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January 14, 2011
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Experiences, Oceania
After only two hours on the South Island, I was off to a rocky start with hitch-hiking. But once the Germans saved me from the torrential rain, my second lift came easily. Dave picked me up when I was eating a sandwich and looking the other way, blindly thumbing the air. He was a consultant …
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January 2, 2011
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Experiences, Oceania
Prejudices efore I even landed, I loved New Zealand. From great kiwis I’ve met traveling (like Tarn, who saved us from being arrested a second time in China), the beautiful landscapes I’ve seen in film and television (Lord of the Rings, anyone), the sensible policies the country has adopted (eg. the
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December 10, 2010
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Experiences, Oceania
Rooftops and Alleyways On my way to meet my mother for a week in Tasmania I popped into Melbourne for a few days to see what everyone is raving about. At first I was overwhelmed with black t-shirts too long, slipper shoes with no socks, heads shaved on the sides but bouffy on top, and …
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November 20, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
Zero Stars, Insufficient Jets During my last week in Myanmar I received 2 emails from JetStar, urgently advising me that my flight Singapore-Perth had changed it’s flight number. I scanned the itinerary and confirmed my flight leaving Yangon hadn’t changed. So when I arrived at the Yangon airport to
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November 15, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
Laughing All The Way to Prison Last week Myanmar had its first “elections” in 20 years. The news anchor for the state television channel assured me they would be “free and fair”, but with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest (where she’s been for 14 of
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November 9, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
Hold On n Burma, new cars are as rare as free-speech. In Mawlawmyine (formerly Moulmein), they still use awesome old Chevrolet trucks from WW2. Besides a few Land Rovers driven by the Generals or the politically well-connected, cars are from the 80s or earlier. And most have right-hand driver setup. This
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November 1, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
As expected, we’ve had a few snags trying to surf the internet since arriving in Myanmar over a week ago. We’ve barely even waded in it — I’d call it splashing. During the few minutes each hour that the internet is actually working and assuming there’s power, we’re still restricted
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October 23, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
High Country When we disembarked after dawn in the highland town of Sapa, we were met by the infamous packs of local H’Mong and Dzay women selling handicrafts to foreigners. Birdlike, they call out, “You buy from me!” A trio quickly attached themselves to the hapless Jon. For the next 24 hours, each
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October 19, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
Easy Riders There is a special episode of Top Gear where the hosts buy old motorcycles in Vietnam (cars are too expensive here) and ride north up the country. One of the two most spectacular places along the way is the 150km coastal/mountain road from Hoi An to Hue. I was determined to do this …
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October 15, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
The Mekong Delta. The name carries with it exotic, dangerous, even haunting associations, from countless war movies. It was the first place in Vietnam I spotted, through my window. From the air it appears a rich solid green, divided by hundreds of muddy, sinuous waterways. But the sun, reflecting strongly off this
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September 17, 2010
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Experiences, Oceania
The Arrival The night before my flight was to depart Perth, and still no word from Jolene. I was flying to Darwin, to meet two friends for the middle part of their roadtrip. We were going to see two of Australia’s most renowned areas: The Top End (around Darwin), and The Kimberley (the northernmost
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July 14, 2010
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Asia, Experiences
I write (the beginning of) this as I munch on the results of my final ₩18000: Dried sea weed—with a dash of sesame—purchased in the airport only 5 minutes before boarding to leave this country. And only 3 calories per sheet! Diagonal Bisector We left Seoul with incredible speed. Not because we feared the
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