Archive for June 2013

MINGALABAR MYANMAR It had been on my wish list for years, and when Burma opened up ever so slightly to tourists……I was checking visa requirements, brochures and guide books, before you could say Mingalabar Myanmar! (That’s Hello Burma in Burmese!) Burma, as it was, Myanmar, as it is now, has been closed for decades, under…

HAPPY YEAR OF THE DOG The transfer from the Airport at Chek Lap Kok gave me my first glimpse of Hong Kong, and its Skyline it was breathtaking! It was so busy and vibrant. Every spare inch that can be reclaimed from the sea has been built on and up! I have never seen so…

SRI LANKA THE TEARDROP OF INDIA I’ll leave it to the tourist books to tell you about the getting there, the what not to miss, the where you should go… my story is about Sri Lanka, about its magic and its effect on an unwary traveller, with just a little bit of curiosity – me!…

JAI HO INDIA Jai Ho! No matter what I say about India, it will seem like a cliché. One thing is true, a visit to India will change your life and your perspective forever. It’s a continent of over one billion people, scrambling to live, to survive, from the rubbish dumps of Mumbai to the…

A JOURNEY THROUGH THAILAND Arriving in Bangkok on a Monday afternoon, to traffic jams, hot and tired, I could hardly take in this large noisy city where street vendors and tuc tucs are the norm alongside modern skyscrapers and the city Skyrail system. A good night’s sleep and a day later I was aboard the…

CAMBODIA A KHMER CIVILISATION My trip to Cambodia was about 12 days – but my journey in Cambodia spanned centuries! From the 12th century in Angkor Wat to the 20th century at Phnom Penh’s Killing Fields – Cambodia has shown me two sides of its past, but present-day Cambodia with its melting pot culture, cuisine,…

SURPRISING VIETNAM Does the word send shivers down your spine? Do you conjure up frightening images of war, bombs and cruelty? There can be no-one who hasn’t heard of Vietnam and her troubles. Make your first call Saigon, now Ho Chi Min City, and take a look around the war museums and the Coo Chi…