Regretfully, there are so few places these days where a simple day trip can lead to being violently torn apart and eaten. Pity, that... Read more…

Hey, I’m down with Islam… great architecture, great poetry, great teachings, and breathtakingly beautiful women. What more can you ask of a world religion? Ever since I hitchhiked through North Africa I’ve been enamored of this truly great global religion. And in Southeast Asia I’ve been the grateful recipient of dependable Islamic warmth and hospitality. Not to mention their restaurants are sparkling clean. Read more…

Were you born with a price tag on your head? Neither is anything else in this world. Not hotel rooms, not meals, not rentals of any sort. Not elephant rides, not scuba courses. Not even the price of fixing an election has a natural, fixed price tag on it! Welcome to tropical Asia, where everyone knows that but you. Read more…

Bali! Possibly the most perfect island in the world! Should you go? When’s the best time for your visit? Read more…

I am on my first sojourn out of the Middle Kingdom for quite a few years - well, not technically true, I have travelled outside the Great Firewall of China a few times, but mostly on business. This time, I have a few chill-out days where I have no business obligations, meetings or planning days so this means I am free to prowl Singapore's underground shopping mega-complexes, hang 'gibbon-like' from the railings in the public transport and find little quiet corners to sip sugar-sweet Indian Milk Chai, rediscover the delights of curry-puffs, pick lime-leaves from my teeth while gobbling bowls of Laksa, rip my way through layers of Roti Channai, chopstick-pick my way through extra juicy morsels of Roasted Chicken and Crispy Pork, negotiate Chilli Crab carapace, seek out Spicy Stingray and Banana Leaf Satay, slurp durian ice kajiang (a tower of shaved ice, mixed with the pulp of the fruit) and enjoy the cool sea breeze across the Harbour with a cup of Barley Water and a tall Kopi-O. Read more…