So there we were. Living our best life. A gentle breeze, shady trees, children laughing. Relaxing with good books and drinks in hand sitting on those ubiquitous green plastic outdoor chairs. Well. more like balancing than sitting as the chair legs kept disappearing down into the soft sand! We are on the picture-perfect Areia Branca beach, just a stone's throw from the water one way, and to our accommodation the other. Three days into our Timor trip and we were ...

So there we were. Living our best life. A gentle breeze, shady trees, children laughing. Relaxing with good books and drinks in hand sitting on those ubiquitous green plastic outdoor chairs. Well. more like balancing than sitting as the chair legs kept disappearing down into the soft sand! We are on the picture-perfect Areia Branca beach, just a stone's throw from the water one way, and to our accommodation the other. Three days into our Timor trip and we were ...

After eight days of exploring the countryside of Taiwan, we find ourselves weather bound with torrential rain, thunder and lightening making the pleasures of the romantically named Sun Moon Lake a little harder to discover. It's OK though. We have a 5th floor fabulous hotel room right on the lake, good books to read and time to reflect on the amazing sights and experiences of our time in Taiwan. From the stunning marble gorge and Mountains of Taroko, to the be...

There's no hassle or hustle. There's no begging or bamboozle. There's no litter or leering. This is a clean, kind, caring Asia. Everyone respects the walking man at crosswalks, (we are kindly given the seconds allowed to cross on a screen), everyone respects queuing in an orderly way and the MRT has queue lines either side of the exact spot the door will open with a central clear area marked for those alighting. Best of all the Taiwanese respect personal space -...

Khaosan Road, Bangkok - the cacophony of noise and colour assaults the senses of the new, open mouthed arrivals, weighed down with their oversized backpacks, undersized credit card limits, and daring dreams of Thai adventures. This place has a long held notorious and infamous reputation as the backpacking melting pot of Asia. Its notoriety was further enhanced by the book and movie "The Beach". We spent time here during our 2005 trip and absolutely loved it....