…our Powerbook has risen from the ashes! We thought it was doomed, a hard drive failure, shaken apart by so many long and bumpy journeys. I checked around on some Mac forums and tried resetting the power management, which apparently worked. The computer just didn’t feel like working again until a day or so later. Hopefully it’s all good, although something like this could happen again. Better go make some more backups!

Oh yeah, and we’ve been exploring the temples of Angkor for the past few days too.

Apparently our Powerbook couldn’t handle the crappy, bone-rattling ride from the Thai/Cambodian border to Siem Reap. It was definitely one of the longer and bumpier journeys of the trip so far, but wasn’t in another league or anything. At any rate, our Mac is dead. We will be trying to resurrect it, possibly sending it to Bangkok to get fixed. More updates to come. But with this in mind, we might not be updating the site for a few days while we try to handle this unfortunate problem. And as long as the laptop is down, there won’t be any more BTBtv or audio posts. Not the greatest start to our Cambodian adventure, but it was always something that could happen…

In this short three minute video, we try to give an impression of what our two weeks was like on the island paradise of Koh Lanta. We hope you enjoy it. As usual, if the video isn’t working, make sure you have the latest version of Flash installed. And as always, we like feedback.

There’s nothing like a free visa when you’re traveling to around a dozen countries in a row. Visa fees can add up fast, something that’s easy to forget when you’re trying to calculate expenses. Visa costs are all over the place: free for the UK and the Netherlands, $30 for Turkey (3 month), $15 for Egypt (1 month), $30 for Nepal (2 months), and around $60 for India (6 month). Thailand is the one of the few countries in Southeast Asia to offer a free 1 month tourist visa on arrival. more»

There haven’t been too many updates for the past two weeks or so because we’ve been too busy doing nothing. A friend who used to live in Thailand recommended checking out the Andaman Sea side of the country and the beautiful waters there. So we took off for Koh Lanta, an island renowned for its long, tranquil beaches and slow-paced lifestyle. more»

Episode 14 is from Bangkok, the gateway to both Thailand and all of Southeast Asia. It’s a beautiful city with plenty of culture, yet as a backpacker (heading straight from the Indian subcontinent) it’s tough not to spend lots of time on Khao San Road. In this episode we’ve got some of the main sights around Bangkok, as well as an introduction to that infamous backpacker haunt. If the video doesn’t work, make sure you have the latest version of Flash installed. Enjoy!

If you haven’t checked out Brave New Traveler, yet, you should. It’s an slick online travel magazine with lots of great articles on all aspects of travel. I recently wrote an article that appeared there on how we protect our money while traveling around the world. Please check it out here.