Hello again, Am planning to leave the north ofThailand tomorrow for the beach resort of Patong, where I get a boat out for three days scuba diving wednesday to Friday. Since I last wrote I have been taking in the Thai new year in Chaig Mai where it is more enthusiastically celebrated than any other part of the country. This meant that when we headed out on our three day jungle trek on new years day, we were subjected to 'participation' in the celebrations. New ...

Hi, My time in China is just coming to an end. Thanks again to all who have written. I've just caught up with the replies today as I've been on a boat with no internet access over the past 4 days. I can vouch for the fact that my chopsticks skills have been finely honed over the past two weeks. I may have to relearn the old fork and knife routine... Last time I wrote I had arrived in Beijing( formely Peking). Major problem for the tourist in the city is that s...

Hi all, Bit of a step change this week. Flew to Hong Kong(HK) last Wednesday and then onto mainland China (Beijing) on Friday. HK was a massive change of scene. It was overcast. No sun on my head all day and no rickshaw drivers/merchants in your face every 10 seconds. HK is a mainstream western type city. The best way I could sum it up is that it seems to be a massive version of Chinatown you would see in any western city. All the main stores/banks are there. ...

Hi, First of all a big thank you to all those who wrote after my last epistle. It is a real tonic when you are physically isolated from everyone to come in from touring of an evening and get some contact with news from home. Please keep them coming. India is good for email as internet access is everywhere and relatively cheap. I have been able to reply to most people the next day. This may not always be the case in other countries so please be patient if I do n...

Hi, Hope this will just be the first of my updates on travelling around the globe. Have now been in India since Wednesday morning. Plenty to report. India is everything the books say it is, most importantly that nothing can quite prepare you for it, even the experienced traveller. It is the most frenetic, chaotic place imaginable. This email may highlight something of that... I was due to arrive 0125 in Delhi and get the 0815 train to Jaipur. The flight ran l...