We’re not beach people. Trish and I find beach culture monotonous. Getting sauted in the sun whilst under-sized speedos on oversized bellies strut around isn’t exactly the height of culture. Just recently I skipped el cheapo beach destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and India. So why go to Barbados? Well if you’re asking, you don’t […]
With the Canadian dollar under 70 cents to the Yankee greenback, Miami was only meant to be a 3 day pitstop between Mexico City and Barbados. 5 million ppl board these floating hedonist palaces each year in Miami, making it the world’s busiest concentration of ppl named Ethel and Fred. Miami Beach is a […]
Before the purgatory of work, it’s great to be on the road again, even if only for a month. This time my trusty wingman Trish is back in the saddle, joined for a few days with long haul loner Marc Brown in his annual escape from the real cold. For those who think of Mexico […]
Be forewarned, this here lies the last, latest and longest post, covering all my India…. It’s a well worn cliche that people go to India to find themselves. I’d be happy to just find my ass, having been kicked around so much. India throws everything at you and takes no prisoners. You either love it […]
Mandalay and area U Bein Bridge, Mandalay Longest teak bridge in the world….as if the world was filled with teak bridges Stuck in the dustbowl town ( they all are) of Moanywa, I scraped bottom. In retrospect going from Japan to Myanmar, and glued to your wingman 24/7 to solo was a leap I didn’t […]
World Toilet Day, November 19, 2015 From a public health and quality of life perspective, Al Jazeera TV showed some of the world’s worst toilets. I think I’ve already left my mark on a few with the worse to come in India. At this moment in the table behind me a woman is hammered with […]
Less than a week and two countries ago, Trish and I parted from each other and also jettisoned from Japan, one of the most mono-cultural countries. She’s back in Canada, and I’ve just left Malaysia, which was only supposed to be an acclimatization for Myanmar. But I spent the better part of three days glued […]
Compared to Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka doesn’t merit much of a sniff if you’re into Japanese history, culture and art. Where Tokyo is reserved and worldly, Kyoto is elegant and snotty, Osakans are Newfies by comparison. Supposedly food and shopping demons, they’re also into manufactured fun. The comic capital of Japan, it’s also home to […]
This is the hardest entry to write. We’ve only a few days left, having just left Kyoto for Osaka. After Kyoto anything else in Japan already feels anti-climatic. Our minds are also elsewhere….Myanmar and home as Trish soon hits the eject button and we separate for at least two months. Where Tokyo is brash and […]
We open this blog the only way we can, with the tragedy of Hiroshima, which has since become a miracle through its rebirth and renaissance. Not the warmest pict, but perhaps the most poignant. This bike belonged to a boy just a month shy of his fourth birthday. He was incinerated by the blast. His […]