Travelogue
Anti-Government Protests in Bangkok - Taking It To The Streets
On Sunday, 22 December 2013, Thailand’s opposition parties staged major demonstrations in the country’s capital designed to disrupt traffic and tell the government they wanted major reform of government processes. The crowds promised to be among the largest ever assembled in the history of the Kingdom. They had already announced they would be boycotting the elections promised by caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Sinawatra, scheduled for February 2014 following the dissolution of Thailand’s parliament on 9 December The message is a whole new system, though how such change is to be undertaken is unclear, as the country would still need to be run in the meantime.The crowds began gathering early in the morning at major junctions all over Bangkok. At Democracy Monument the major boulevards were closed to traffic. Instead of being impassable to traffic they were now blocked by pedestrians. Giant marquees were set up and public address system too. The police were entirely absent. The demonstrators were well organised and good-humoured. They had appointed traffic controllers at major intersections to divert traffic. Many buses on Bangkok streets weren’t running or operating truncated services.The banners asked ‘Why are you afraid of reform?” and asking for free and fair elections, declaring ‘our votes are not for sale’. There were caricatures of the former Thai prime minster, Thaksin Sinawatra, deposed by a military coup in 2006. Hand held signs referred to him as a
Frying Fish - Civil and Political Unrest in Cambodia - 15 February 2014
There are some golden rules when writing on events in Southeast Asia. One of these is never write anything critical of Cambodia’s ruling elite. Expatriates in Cambodia are not invulnerable to the machinations of the domestic political scene and unwanted attention from those well connected is not something you should covet. That’s why it’s
New Zealand Football's Mexican Stand-Off - 20 November 2013
The play-off for a place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil second leg in Wellington on 20 November was in stark contrast to four years before at the same venue. New Zealand had just been ‘thumped’ 5-1 by Mexico in the cauldron of the Azteca Stadium, one of football’s most iconic grounds. Prospects for qualification in the home leg were
Prostitutes, Transvestites and Junkies - Wellington's Royal Oak Hotel Bistro Bar - 26 October 2013
Port cities usually have their more lurid attractions and more than their fair share of characters. Wellington was no exception. The city has a rich maritime history dating back to the 1840s. Where there are ships and sailors there are usually bars. Auckland had the notorious Snake Pit but Wellington’s Bistro Bar at the Royal Oak Hotel was
Wellington - Like a Hurricane - 28 September 2013
They call Chicago “The Windy City” but it has nothing on New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. Whereas Chicago’s moniker was apparently derived for the hot air and rhetoric of local politicians, “Windy Wellington” is so named because it is just that, bloody windy; like a hurricane. Old sailors’ claimed that below latitude 40 degrees south
White Cockies Can Bite - 30 August 2013
On what was once the outskirts of Melbourne, at the foothills of the Dandenong Range in Scoresby, 25 km from Melbourne, are the Caribbean Gardens. There’s a lake, Lake Caribbean; markets, the Caribbean Market. Nearby are the Caribbean business park and a large display yard full of boats, Caribbean boats. The market is a drive away. Like just
Shake, Rattle and Roll - 26 July 2013
Wellington is one of the most earthquake-prone cities in one of the world’s most earthquake ridden countries, New Zealand. The city sits along a series of major fault lines where every day thousands of people live and work. On average, there is an earthquake every 30 seconds, most of them too small for people to detect. The “big one” locals tell
Grand Palace Bangkok - Dance of the Emerald Kings - 30 June 2013
The Grand Palace is a city within a city in the heart of Bangkok. It was built by royal decree when the kings owned all the land and held the power of life and death. To some extent Thai kings still do, due to Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws.It is said the palace is best first viewed from the Chao Phraya River, the city’s less than
Phnom Penh to Saigon - Slow Road to the Fast City - 31 May 2103
The road from Phnom Penh was narrow, uneven and the much promised leg room for passengers only held true if you were Cambodian. Traffic was slow, often reaching a near crawl behind agricultural machinery towing trailers packed with passengers or avoiding bicycles or overloaded motos, all competing for too little space offered on National
