To explain our time in Bangkok, I must go to India. In 2000, in a fog bound Darjeeling, I met a man called Alan Horowitz. A buddhist, a former jew, (can you ever be former?) a thinker, a resident of Taipei, (Taiwan-China) a thoroughly clever man, but most importantly a kind and decent man. He was accompanied by his partner PeiYen, a beautiful quiet lady and who carried an ancient Nikon. Very rarely she would use it; but only with black and white film. She was a photographer in the true sense of the word. I was in Darjeeling to see [View Full Entry]

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Eight years ago, I came to Bangkok, I wandered the streets, lookedat some huge Bhudda, bought a horrible shirt, met some people, and got stuck wondering where to go. Eventually I managed to make a decision and bought a ticket to Cambodia; the next day flew out. We boarded the ancient Royal Air Cambodge 737 at 0700hrs. I had only had one hour of sleep, but I had made the flight. At the front of the plane was I met a youngish Englishman, who happened to be a dive master. We got to talking. "I Got stuck in Bangkok mate" He [View Full Entry]

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This is by no means my finest post. In fact its mundane. It is a catalogue of stress. But if you are sitting at home or work and you are numbingly bored, then please do read on. This may brighten your day slightly. R ----------- Thailand, Bangkok, Banglampoo district, 23.04.2007 Sitting here in Rambutri street with the thunder booming over my head I realise that Bangkok has changed little since 2000. The water is pouring off the roof and the street is uncharacteristically deserted. Of the city course has changed slightly, but I don't really notice the difference. The new airport [View Full Entry]

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17.04.2008 Pemba to Zanzibar Yesterday, was a day of waiting. We packed our final personal items, packed our stuff, and waited for the minibus to take us to the airport. There is a major fuel shortage in Pemba and so we all had to go into one minibus. Stuart and Emma, (our managers) were flying out first, so the rest of us waited in the Old Mission Lodge. We ate some chapatis and strange spring rolls while waiting for our flights. The Zanair let410 landed gracefully but late, on 5000ft long runway and rolled out. The sun was low in the [View Full Entry]

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The rains have come to Pemba, but not quite to us. Thunder booms and rumbles to our south. The sky is filled with heavy clouds but the sun beats down on us relentlessly. We have officially closed. Our last guests, a splendid pair of birdwatchers from Canada departed this morning. We have started packing up and the dive centre and kayaks are all inside the building. Stuart has been pulling gearboxes off engines, in the hope that we can find out what has gone wrong with the cooling systems of all our 60 horse power Yamaha engines. Eventually the last hidden [View Full Entry]

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This is a very strange entry, we are not in Ethiopia, but we want to be. The season is almost over and soon we will have wound up the season. But as we enter the planning stage, our travel buddy and escort Justyn Lane is now preparing his vehicle in Malawi. But regretably Amanda his faithful girlfriend has decided against the trip of a lifetime, the exploration of the Omo Valley and Northern Kenya. And has decided to rather mundanely choose to merely live in Nairobi and pump more western tax payers money into a basket case. Her decision is her [View Full Entry]

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The days have flown by, and in two short days, the Chepstow branch of the anti corruption unit will be off to Zanzibar for a night and then back to Chepstow via switzerland. In the short time since they have arrived we have only caught two fish. One was a small Tuna and the other a blue fin trevally. Bonefish, and dorado have come round to say hello and then left us without a bite. In fact our efforts are so poor that Emma, our residence manager has renamed us the "rod holders union". Thankfully the diving is still superb. Clear [View Full Entry]

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In a few short days the entire face of Swahili Divers and the Kervan Saray Beach lodge have been changed by the arrival of the “anti corruption unit”. A force of five to seven workers who hail from the Island of Jersey (where corruption was invented) and South Wales. (where fishing is still practiced). Still refusing to pay bribes, the team valiantly fix boats, install intercoms, mend rods and go out fishing. Our brand new Yamaha boat is coming closer and closer to completion. Our old and valiant rib, Rockhoppa is being dismantled. We have a rejuvenation program designed for he [View Full Entry]

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Dear friends, Greetings from Pemba, the emerald Island that sits in clear, deep, blue water. We are only 30 Nautical Miles off the coast of Africa, and yet we live in a different world. I have been sending out Haber News letters for some time now, and yet I feel that we are loosing something. There is indeed a power to the written word, but nothing beats a photo. I toyed with sending out word documents, but they become too heavy and they are rejected by spam filters. Then my good friend Greg Wilson from the Cook Islands set up his [View Full Entry]

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