The explorers have done it. The tourists have done it over. The terrorists tried to finish it. So how to say something new about Bali? There hasn’t been a terrorist hit for very nearly five years, and Bali’s not Hindu for nothing. A religion of regeneration if ever there was one. It’s the same, yet not the same. We avoided the southern beaches, still pretty full of tourists, although we were tourists also. We stayed in two hotels, one in Ubud and one in Lovina. In Bali - as elsewhere, - you get what you pay for, and we got a [View Full Entry]

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Imagine an evening when a whole town is alive with fun. Coloured lights shine out of the darkness. Pedestrians walk everywhere because there are no vehicles. Many of them wear extravagant costumes and carry masks. There's no apparent drunkeness or rowdiness, yet revellers are free to consume as much as they want because they can walk home to their tents. Different venues offer drinks, dinners, music, dance. People wander freely from one venue to the next. Lights sparkle in the night. That was Peats Ridge Festival on New Year's Eve, 2008. At the stroke of midnight I was lying in a [View Full Entry]

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Where were you? You weren’t on the last ferry; you didn’t call Anthony to say you were stuck on the other side. -- I was having a glass of wine in the neighbourhood bar. Didn’t you realize it’s gone up to T8? I’ve been out searching for you. -- I thought it was still T3. I should never have let you go to Hong Kong Island alone when there was a typhoon warning posted. It is hurricane season in East Asia at the moment. Hong Kong has an efficient warning system. If there is one moving in the vicinity T1 gets [View Full Entry]

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. On July 30th I wrote, Thailand to Hong Kong by Boat and Train: Why on earth? -- I want to go the slow, smooth, old way. I’m bored with planes and buses. But can it be done? It can be done - almost! It would be possible to do it with just a short bus ride across the Thai-Cambodian border to Siem Reap. But I approached Cambodia with a longer stint on a Thai bus because I wanted to enjoy more of Cambodia's water routes and railtracks. I found them all closed and I was forced to take three unwanted [View Full Entry]

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. There are forty-five million people in Guangx Province. Most of them are not engaged in the tourist industry. Many are peasants, pursuing the cultivation of rice, sugar and fruit but, despite its rural base, Guangxi has many towns and cities. It is still regarded as a backward province. In China, as everywhere, much of the pleasure comes from experiencing the usual rather than the phenomenal. Guangxi is a beautiful province with charming people. Nanning is the provincial city of Guangxi. It is a clean, modern city of spacious streets, which I have heard equally praised and reviled by travelers. We [View Full Entry]

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. The limestone hills of Guangxi are famous around the world. They have inspired artists and poets for centuries. They have made people who have never seen them wonder if the Chinese actually know how to paint hills. The Guangxi hills are one type of karst, hills formed after soluble rocks have dissolved and collapsed and left strange shapes behind. Chinese and overseas tourists pour into Guilin to view the hills. Scores of tourist boats ply the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, taking travellers through a fairyland of karsts. The Li River, the West River, is amazingly unspoiled; we saw [View Full Entry]

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. Unexpected experiences make travelling without a fixed schedule a delight because of the unexpected experiences. Sometimes the unexpected means missing rather than gaining experiences. Fact: Prior to the Olympic Games, the Chinese Government tightened the visa application process. Applicants were required to apply from their home country or country of protracted residence. It was necessary to showing vouchers for fully-booked hotels, tickets for connecting travel, and international air tickets at the time of applying. Fact: Tickets for train travel within China only go on sale four days before the date of travel. Outcome: The Chinese Embassy in Brunei accepted the [View Full Entry]

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. Soon after crossing into Vietnam the Mekong splits into many smaller rivers, all seeking their way into the South China Sea. This fan of great waterways with constructed channels connecting them has - for centuries - been the basis of a unique way of life. The delta is awash with barges, produce boats, passenger ferries, private boats. A little Vietnamese language plus a lot of spare time would together yield a very rewarding travel experience. Within two minutes of stepping onto Vietnamese soil we heard great whoopings and shrieks of “Gillian! Gillian!” from across the street. Andrew’s voice is unmistakable. [View Full Entry]

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Water is the basis of life all over the planet and in Cambodia this is more apparent than in many other countries. It played an important role in the ancient Angkor kingdom, which maintained its economy with the complex system of irrigation tanks and canals that played such a an important role in the ritual life of the community. Thanks to this we see so many beautiful photographs of the reflection of Angkor Wat. In the centre of Cambodia is the largest lake in SE Asia. The Tongle Sap Lake controls ecosystems across the whole of SE Asia and Southern [View Full Entry]

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. One thousand rainwater tanks to supply safe drinking water. Extra classes to help kids and adults who have missed education to catch up. Free distribution of soap powder, toothbrushes, toothpaste and condoms. Sewing classes for women who want to become dressmakers, classes in IT, and lots of English classes because everybody in Cambodia needs English to get ahead. The Sydney Buddhist Library, NSW, Australia (henceforth SBL) works to support urgent needs in Cambodia. I visited the SBL’s flagship project on Cambodia’s south coast. My tuk-tuk driver took me along an unsurfaced side road, through some monastery grounds and pulled up [View Full Entry]

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