Today, we met a Dutch couple sitting at a little tucked away restaurant overlooking the Ganges. They were staying in the same hostel as we were, and thus, familiar looks provided an introduction to conversation. She suggested we try the stuffed aubergine or the coconut lassi. He spoke of their plans to head north to Nepal the day after next. “How do you like Varanasi?” Though it had been unbearably hot, I expected to see a twinkle in their eyes, a twitch of excitement. Instead, both shrugged a little. “Yeah, it's... not quite what we expected.” We asked them to explain. “Well, we thought it would be more mystical, more holy.” I was, once again, slightly flabbergasted. Varanasi? Not holy? Not mystical? Gordon and I had come across some of the craziest things either of us ... read more

(Apologies... First one was double!) As we emmerge out of the busy railway station, we are confronted with a sea of offers to buy, ride, see, eat, you name it, we were offered it. In his good Australian manners, Gordon began politely refusing the rounds, his left hand beside him stretched out to signal decline. “No thanks mate, no thanks mate.” As we snaked our way along, one of the old men turned to me and said, “Why your friend call me Ismail?”, referring to a name common in the Muslim culture. I looked at him curiously, at first not understanding. Then, listening to Gordon's chorus ahead of me, I realised what the old man was referring to; he, along with surely quite a few other Hindu men, were under the impression that the slurred phrase ... read more

I sit in the quiet solitude of a room; outside, the Tibetan freedom flags wave as furiously as the fan twirling above me. It is the first moment I have found in which to simple find calm and reflect. India... A single word to describe a place full of so much contrast and clash, love and fear, I am sure. It is not even a lengthy word - merely five letter of which one is doubled up leaving only I N D and A. Perhaps one could piece together the extreme diversities between North and South, East and West, with each one letter. But then one would nevertheless be left with all those places in between North and South, East and West, unaccounted for. Where to place Delhi, for example, the political hub and capital of ... read more

On my travels towards the smoggy skies over LA, California, I came across this interesting little tale... In light of the so-important climate and environmental issues at hand, I thought it would provide seat-gripping reading! Haha. Anyway, let me know what you think... True or false? IN the late '80s to mid '90s, Californians emitted some of the worst air pollution in the world. Highways were clogged with fuel-guzzling cars producing huge amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Pressure mounted on the Government to do something - not only because of environmental damage, but also due to the sharply rising health disturbances Californians were suffering. As through a call of faith, General Motors announced the breakthrough results of their design team's latest project - the electric vehicle. Not only was GM able to produce a ... read more

As I am peddling down the waterlogged, potholed back streets leading from my house to the Happy School, I must have an approachable look on my face, as a young Khmer man speeds up to putt beside me, exclaiming in laughing giggles that Water! Yes, water. After a quiet weekend away at an expat residence in Kampot, the ocean-inlet town to the South of Phnom Penh, I am back on my loaned mountain bike, making my way to a little coffee shop I had spotted last week. The motodop’s comments sum up the activity that happened in the city whilst I was away - it rained, actually it flooded into my little rooftop apartment, thankfully leaving a dry puddle around the powerboard I had left laying thoughtlessly on the tiles. My potted flowers had started to ... read more