One of Thailand's ancient capitals, Ayutthaya, is on most visitors' itineraries, usually on a day trip by coach or minivan, visit a few of the most well-known ruins, have lunch, and move on, done, another tick on their bucket list... My old friend Frans wanted to do it differently, so we took a slow train from Hualamphong Railway Station. (*) Regular 2nd class with fans and open windows, a great authentic way of traveling local style! We ignored the tuk-tuk drivers offering t

Despite being interested in art and doing a bit of drawing myself I don't have any tattoos on my body. It just never appealed to me, visual art seems to be more suitable on paper, canvas, walls, etc., anything but skin. Over the years I've seen too many tattoos looking like faded stickers or people who got wild and had their whole body decorated with all kinds of pictures, whether actually fitting together or not... But when I got the opportunity to visit a traditional tattoo

A brief look at the various ways religion and other forms of belief are practiced here. Most mornings I get up around sunrise and jump on my bicycle. Part of the routine is watching the monks doing their rounds, still an integral part of daily life. A place I often stop is Wat Chalo, Bang Kruai, a temple shaped like a European trading ship from the past. Near the entrance are several stalls where devotees can buy whatever they feel is necessary to offer to the monks. Its swan

We continued our 'epic' journey through the outskirts of Amsterdam. The Nieuwendammerdijk area was behind us. But it still remained pretty rural when we entered Schellingwoude. No cats to be seen though... This is what happens if you ignore your bicycle too long... We spotted a white church and decided to have a closer look. The Schellingwouderkerk (1866) is one of those churches whose number of churchgoers has dwindled over the years... (*) Crossing the Schellingwouderbrug w