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 #1229 – Crac des Chevaliers
The Crusader castles Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din in Syria are old and remarkably intact. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes...
World Heritage #0023 – Site of Palmyra
Right in the middle of the Syrian desert, the ancient site of Palmyra rises like a Fata Morgana. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a...
World Heritage #0021 – Ancient City of Aleppo
The ancient city of Aleppo in Syria has been around for thousands of years. It will be for thousands more, despite huge setbacks from time to time....
Roaming Turkey’s Anatolian plateau
The fascinating life and scenery on the Anatolian Plateau, as well as the bureaucratic hassles of continuing the journey. This article is no. 2 of 5...
World Heritage #0357 – Göreme
The landscape of Göreme in Turkey is spectacular, and human activity has made the rock formations even more fascinating. The UNESCO World Heritage...
Istanbul and the west coast of Turkey
This was a journey into the unknown and intriguing cultures of the Middle East, and the encounter of a friendliness and hospitality hard to come by...
World Heritage #1457 – Pergamon
The Greek acropolis of Pergamon in western Turkey commanded a large area, and was central in trading activities more than 2,000 years ago. The...
World Heritage #1452 – Bursa
The Ottoman Empire took over when the Eastern Roman empire fell. The Ottomans trace their roots back to this area around Bursa in Western Turkey....
World Heritage #0356 – Istanbul
The historic areas of Istanbul is a dream, the monumental mosques and minarets are almost like a fairy tale. The city's history and geographic...
Last days in Bangkok and a cloudy island stay
This was the end of a very long journey. I spent my last days in Bangkok and then went on to an island off the coast for a few cloudy days. This...
A view of the forbidden countries of Burma and Laos
The Golden Triangle is where one could get a view of Burma and Laos, from Thailand. The two countries were off-limit to foreigners, but I came up...
Trekking in the Golden Triangle
I had arrived in northern Thailand amid temples, travellers and hill tribes of The Golden Triangle. Here I spent a few days on a hike into the...
A few first impressions from Bangkok
Bangkok is the city where the bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free. Or so the song goes. I would be back for more impressions but I continued...
Underneath the palms of Koh Samui
I came up from Malaysia and took a boat over to Koh Samui, this island paradise in Thailand, for a few relaxing days. This article is part of...
Pictures from Malaysia
This is a collection of Sandalsand's pictures from Malaysia. They are from the Malay peninsula, and the capital Kuala Lumpur in particular. If you...
A stopover in Kuala Lumpur en route north
On my journey up the Malacca Peninsula I made a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, for a few days. I should have spent more. This article is part of a diary...
Pictures from Singapore
This is a collection of Sandalsand's pictures from Singapore. There are very few and they have become quite old. If you look up all articles from...
Singapore – The rapidly modernising city-state
The old and new is captivating in Singapore, this rapidly modernising city-state. I spent only a couple of days before moving on. This article is...
Pictures from the Philippines
This is a collection of Sandalsand's pictures from the Philippines. They are from a large number of islands. If you look up all articles from the...
Hill villages in northern Luzon
Small villages, wonderful scenery and magnificent rice terraces in the northern Philippines, the hilly part of Luzon. This article is part of a...
World Heritage #0722 – Philippine Rice Terraces
The human endeavours of cultivating land never cease to impress, not least the fabulous Philippine rice terraces. The UNESCO World Heritage List...
First days in the northern Philippines
From the central islands I went back to Manila for a short stop. What followed was my first impressions of the northern Philippines. This article is...
Island hopping in the Eastern Visayas islands
This is about island hopping in the central Philippines; The Eastern Visayas islands of Cebu, Leyte, Samar and back to Manila on Luzon Island. This...
Island hopping in Panay and Negros
I had left Boracay and went on an island hopping tour of the central Philippines. First off were the Western and Central Visayas islands of Panay...
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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