Insomnia and sleep apnoea
I don't sleep well and I'm aware that I haven't had a consistently good sleep pattern for several years. Insomnia seems to be an issue and I was once mis diagnosed with sleep [...]
2004 Tsunami, a baby and a fisherman’s tale
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. [...]
Great memories of Krabi – part 3
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 [...]
Great memories of Krabi – part 2
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 [...]
A-ha meets music theatre
By now a few of my friends, and the occasional visitor to this site, will understand that I like to sing. I am a performance junkie and will walk up to the stage on [...]
Penang revisited
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 [...]
Great memories of Krabi – part 1
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 [...]
Guess what? I made another music video…
I have always liked the Radiohead classic 'Creep'. In recent years it has seen a resurgence as a hit thanks in part to people like Brian Crum on the AGT talent show, as well [...]
So I made another music video – part 2
The Fisher family loves musical theatre. You could say my three daughters secretly aspire to be musical theatre performers. Or was that meant to say 'obviously'? A Christmas 'Musical Theatre' session. They [...]
So I made another music video – part 1.
I wanted to be a musical theatre performer. I never stood a chance. One had to have a 'sensible' career, follow a vocation that would 'make one successful in life', according to my parents. [...]
So I made a music video.
I was thinking about Fathers Day recently and the fact that I haven't seen my family in Australia since September 2019. That seems like such a long time ago. Actually it seems like an [...]
A happy street food story
This is a happy story about customer recognition (of me, actually) at its most simple, and certainly best. Ever since I came to live in Penang, Malaysia, a couple of years ago, I have [...]
Nige’s Rooftop Bar – Part 3
This is the third and final chapter in the story of Nige's, the almost (but not quite) infamous rooftop bar at Villa 118, the GM's erstwhile residence at Banyan Tree Lijiang. Nige's became a [...]
Lucy’s story.
A well travelled canine with significant class. (If you are viewing this on a mobile device, it is best to view it in landscape format) We found her one day in Lucun village, an [...]
Nige’s Rooftop Bar – Part 2
This is part two of a story about Nige's rooftop bar. In part one, I recounted how I had thought about, discovered and created this great rooftop entertainment space, turning it into a bar. [...]
Nige’s Rooftop Bar – Part 1
This is a story about a bar. No ordinary bar mind you, this is about 'Nige's rooftop bar'. I was general manager of the Banyan Tree Lijiang, Yunnan Province in China, from 2015 until 2018. [...]
Loneliness; a growing epidemic.
I first saw this short clip posted on LinkedIn and thought it would be worthwhile sharing here. Not because I'm lonely, but because I'm sure we know people who probably could be. Over time, depression [...]
Trump, Russia and the election – An excellent overview from the New York Times.
Tired of hearing about it or confused by the 'fake news' stories? This is a comprehensive look at Russian meddling in the US presidential election. "It’s easy to lose the larger narrative of the Trump-Russia story [...]
China’s “social scorecard”. Frightening for business, not just individuals.
For those of us safely ensconced in a passive western democracy, this is serious food for thought. '...The Communist Party’s plan is for every one of its 1.4 billion citizens to be at the whim [...]
Driving in China and other stories (part 1)
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 [...]
“You are not always who you think you will always be, nothing lasts forever.”
Famed actor Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a photo of himself sleeping on the street under his famous bronze statue, and sadly wrote "How times have changed"... The reason he wrote the phrase was not only because [...]
My encounters with the Yi People (part 2)
In part one of this story I recounted how I had already visited the Kang family in Tsu Nan Guo, which is Maca, originally from South America is grown widely throughout the Yunnan highlands [...]
I got Hacked. Now I am a lot smarter with passwords. Are you?
My personal website got hacked not so long ago. It fell victim to a sustained 'brute force' attack, bombarded by hacker bots for days until they finally got in. They must have thought that my [...]
Trump, Europe and the UK. Not a happy story.
It still seems unbelievable that the role of what used to be considered 'President of the free world' has been so tarnished by the current incumbent. Did we ever think US presidential public image would [...]
My encounters with the Yi People. (part 1)
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 [...]
Very old pale yellow dog.
Here’s a happy hospitality tale about an old dog that became lost. It was a toy dog actually. And this tale has a twist. One day recently I received a call from a guest whom [...]
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the hard way (part two).
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 [...]
Be careful what you wish for. A cautionary tale.
A great article in the New York Times relating to Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative. Naiveté in government or deliberate profiteering for personal gain? In any case, it's check mate and asset handed over [...]
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the hard way (part one).
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 [...]
Living with the Nakhi people, Lijiang, Yunnan China
Traditional "Moon and Stars" costume Ancient Nakhi pictographic script The Nakhi people (pron. Na'hee) are one of the 56 officially recognised groups of minority peoples in China. The Han Chinese [...]