Tag Archives: people

It was a Sunday. And the sky was full of rain. In spite of that, hill tribe children were at school, scrubbed and dressed in their traditional clothing, ready with smiles to greet our group of visitors. It always amazes me how cheerfully Thai students – especially those from farming hill tribe families in the remote northern […]

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Isn’t it wonderful how a particular song can take you right back? Back to the time and place you were when you first heard it? Music makes connections – across people, across continents, and across time. The first time I attended the Byron Bay Bluesfest, back in 1999 when it was still called the East […]

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India is a sensory feast: a multilayered tapestry of sights and sounds in colours that pulsate, wrapped in a rich weave of smells, where the aromas of flowers and cardamon battle with the stink of dust and refuse and the unwashed. Even the air has tangible depth. Nowhere is this better epitomised than in Chandni Chowk, one […]

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I love driving into Thailand’s green, jungle-draped mountains, where the clouds hang so low they look like snow patches, and the sun traces the outlines of dark post-afternoon rainclouds and glints off the golden Buddhas and bejewelled temple rooftops. If you turn off the highways, however, it is not long before the ornate temples – and […]

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Support your local musicians! In Australia, this is easy, for in the world of music – as with just about every other creative endeavour – the country is extraordinarily well represented, per capita, with talented individuals who work hard at their craft. Although I love getting to see the international “big names” whenever I attend the […]

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