Monthly Archives: January 2013 We are having property management problems yet again. Our little holiday cottage, which sits perched on a quiet beach in Koh Samui, Thailand, has been orphaned once more. The situation is not as serious as it was 18 months ago, but it is still distressing to try to deal with agents and cleaners and bills when we are […]  I’ve said it before: the hospitality, friendliness – and general willingness to be be followed around and photographed – of people in small communities off-the-beaten-track, amazes me. The sun was barely up as we descended over the Mandalay region last September, landing at that beautiful, modern facility in the middle of nowhere: the brand new Mandalay International […]  “You will need a bare minimum of three days to see the sights along the Yellowstone road system,” says the Yellowstone Visitors Guide. They are not exaggerating! The Guide goes on to say: “Only 3% of Yellowstone’s visitors ever venture more than 100 yards from the road! Getting out of your car and taking even […]  There can be no better place to recharge one’s batteries and to make plans for the future, than the mountains. Of course, it is fair to say that Australian mountains are more like hills by world standards, with Mt Kosciuskzo, the highest, standing at only 2,228 meters. Even so, whenever I’m in the Snowy Mountains I revel in […]  Enlightenment doesn’t happen overnight. Neither, apparently, does building a temple. I don’t know how long they have been working on the new wihan (พระวิหาร), or shrine hall, at Wat Ratchathammaram (วัดราชธรรมาราม) in Maret on the southeast side of Koh Samui, but we’ve been driving past on the way to or from somewhere for several of our visits […] |
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