10 Ways to Tell Your Child Has Been in Asia A Long Time
1: A desire for previously unknown accessories in routine consumables. Eg? “I want that toothbrush, mum, definitely that one.” “Why?” “It has a built-in tongue...
Category: Travel Lifestyle
In Which the Family Dines in Considerable Style
It was my Dad who said it first. “That singer,” he whispered, over the sound of a particularly special Malaysian band. “Is she actually a...
"Mum! FEET!!!"
It is amazing how fast children adapt to and internalise the conventions, taboos, the social norms and etiquette of another culture. And not just by...
Does the Tooth Fairy Take Lao Kip?
So junior’s molar, which has been threatening to drop for the last few weeks, finally did the deed today. He hasn’t, historically, had the best...
On Books
Back in Udomxay, the construction town in northern Laos where our two-day odyssey from Vietnam reached a natural close, we met a crazy Canadian chap...
Global Time = Quality Time
My son and I set out to travel the world together in January. I’d imagined many wonderful things about the journey. What I hadn’t imagined is the sheer quality and quantity of time together.
Shopping Mission — Hanoi
It was S’s (the nine-year-old’s father’s) last day with us today. And we spent it in Hanoi. The bulk of it, in fact… drum roll…...
Cornucopia (Dinner Friday)
This is the fruit stall in the alleyway next to our guesthouse, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Friday evening. It’s just an ordinary store. Nothing fancy....
Easy Riders
We’ve been exploring Cat Ba island, which splatters like a Rorschach blot off the northern coast of Vietnam, trailing 300-odd islets in its wake. It’s...
Backpacks and Zacpacks
One of the reasons for the longish silence I’ve been keeping is that Z’s dad joined us in Vietnam this last weekend. The boy, it...