Cambodia is boiling. On the dirty, dusty Poi-pet border the heat rises, in Siam Reap, buildings are bubbling up from the jungle - big shiny 5-star palaces. Crowds steam and churn around the ancient towers of Angor Wat as the sunrises - the noise is intense as voices from all over the world cackle and chat and click digital cameras at the sun brings its heat to the day. The Tuk-Tuk Touts in the town fizz around you as you walk down the street - 'tuk tuk sir?' 'tuk tuk now?' 'lets go!' their voices seem like bubbles popping around your ears Waiters in town fuss and bother and still manage to get the change wrong by one dollar less every time a bill is paid. Cambodia is actually boiling. A seething gumbo of dollar-hungry people, ... read more

A beautiful photo of a deserted beach rarely lives up to its promise - crowds, noise and litter often conspire to destroy the desert island fantasy and replace it with a messy, smelly, awkward version of a real life beach. I think I have woken up in Beach Porn. A wooden beach hut, an empty sandy beach and the sounds of lapping waves to wake me every morning. Its simple, its been dreamt about so many times, but rarely experienced. This never happens for real. Does it? Ao Naun on Ko Samet is probably the only place on the island where the hippie vibe that once smouldered here, still exists. The shacks are rickety and airy - no concrete - the view out to sea is almost as clear and empty as the view back in ... read more

You must have a plan to leave the Ko San road in Bangkok, or you may stay forever. Most people have planes and trains booked, which is their escape routes. The heat and humidity of Bangkok is a glue that slows you down - nighttime drinking sessions and the non-party atmospheresucks you in till the sun comes up. I ended up waking up everyday in the early afternoon, peeling myself, and whoever was with me, out to eat and consider the day. By the afternoon, the long-distance trains and buses had left and I had no chance of reaching anywhere interesting by nightfall. Pattaya and the sleazey beach? Not yet? Ko Chang? Too far. I had to escape this noisey, smelly flystrip of fun before it had glued me down for 2 weeks and I had ... read more

24 hours to go until I head off to the airport with a bag of things i will wish I had never bought in about 4 days time... and war is on. My plane's destination - Bangkok - is a normally happy place, where I have made great friends in the past. But these past weeks, politcal protesters have surrounded the government buildings, demanding an end to the parliament, forcing the Prime Minister to flee in a helicopter and trying to install a non-democratic goverment! Not content with a Political Coup, i also seem to be heading off to a War Zone, as Thailand and Cambodia are rattling their sabres at each other over a border dispute. I intend to waltz across the border to Siam Reap and Angkor Wat, and i'm sure that as a ... read more

Its exactly 7 days till I board my flight... One week to go and the world is on the brink of collapse: ''Hundreds of Billions of pounds'' "Global meltdown" "Historic times" "Society on the brink of collapse" Apparently, the year 2008 will go down in history as the year western capitalism came off the rails, so what a great time for me to escape to peaceful cultures abroad? Somewhere to unwind, relax and absorb ancient cultures? Not for me! "Brink of anarchy" (bangkok post) 'Bloodbath' (BBC) "Calm returns to Bangkok after bloody rioting" (CNN) oh dear. I've had adventures but I don't court danger, especially risks that i don't properly understand. The Thai uprising is particularly confusing - the democratically elected leader is being attacked by the 'Democratic' party who want to replace him with unelected ... read more