"Whore of the Orient, Paris of the East; city of quick riches, ill-gotten gains and fortunes lost on the tumble of dice; the domain of adventurers, swindlers, gamblers, drug runners, tycoons, missionaries, gangsters and backstreet pimps; the city that plots revolution and dances as the revolution shoots its way into town" is how the Lonely Planet on China describes Shanghai prior to the Communist revolution. Since then, a lot has changed. After the Chinese government dropped some of its Communist principles and decided to embrace capitalism in a form which it calls "socialist market economics" [View Full Entry]

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When the British packed their bags and handed Hong Kong over to the Chinese in 1997, after being in control of the territory for more than a century, Hong Kong was granted Special Administrative Region (SAR) status. It was to retain its legal system and free-market economy for 50 years, before Beijing could directly interfere. Also, the special status enabled Hong Kong to keep separate immigration and visa procedures from the rest of China. Whereas Western Europeans need to apply for a Chinese visa before entering China, they are free to just turn up at the airport in Hong Kong. A [View Full Entry]

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In Northern China people famously joke that Southern China's Cantonese people will eat anything that flies, except a plane; anything that swims, except a submarine, and anything that has legs, except the table. The same joke could be applied to the Vietnamese. We could have feasted on dog meat in Hanoi, but decided not to. Feeling like we had missed an opportunity to taste some truly exotic food, I vowed to try something I had never eaten before in Saigon... and I got the opportunity not once, but twice... We arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) on Wednesday evening on [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Hue on Saturday on a Vietnamese Airlines flight from Hanoi. Considering that we had booked a flight for Wednesday afternoon to get us from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, time was always going to be in short supply in central Vietnam: we were hoping to visit Hue's Citadel, as well as the tombs of the Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty, located along the Perfume River south of the city; the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang; the old town of Hoi An; and the Cham ruins at My Son. This would have provided us with [View Full Entry]

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What would have come to my mind if someone had mentioned Vietnam before my arrival in Hanoi? The war, conical hats, Communism, and maybe Robin Williams shouting "Good Morning, Vietnam" in the rather bad film of the same name. Perhaps this provided me with the right frame of mind to truly come to appreciate this place: few expectations... We arrived in Vietnam on Wednesday after flying from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and from Bangkok to Hanoi on Thai Airways. I spent several dull hours in Bangkok's airport in the lounge, wondering why all airports look the same! Can't they at least [View Full Entry]

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Question: Which city would you rather visit: KL or Melaka? The modern capital city which didn't even exist 150 years ago; or the old colonial town, drenched in history, formerly occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British? Before visiting both places, I would have answered confidently: Melaka! What a mistake that would have been... We arrived in KL on Saturday evening on a Berjaya Air flight from beautiful Pulau Tioman. Even after spending only a couple of days on a small island, having to dodge traffic when crossing the street seemed a bit strange at first. For the first night we [View Full Entry]

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According to a Malaysian legend, a dragon princess was once on her way from China to Singapore. She stopped to admire the charm of Malaysia's east coast, and promptly decided to cancel the rest of her journey, take the form of an island, and remain there as a place of shelter and comfort to passing travellers. Pulau Tioman was created! Legends aside, Pulau Tioman is a pretty relaxing place. For the movie fanatics amongst you: its beautiful beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie "South Pacific" as Bali Hai. Phil and I arrived on Pulau Tioman on Tuesday afternoon after taking [View Full Entry]

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Singapore is the sort of place that I wouldn't mind living in for a couple of years. Ok, it's perhaps a bit hot and humid, and some might argue that democracy and personal freedoms are in short supply. But on the other hand, the country functions in a smooth and efficient way that should cause politicians in many countries in Asia as well as Europe to be ashamed of themselves. Per capita income is only slightly below that of many Western European nations (at Purchasing Power Parity for the economists among you), the transport system is efficient, the streets are clean, [View Full Entry]

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Bombay is to me a great example of a city where it simply does not pay off to be a cheap arse traveler! After the countless stories I heard of people hating the city, I was quite surprised to find that I couldn't disagree more! Bombay (or Mumbai if one prefers) is actually great fun! The problem is that people try to survive on too low a budget. Spend a bit of money and you might end up thinking that it is one of the most fun places you visited in India! Phil and I arrived at CST station in Bombay [View Full Entry]

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Apologies for the slight delay in writing about our time in Goa. In fact, I have to admit that I'm not even in Goa anymore, having arrived in Bombay very early this morning on an overnight train. After all the bad stories I heard from other travellers, I was expecting a city resembling hell as described in Dante's Inferno. So far I like Bombay though! However, I'll write later about our adventures and possible mishaps here. For now, I'll let my mind wonder back to the churches of Old Goa and the beaches at Palolem and Patnem.... <sigh> Phil and I [View Full Entry]

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