Xin Chào from Cam Ranh, The Việtnamese people have a long list of wonderful qualities ; mostly attitudinal and behavioural. But there’s one habit which assails the sensibilities. They don’t seem to care about the environment. They are very neat people who spend a lot of time cleaning their neighbourhoods and their own …Read More
Xin Chào from Mũi Né, One of the significant consumer trends in recent decades has been the big shift away from fake towards authentic. It’s a reaction to the relentless upsurge of fakery in all sorts of consumer items. The Chinese manufacturing juggernaut has flooded the world with plastic this and counterfeit that. Even international …Read More
G’day from Western Australia, The magnificent Karri and Jarrah forests in south-west WA have been here for a very long time. When the Europeans arrived in the nineteenth century, they brought axes and bibles. Even though we’ve had nearly 200 years to knock them all down, mostly the trees are still standing. Who do …Read More
Xin Chào from Côn Đảo, We are on Côn Đảo, a group of islands due south from Hồ Chí Minh City. The 16 islands look like they all formed the volcano and we are staying on the rim. The beachfront is within the massive crater, now filled by encroached seawater. It’s a warm day …Read More
Xin Chào from Côn Đảo, When the French colonised Việt Nam in the mid-19th century, they enforced their will on a proud people with brutality and strength. One little-known site here on Côn Đảo exemplifies this as well as any. In 1862 Colonel Roussex ordered 20 prisoners to dig the graves for dozens of murdered …Read More
Goede middag van Amsterdam, It’s nearly always true that one doesn’t know what to expect of a city/country/destination until you are actually there on the ground. The dykes of The Netherlands are yet another example of the truism. “You can’t go to The Netherlands without seeing the dykes,” mused Linda during our …Read More
Guten Morgan from Friedrichshafen, It’s funny how something can go from an absolute symbol of technical success one day to the exact opposite the next day. The Zeppelin has this dubious distinction. Yesterday, we visited the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen on the picturesque Bodensee in Southern Germany. It’s here that the zeppelins were manufactured …Read More
Goede middag van Eindhoven, Linda is fulfilling a lifelong ambition by visiting The Netherlands this week. The neat and picturesque countryside is keeping her smiling broadly and over-using that favourite adjective of hers (“lovely”). We have been bicycling breezily from one quaint village to another enjoying the art history here in the south …Read More
Bonjour from Paris, Why do people want to visit places like the Château de Versailles? A recent survey of a sample of the forty million annual visitors helps to answer this question. 4% of respondents say they are concerned about the human condition, hoping that witnessing such excesses helps to stave off …Read More
Salve dal Sud Tirol, I don’t suppose Copper Age man was paying too much attention to the scenery five thousand years ago, but today Sud Tirol is one of the most picturesque places in Europe (as well as the richest). After staying the night at Laghetti – having been the guests of honour at …Read More