Category Archives: travel writing

On Attending a Stranger’s Funeral in Thailand

Thai monks always remind me of Discworld wizards, vaguely comical, and either morbidly obese or so body-horror sinewy you wonder whether their organs are still on the inside. “My dear, you have black dress?” My heart sank. Nina’s English can be a little cryptic at times. She couldn’t mean did I have a black dress;Continue reading “On Attending a Stranger’s Funeral in Thailand”

A Journey Through Naypyidaw

The ferry-bus was taking us across the tarmac at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. The destination was the plane into Myanmar. It appeared a relatively new jet, which was reassuring as air travel safety is always a concern – you hear stories. As the idea of living to see tomorrow settled in the mind, the bus pulledContinue reading “A Journey Through Naypyidaw”

Lessons from a Decade of Travelling

I was awaiting the departure of my plane. My phone rang; my mum’s departing words were ‘Don’t bring back a girl that does the ping-pong ball trick’. One of us had no illusions of what awaited; it wasn’t me, clearly. That call now approaches it’s ten-year anniversary, COVID sees me staying a kilometre from whereContinue reading “Lessons from a Decade of Travelling”

A Journey Through Naypyidaw

The ferry-bus was taking us across the tarmac at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. The destination was the plane into Myanmar. It appeared a relatively new jet, which was reassuring as air travel safety is always a concern – you hear stories. As the idea of living to see tomorrow settled in the mind, the bus pulledContinue reading “A Journey Through Naypyidaw”

On the Chachoengsao – Bangkok Train

Fighting to get a seat means you might not lose face but you might lose a limb. The reader should disavow themselves of the widespread delusion that train travel in Asia was ever a romantic experience. Those holding fantastical thoughts of exotic winds, picturesque villages and exotic locals are likely to be disappointed. The windContinue reading “On the Chachoengsao – Bangkok Train”

On Attending a Stranger’s Funeral in Thailand

Thai monks always remind me of Discworld wizards, vaguely comical, and either morbidly obese or so body-horror sinewy you wonder whether their organs are still on the inside. “My dear, you have black dress?” My heart sank. Nina’s English can be a little cryptic at times. She couldn’t mean did I have a black dress;Continue reading “On Attending a Stranger’s Funeral in Thailand”