Author Archives: ckdowling

A Dash Through Delhi

AirIndia Flight 333 descends like a rock, nose first. towards Indira Gandhi International Airport. Like everything else in India, it’s a little extreme. But to the few passengers around me, all of them Indian, it’s just business as usual. Ten days ago, in the zen of a palm-shaded courtyard in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I pulledContinue reading “A Dash Through Delhi”

The Mae Hong Son Loop

The Mae Hong Son Motorbike Loop starts and ends in Chiang Mai. It’s is a 600 kilometer circuit through the mountains of northern Thailand, snaking through verdant jungles and sleepy villages, past the highest point in the country and up along the Burmese border. It’s famous for its curves. Estimates vary because the route differs,Continue reading “The Mae Hong Son Loop”

The Best Little Restaurants in Thailand

It doesn’t much matter where I am on the planet, I crave Thai food. I want Khao Soi for breakfast, Pad Kra Pao Moo for lunch, and Gaeng Penang for dinner. I want to snack on satay and spring rolls and fish cakes while I dodge motorbikes in the street. I want pork on aContinue reading “The Best Little Restaurants in Thailand”

Koh Tao: A Post-Pandemic Paradise

When I first visited Koh Tao in the summer of 2019, I was on this grand tour of South and Southeast Asia. After spending a good deal of time in northern Thailand, I bounced around neighboring countries and went as far as India and Nepal before returning to the south. I didn’t come to KohContinue reading “Koh Tao: A Post-Pandemic Paradise”

A Week in the Sandbox

To-do lists winnowed away and planning is in the bag. After a year and a half where international travel was only fantasy. Wheels up, finally. Still, there are covid restrictions in place and certain protocol to follow. I’m entering Thailand through Phuket, where I have to spend a week before I can to travel elsewhereContinue reading “A Week in the Sandbox”