Cab Journey from Hell #1
I really thought, by now, after over four months in Asia and experience with virtually every taxi scam permutation known to man, my naïve London...
Tagged: Family
The Reunification Express
We flew from Manila into Saigon last week, the day after Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, and rode the Reunification Express 1600km or so upcountry to...
Unschooling. Or Learning as You Go.
It’s a truism that one learns by travelling, and a cliche that travel broadens the mind. From the days when English noblemen embarked on that...
Farewell to Manila
There is such a thing, when playing hide and seek, as being too clever for one’s own good. In which category I would have to...
The Inflatable Waterpark
This technicolour dream palace is indisputably special. Possibly a little “special needs” too. What is it? You may well ask. For this, my friend, is...
Working Girl
MJ’s been working bars since she was fifteen. Standard shifts. 6pm to 6am. She was an Avon Lady before that, but this pays better. She’s...
Full Fathom Five…
There is a sepulchral magic to a shipwreck. Viewed from underwater, with russet filigrees of sea ferns flourishing on the fractured edges of a shell...
Cargo Boats and Commandos
I’m a great fan of authenticity in travel. Travelling, where possible, as the locals do, which, given the wealth divide in the Philippines, means either...
A Serpent in Paradise
The labyrinth of reef-fringed karsts around El Nido, Palawan, must be one of the best island-hopping destinations in the world. Whether above water or under...
El Nido
After a few weeks in the Philippines, one becomes almost inured to beauty. Almost, but not quite, for El Nido, in the north of Palawan,...