If you haven't been sick for a long long time, say more than 10 years, doing so is a mixture of sweaty discomfort and utter wonder. It is of course unpleasant, but the volume, speed of exit, colour and smell are all fascinating. How can my normally well behaved body do such a thing? To do so whilst experiencing moderate turbulence, wedged into a loo of a Boeing 777 adds a not overly welcome twist to this very odd experience. And so, phase 2 of the holiday star...

I am not sure what made me smile as I speed through the countryside on a train that moves at a speed greater than 70kph. It may have been the familiar landscape with its thatched cottages, rolling hills and places that I know so well. Or it could have been that, if I chose to do so, I could buy and consume booze at 8.30am. 2 things you definitely can't do it Oz: speed through anywhere on a train or drink booze on them at anytime. It could even have been that ...

When I think of urchins, I think of dirty faced lovable rouges, cute kids asking for sweets etc. The word actually comes from the middle east and means hedgehog, which is why Sea Urchins are called urchins. It reflects the fact they are covered in tough black spines rather their lovable roguish nature. Having stepped on one, I think they should be called Sea f***ers. They are reasonably pretty with long elegant black spines and a black body with the occasiona...

I 'm not sure if it's that we are getting old and dull or it's that Yangon isn't the party capital of the world but we saw in 2015 in a taxi traveling through the largely empty streets back to our hotel listening to the odd cry of 'Happy New Year!' and the bang of a few fireworks. Our night had been spent in one of a relatively small number of bars that resemble bars as we know them that exist outside hotels. The place is called Gekko, is stylish and kind of Ja...

Ever heard of Bagan? I hadn't until I read the Lonely Planet guide to Myanmar. It's one of the top 10 places to visit in Myanmar, so we did. Bagan is just one of the towns in the Bagan district and it is broken down to Old and New Bagan, and in its distant history it was the capital of a kingdom in the north of Burma. In about 700 BC the ruling elite decided to stop worshiping the imaginary friends associated with the Hindu faith and start believing the fa...