What can I say about Siem Reap? It is the people and their smiles that make this place so beautiful - from the cheeky kids begging on the street, to the local men and women, to the masses of foreign volunteer workers. Despite the wrongs of foreign investors, politics and a hideous past, most people want to see this place prosper in the right way. Sometimes though, it’s hard to know what the right way is. This place strikingly juxtaposes Third and First Worlds: a legless child begs outside a 5-star hotel, a pregnant woman already with a young child begs for baby formula while us youth drink away our pennies for a pittance at the local pubs. You can eat fine cuisine at international prices or eat roadside for a dollar. Some nights you shoo ... read more

I had to wade through the hundreds of photos I took and now you can too! Excuse the doubles and the ones wrong way around. Enjoy Siem Reap, the ancient city of Angkor. ... read more

While poor Eva was terribly sick in bed all day, I went out exploring… I highly recommend the National Gallery to anyone with even the slightest interest in Art. I spent hours lost in the halls, working my way through traditional and historic works into the contemporary visual and audio world. I must say His Royal Highness the King of Thailand is quite a gifted contemporary artist, with many of his works on display. Some of the most illuminating works were contemporary photographs. One was a stunning collection of images of single women with their children. I never realized just how shunned single mothers were in Thai society. They are unemployable, rejected by their families and frowned upon in public, with begging often their only means of income. The series of photographs captured their dilemmas so ... read more

From Koh Lanta we embarked on a 24 hour journey across Southern Thailand to Koh Tao. This involved two minisbusses, one maxibus, two ferries, one truck and one boat. The boat was the best bit. From Surat Thani on the mainland we rode on this boat for eight hours overnight. There were no seats but just tiny dodgy mattresses on the floor. We took sleeping tablets and awoke just in time to dock at Koh Tao. Koh Tao was the touch of paradise we’d been waiting for. We were lucky enough to stay in an amazing hotel right on Sairee Beach - the main beachfront of the whole island. Our room overlooked the ocean and came with all the things we didn’t know we’d missed: hot water, a fridge, TV, air conditioning , and a bed-bugless ... read more

Koh Lanta We slept.We slept and we slept some more. Phra Ae was a totally sleepy little beach town. Empty bars quietly play Bob Marley as the sun too goes to sleep over a calm blue sea, dogs wander aimlessly, and hammocks sway gently in the sea breeze. We stayed in a cute bungalow about 200m form the beach. On arrival we were greeted by the owner, 'Hatchiboat', who gave us freshly cut pineapple. Hatchiboat was simultaneously generous, caring, loud, nosy and annoying. He visited several times a day, sometimes baring food to share or sometimes just to say hi and checkup on us and other neighbours. He wanted to know where we were going, what time we would return and was continually advising us to go eat 'Muslim food'. He made our stay rather entertaining ... read more