Year: 2016
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 8
Thailand, 19th November, 2012. Ancient rock art, meditation caves and car accidents. Today – riding back to Nong Khai, which will end my Mekong River journey. It’s been a week of eight days. Must be a song in that somewhere. Fog and wispy cloud combined for a colourful Sangkhom sunrise. The farmer from next door passed via Dtoy’s footbridge (she […]
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The Day AD
Further to yesterday’s post and the passing of King Bhumibol, Thailand’s much revered monarch… According to the Roof View Place receptionist, today the king’s body would be transported from the hospital to the Grand Palace, which isn’t far from here. Thais will head en masse to this part of town to pay respect, and catching a bus to anywhere else […]
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Touching down as a King passes away
Our plane arrived early due to favourable winds, but we landed in Bangkok to less fortuitous reports the King of Thailand had passed away. Not that I’m putting any more into this than coincidence, though visits to Thailand have often coincided with events surrounding the king. Life appeared to be proceeding as normal on the way from the airport to Phranakorn, but […]
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 7
Thailand. 17th November, 2012 Sunday in Sangkhom Overcast again at the rise, so I watched the long-tail boats coming and going, motoring across calm, misty waters, to and from Laos. There was more river traffic this morning, but whether it being Sunday had anything to do with that I didn’t know. I would ask Dtoy. Crossing for breakfast I encountered […]
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Tequila Torquay
These ‘tequila’ sunrises were taken in the Downunder Torquay as opposed to the one in Britain. No mixed drinks, Mexican or otherwise were consumed, though it was mid-winter and a stiff drink might have helped ward off the chill. I settled for a brisk walk.
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 6
16th November, 2012 Coffee (as usual), caves and curious lights: Cloudy morning dullness discouraged efforts to rise early, though I was still up by 7.30 for a hefty banana pancake and a pot of tea. Dtoy didn’t have any knowledge about the light I observed traversing the hills above Laos last night. It still wasn’t identified, so it remained a […]
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Benalla let’s it all hang out
The rural city of Benalla in Kelly Country, North East Victoria, recently held its second Wall to Wall street-art festival, where town buildings are set aside for local and international artists to use as their creative canvas. As a former Benalla boy, I can say that past things ‘arty’ haven’t always been greeted with unanimous enthusiasm, but the whole community […]
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Mekong Motorcycle Diaries Day 5
15th November, 2012 Chiang Khan to Sangkhom (and first sightings of a UFO): Woke to Thai and Laotian roosters duelling across the Mekong; a croaking crow-fest that fell away in sputters like a slapstick comedy routine. Pim was nowhere to be seen yesterday – she had been in Leoi. She was downstairs now and chatty. She pointed at my bamboo […]
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Songkran and the war against evil
At 1400 hours Bangkok time, in the Buddhist year of 2559 (AD2016), I unwittingly found myself caught in crossfire during the crusade against calamity. Water was the ammunition of choice. There were skirmishes everywhere. None were spared. Samsen Road was lined with citizens in hand-to-hand combat, many camouflaged by white face paint. H2O ammo was launched wilfully in long spouts […]
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When the Black Knight Cats overcame King Rodney and his Knights of the Oval Table
“Oh! Had enough, eh?” taunted the Black Knight while defending a feeble bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, refusing to admit defeat after King Arthur rendered him armless and legless. That’s how it was on the fair fields of Kardinia against the Suns as the Cats lost teammates instead of limbs, protected a vulnerable lead (minus the Python […]
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