The archive
The archive presents all articles on this international edition of Sandalsand, 24 at a time. They are sorted in a chronological order.
Use the arrows at the bottom to browse four decades of travels in near and faraway countries. That may be time consuming, even though you can make large jumps. Use the search field here instead, if there is something in particular you are curious about.
Many would prefer to use the menus to find destinations of their choice, special stories about the world, or World Heritage Sites.
This image is from a beach in Norway, but it could have been almost anywhere in the world. By the way, if you want to read stories from Norway, in Norwegian, head for the parallel archive page at Sandalsand Norge.
World Heritage #1588 – Bagan
Bagan has been renowned for ages. Marco Polo called it “A gilded city, alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sound of monks’ robes”. Today...
The temples of Bagan
A mirage to your eyes and a true world wonder. I only hope the rest of the world does not discover the magic temples on the plains of Bagan. Of...
VIDEO – Myanmar – The Train to Inle Lake
Join the train from Kalaw in the Burmese highlands to Shwenyaung in this video. This is a very nice way to arrive at the world famous Inle Lake....
The train across the Gokteik Viaduct
I was introduced to Myanmar trains on the bumpy Yangon to Mandalay night train. I grew up on one of the world’s most epic train journeys, the train...
Central Yangon
Yangon is same-same but different from other large Southeast Asian cities in several ways. Traditions are heavy in architecture and clothing,...
Jæren – The Skeie hike
This is about the Skeie hike, one of many hikes on the coast of Jæren, Norway. The hike is 9.1 km one way. Orientation Orre - Skeie -...
VIDEO – Norway – Sauda
Watch a video from Sauda. The town is situated as far into the fjords of Ryfylke in Western Norway it is possible to get. Sauda has a rather drab...
VIDEO – Norway – Skudeneshavn
Watch a video from Skudeneshavn. Skudeneshavn prospered from the catching of lobster and herring and from a large trading activity with the Baltic...
What else to see in Bagan
Not so interested in temples, or curious about what else to see in Bagan? This article offers hints and practical advice on other sights to satisfy...
Attractions in Mandalay
Fans of Mandalay might object to this, but my hotel reception's advice to limit my city sightseeing to a half day proved satisfactory. This is #8 of...
The Train from Kalaw to Shwenyaung
I was heading for Inle Lake and the train from Kalaw to Shwenyaung was to be my third train journey in Myanmar. This is a great country for train...
VIDEO – Myanmar – The Night Train to Mandalay
The night train from Yangon to Mandalay in Myanmar is a very exotic train journey. 16 hours of shake, rattle and roll past endless paddy fields and...
The Amazing Shwedagon Pagoda
"Shwedagon Pagoda", I had told the taxi driver when I stepped out of the Strand Hotel, the best preserved remnant of the British colonial era in...
Myanmar – The Plan
In 1985 I was sitting on the front porch of my little bungalow on the Thai side of the Mae Sai River looking over to Burma. The country was...
The Boknafjord Road Trip (2) Ryfylke
Day 2 of the Boknafjord road trip takes us from the industrial town of Sauda to fantastic old farmsteads in Suldal and beyond on roads that are...
The Boknafjord Road Trip (1) Haugalandet
Here is Day 1 of the Boknafjord Road Trip: Haugalandet. This is the recipe for a two-day round trip by car in the beautiful county of Rogaland. The...
VIDEO – Myanmar – Village near Bagan
This video is about rural life in a village on the Byat Ta Pan San Road between Mount Popa and Bagan in Myanmar. I came across this village on the...
Amarapura, Sagaing Hill, Inwa and U Bein
The ambitious plan was more than accomplished: This is the story about exciting excursions from Mandalay, wonderful gilded temples and city streets...
VIDEO – Myanmar – The Train Across the Gokteik Viaduct
The Gokteik Viaduct is the highlight of one of the world's most exciting train journeys. Watch this video. Have a look at this video about the train...
The Night Train to Mandalay
Kipling’s one-liner that it will “be quite unlike any land you know about” does come in handy in a description of Myanmar train journeys. Like the...
VIDEO – Norway – Jæren – Skeie
This video from Skeie is from a series of hikes on the coastal strip of Jæren, in south-western Norway. This one is from the hike between Hå Old...
Introducing the fjords
The fjords of Norway are famous, and they are excellent destinations. On Sandalsand, you will find a number of articles about them. Do not...
VIDEO – Norway – Haugesund
Watch a video from Haugesund, the main town in the region of Haugalandet, Western Norway. It has a long history, prosperous in the 19th century, and...
Porto and the Douro Valley
A calm forest retreat and two more amazing World Heritage Sites in Northern Portugal are the ingredients in this last chapter from our road trip,...
I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education. (David Rockefeller)
We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. (Australian Aboriginal Proverb)
There is nothing so good for the human soul as the discovery that there are ancient and flourishing civilized societies which have somehow managed to exist for many centuries and are still in being though they have had no help from the traveler in solving their problems. (Walter Lippmann)
A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place…. (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
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