The sky, clear now after a cloudy afternoon, is absolutely full of stars, the three in Orion’ s belt outshining everything else in the vicinity. The waves come rolling in to the beach just a few meters away, the black water crashing down on the dark sand with a loud booming sound that fills the air. I put my arm around my wife, feel the warmth of her body against mine as she leans on my shoulder, and just enjoy the moment. … Read the rest
I’m armoured against the weather, warm jacket, rain jacket, rain pants with little built in shoe covers, helmet, and mountaineering gloves. Despite all that I know this is going to be hell, it is cold like it can only be in tropical weather, when normally comfortable temperatures chill you to the bone; and the rain is coming down hard. There is a kind of duality to this; the reports about low water levels in the nation’s reservoirs that I saw in the paper a few days ago had me worried so this is a good thing, but did the government … Read the rest
The street is filled with people, they mill about among the vendors, buying snacks and souvenirs. The air is filled with didgeridoo music, a deep driving rhythm, almost like hard rock. The sky is filled with floating lanterns, glowing orange lights that drift upwards on the breeze.… Read the rest
Am I still in Thailand? It sure doesn’t seem like it with these surroundings. On both sides of the road are rolling hills, on the right they are covered in withering, brown corn stalks on the left, the dark green of pine forests, with brown, bare tea bushes in neat rows lower down in the valley. This high up, the sweltering heat of the lowlands is gone, the air is cool and crisp like an autumn day. If I didn’t know better I would think I’m somewhere in Europe.… Read the rest
This is the most exploited beach I’ve seen in a long time. Miles and miles of parasols and deck chairs set back from the water under the the shade of a row of trees, behind them, a wide road lined with shops and restaurants and out in the water, by some floating jetties, a whole flotilla of boats and jet skis. Far in the distance, tall white skyscrapers that I can only presume are hotels. I like a good beach but this level of exploitation kills the relaxed vibe.… Read the rest
The backside of the reclining Buddha, all you can see of the statue is his back, the folds of his robes hanging down to the pedestal and the pillars supporting the roof. On the opposite side of the corridor is a row of brass bowls on little stands. In each one of them is a number of coins and the room is filled with the plinking sound as people keep dropping more coins in the bowls. They go along the corridor, dropping a coin in each one then moving on to the next. It’s some kind of ritual and though … Read the rest
Two buildings right next to each other, one predominantly blue, the other predominantly green. The walls are covered in glazed, lozenge shaped tiles, each of which is adorned with a bas relief flower; the gaps between the tiles is painted gold. The multi tiered roofs, tiled in red and green, are supported by pillars covered in mirror glass mosaic sparkling with silver in the sun, and gold painted decorations. It’s all a bit hard to take in, so much splendor, so much fine detail. Of course, it doesn’t help that the place is crowded with tourists, every time you want … Read the rest
Bats, thousands, maybe even millions of them are streaming out of a large hole high up on the cliff face. They flow out in a long stream across the road, over the tree tops and out into the fields, flying back and forth and around each other at random, which makes it look like a pillar of black smoke, billowing in the wind. I stand watching, caught in a state of utter fascination.… Read the rest
A small stage: the backdrop, the curtains and all the other hangings are made from silver colored spangly cloth. At the center of the backdrop is a large photograph showing three men in make up and women’s clothing with the text “Free Daily Ladyboy Show” printed in purple across the bottom. Along the front edge of the stage is a line of multi colored LED lights, and above it a large mirror ball. There are no proper seats for the audience, just two rows of pink massage chairs, the people having their massage getting treated to a free show no … Read the rest
This place is absolutely massive, in fact it’s the largest building in the world, so it should be able to swallow massive amounts of visitors. Yet here I am, in the longest queue I’ve seen in more than two months of traveling. From the stairs leading up to the main stupa, it goes around the corner all the way along the north wall, down to the opposite side of the stupa. I don’t like standing in line but I can’t come to the most famous temple ruin in south east Asia and skip the main shrine, so here I stand…… Read the rest
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