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THE KID’S SIDE OF THE STORY
My son has his very own blog. Go check out Kidventurer.com for his side of the story.Archives
Thailand Archive
Travel Photo: Bamboo Umbrella Frames
Posted on March 29, 2011 | 1 CommentHandcarved from bamboo, umbrella frames create an abstract pattern of light and shade in Bo Sang, near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Travel Photo: Umbrellas, Bo Sang, Thailand
Posted on December 6, 2010 | No CommentsBo Sang, a village outside Chiang Mai, is the umbrella-making capital of Thailand.
Sign Language
Posted on July 17, 2010 | 6 CommentsOne of my spawn’s many endearing qualities is that he generally, as here with his new friend Solène, looks as though butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. So you wouldn’t...
10 Lines that Say You’re Being Hustled
Posted on July 12, 2010 | 22 CommentsThis rather charming warning sign comes from Wat Pho, Bangkok, home of a 50m reclining Buddha and, it would appear, a gang of light-fingered Playmobil people. Outside the nearby Royal...
Into the Deep
Posted on July 12, 2010 | 12 CommentsWhy learn to dive? Well… Scuba diving opens up an entire new world. There’s the fluid, graceful movement in three dimensions, moving up or down (quite literally) on a breath,...
Penguins in Bangkok
Posted on July 9, 2010 | No CommentsWe didn’t come to Thailand for the penguins. But there’s something surreally magical about stepping out of 35 degrees of sweaty, humid heat and coming face to face with these...
Vertigo, Bangkok
Posted on July 8, 2010 | 7 CommentsThis is the view from Vertigo, the aptly named, open-air bar which sits on the sixtieth floor above the Banyan Tree hotel, Bangkok. And I honestly can’t think of a...
Zorb Balls and Sky Coasters
Posted on July 7, 2010 | 9 CommentsThinking of taking the kids to Thailand this year? One of the huge benefits of the general nervousness right now is the instant availability of fun of all kinds. With...
Imagine Peace
Posted on July 4, 2010 | 2 CommentsJunior remarked the other day, “I do hope the shirt war doesn’t start again while we’re in Bangkok.” And my mother asked me over the phone, “How is Bangkok right...
If Bangkok was a Colour…
Posted on July 3, 2010 | 4 CommentsIf Bangkok had a colour, it would most definitely be pink. Hot pink. Like a bar girl’s brassiere, or those gorgeous metallic fuchsia and violet taxis which ply the streets...
"Mum! FEET!!!"
Posted on June 30, 2010 | 7 CommentsIt is amazing how fast children adapt to and internalise the conventions, taboos, the social norms and etiquette of another culture. And not just by eating crickets, as the nine...
At the Orphanage
Posted on June 28, 2010 | 5 CommentsOur first volunteering stint as a family brought us to Baan Kingkaew orphanage, a home for orphaned children aged from three months to six years old. I’d wondered before whether...
Sweet Charity? On Volunteering
Posted on June 26, 2010 | 7 CommentsI have an aversion to the idea of volunteering overseas which dates back to a hospital bed in small town Mali. It wasn’t the extended families cooking on open fires...
Elephant Artists
Posted on June 25, 2010 | 82 CommentsElephant artists? Painting elephants? Now, like baby pandas, that’s something you don’t see every day. The pachyderms of Maesa Camp work with an incredible concentration. Squinting through their long eyelashes...
Seeing the Light
Posted on June 24, 2010 | No CommentsThere’s a brilliance about the light in the medieval temples of northern Thailand. It glints off mirrored mosaics, gold buddhas and gilded towers, off gaudy dragons and solemn elephants, illuminates...
A Tiger Petting Zoo
Posted on June 22, 2010 | 28 CommentsA petting zoo — with tigers? Truly, only in Thailand! But few children would pass up the chance to pet, stroke and cuddle a real, live, furry tiger cub at...
Western-Thai Dating: A Driver’s Guide
Posted on June 21, 2010 | 10 CommentsOne of the most consistently entertaining aspects of the courting ritual indulged in by ageing Western men and much younger South-East Asian women is the inaugural motorbike outing. Now, as...
Ecotourism? My *rse
Posted on June 21, 2010 | No CommentsMonday morning sees us in Chiang Mai, for centuries capital of an independent state, sometimes Siamese, other times Burmese, now the hub of northern Thailand. If you’re Thai, it’s a...
Bangkok (Not Very) Dangerous
Posted on March 27, 2010 | 2 CommentsHonestly. Why take the bus when you can take the train?! Even in second class, the night train from Nong Khai to Bangkok is a real joy, particularly after our...
Welcome to Cambodia!
Posted on January 29, 2010 | No CommentsThere is something particularly unwelcoming about the phrase, “You give money now.” Particularly when spoken in a Khmer accent. The language isn’t tonal, so you lose all the mellifluous softening...
