statue in San Agustin, Colombia

The smiling statues of San Agustin are a bit of a mystery to tourists and archaeologists alike. Who built them? Why did they build them? Were the craftsmen and their models all on magic mushrooms at the time? We looked at around 100 of these strange statues at the archaeological park just outside of San … Read more

Two Days in Paris: Extreme Sightseeing

Extreme sightseeing in Paris, France

You might not have heard of the obscure sport of extreme sightseeing, so let me give you a brief history lesson before I dive into my story about how I spent two days in Paris, including a record day of extreme sightseeing. Klaus Klein, kicked out of the German bobsleigh team on route to the Sarajevo … Read more

Dali Old Town: A Backpacker Paradise in China

A Photo from the reflection pool of The Three Pagodas in Dali Old Town, Yunnan, China

From outside my window I could hear a covers band murdering an Arctic Monkeys song, I could see 4 western style restaurants, and every conversation I had with the staff at my guesthouse was fully understood in perfect English. Is Dali Old Town still in China, or had I travelled through a wormhole back to … Read more

Kampong Buangkok: The Last Remaining Traditinal Village in Mainland Singapore

Kampong Buangkok, the last kampong in mainland Singapore

The pumping pistons of the Singaporean dream machine are in full swing, turning this former rural backwater into the modern metropolis we know today. This sweeping modernisation definitely has its good points; Singapore has become the safest, cleanest and richest country in Southeast Asia, but at what cost?

Turn the clock back 50 or 60 years and a different picture of Singapore emerges. Dirt roads wind through small villages (kampongs), chickens roam through overgrown gardens, the only thing dominating the skies are the heat and the haze, and people don’t work insane overtime hours just to get ahead. Some would call this paradise, but some would rather destroy this way of life in favour of progress. That progress has bought wealth to the nation, but such a large lifestyle shift, in only 1 or 2 generations, left a hole in the soul of the country.

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