"Pew, Pew, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub"-- Ecclesiastes, 2:17I'm aware that I spent most of the last entry complaining about the Kho San road, and then the rest of it slagging off the Devil Wears Prada. All I can say in my defence is that I like complaining, and the Devil Wears Prada really is the worst film in the entire world.Anyway.The Kho San Road being what it is, it came as only small surprise that I should bump into someone I know - namely ...

"Nothing is static... Everything is evolving... Everything is falling apart"-- Fight Club"I just feel like everyone tries to do something different, but you always wind up doing the same damn thing"-- The BeachThey say that all roads in South East Asia lead to Bangkok, and that all roads in Bangkok lead to the Khao San Road. The heart of the international backpacker community - cheaper than all western destinations, not as complicated as Tibet or as daunting as C...

"I was there the day the strength of men failed".-- The Fellowship of the Ring The VIP bus from Vientiane to Pakse was, for once, a VIP bus. That it to say the air conditioning worked, and there wasn't a man on board with a Kalashnikov. They also gave us some free food, a free bottle of cold water, and in the morning (for t'was a night bus) they gave us a refrigerated napkin with which to mop our brow..... Now that's class. True, not all was perfect; ...

"Accept no substitute"-- Jackie BrownLuang Prabang proved to be a rather delightful place (and I apologise for using the word delightful, but I promise to swear later on to balance it out). It was by the Mekong river, lined with palm trees and mosquitos, populated by westerners either buying tat at the night markets or opium from taxi drivers. At night we would meet up with our new group of life-partners (Fred, Chris, Andrew and Will) at the sports bar which, to ...

Ni hao folks. Its been a while but once again I had a vision. Mike has started his China reflections so I shan't tread on his furry toes. I just have a few bullet point observations and travel trips aimed at no-one in particular.-- Driving.Driving in China is fine as long as you follow these simple user rules.Rule 1. i) The vehicle in front is your enemy, its driver hates you and your entire family. You must overtake him at all costs. ii) If you can overtake ...