Most people remember or have heard of the December 26, 2004 'boxing day' Tsunami, the widest reaching modern day natural disaster with the highest number of non war related fatalities since the Spanish flu. Penang was not directly in the line of fire from the first wave, yet it also suffered human losses, many [...]
This is the third and final piece in a series of short blogs about Thailand, with a few more stories and anecdotes that I would like to share. So if you are still with me, thank you for your support! OK to begin with, I forgot to talk about Joy Beach Cafe. The picture [...]
As I have said said before, I really loved living in Thailand. This is a continuation of the article I posted earlier and talks about some of the people and the amazing places that I had the opportunity to visit. With Brice (centre) and Christophe (right), the wine man. At one point, [...]
I never expected to be back in Penang, but as fate would have it, here I am and it is not a bad thing at all. Once I arrived, all sorts of memories came flooding back. Some of you will know that lived here a few years ago at the time of opening and [...]
I enjoyed living in Thailand. That is, I loved the social life and everything it had to offer, the local hospitality, the friendly expats living there and its plain affordability. I can truly say it has been the highlight of my time living away from Australia. Well maybe apart from some rare and exceptional [...]
I hold a Chinese drivers license. That's not an oxymoron, though you could be forgiven for thinking so the way the majority of 'mainlanders' drive. After 7 years in China I though it would be entertaining to reflect on some of my road experiences and all things traffic. Why? It might shed some light on [...]
The Yi minority numbers just over 8 million people who live widely through south and south west China, Laos and northern Vietnam. The Yi of Yunnan province and the areas around Lijiang live high in the mountains in isolated villages, often above 3000m. Mrs Kang Once referred to as the Lolo they originally [...]
This is the second half of the tale recounting my Jade Dragon Snow Mountain climbing adventures. In the first instalment, I told the sorry tale of failure, misleading information and disappointment. What follows is an account of events leading to eventual success, but that didn't happen without a lot of planing, a larger team and [...]
This is a story about climbing mountains, sort of. Actually more about adventures in the mountains and hills around Lijiang... It all started with a whimsical idea, to climb the big lump of rock at the end of the garden; the 'famous' Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which featured in all the tourist posters and brochures [...]
