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 Portrait of Ho Chi Minh 30 April 2025 is a huge day in the history of Vietnam, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the American War (or American War to the Vietnamese), when tanks of the People's Army of Vietnam from the north smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon. The man who was largely responsible for the reunification of his country was Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam's national hero, who died in 1969 and thus never lived to see his dream realised in 1975. To mark this occasion, I've changed the story posted on my Searching for Shangri-La page, which now recounts a visit to see Uncle Ho in his mausoleum in Hanoi. Quite a moving experience. 
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Like many writers and photographers, I have often hoped to see my work published in top publications like Nat Geo and the BBC. Got into Nat 'Geo some years ago and now have my first story in BBC Travel. Come and savour the delights of slow-life tourism on a tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250220-koh-mak-the-tiny-island-thats-redefining-travel-to-thailand  A tribute to Colin Moore  Colin on the Jurassic Coast Path One of the most rewarding experiences that life has in store for us is when we meet someone with whom we feel an instant connection, then get to know each other better and develop a relationship that enriches our time on this planet. The flipside occurs when that person is gone, leaving a big hole in your life. So it was for me with Colin Moore. I met Colin in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1978 when I arrived to work as an English teacher at the British Institute. Colin worked there in an administrative position, and I was instantly impressed by this affable Scotsman who spoke fluent Spanish (or should I say Venezuelan, which is a bit different) without a trace of a Scottish accent.  A classic Colin Moore creation I soon found out that he was also a very accomplished guitarist, innovative artist and gifted photographer. I still remember a set of black-and-white portraits he took (and developed himself) of the weather-beaten faces of people in an Andean village where he went to live for a while. Colin was one of those rare people – a polymath. Venezuela was a very different place in those days compared to the sorry state it is in today, and although life in Caracas was speedy and sometimes stressful, the city had an ace up its sleeve in its proximity to some fabulous Caribbean beaches. Colin and I and other friends would spend each week deciding which beach to go to at the weekend, then as early as possible on Friday afternoon we would pack our cars (or jeep in Colin’s case) with ice boxes, tents, hammocks, beach games and samples of substances from neighbouring Colombia, then head out for destinations like Choroni, Morrocoy, or La Sabana for a weekend of pure fun, finally heading back to the city on Sunday evening, pouting all the way, usually in a traffic jam.  Colin's studio in Highgate Eventually we both moved on but met up again in London in the mid-1980s when I lived in Kentish Town and Colin bought an artist’s studio in nearby Highgate. He was earning pots of money as a “rebrander” with a top design company, flitting off to God-knows-where to convince the locals that his sketch for their new logo was the way to go. I taught English in a school near Piccadilly Circus, but as with many English teachers, the travel bug was too strong for me to resist so I got a teaching job in Thailand, where I’ve been ever since. Colin came to visit once when his company was vying for a design contract for the new Skytrain in Bangkok, and I crashed out on his sofabed in Highgate several times while teaching summer school at University College London.  Besides being an all-round great guy, Colin produced a memorable book, Propaganda Prints – the History of Art in the Service of Social and Political Change. He also provided mural artwork for Guys Hospital in London and for the Hilton Hotel in Bournemouth, as well as paintings and prints for cabins and public spaces on the SAGA cruise ship Spirit of Adventure. His website, colinmoore.uk.com, stands as testimony to his prodigious talent.  Col's colours The last few times I saw Col was at his cosy hideaway in Chaldon Herring, a picture-postcard village in Dorset just a stone’s throw from the Jurassic Coast Path, a World Heritage Site. We would go for bracing walks along the windy clifftops, then return to his snug abode for scrumptious meals and scintillating conversation. I will go there once more next week, along with a small army of others who came under Colin’s spell, to pay my respects and give thanks to whoever runs this show for allowing our paths to cross.  Jurassic Coast abstract ...(yes, you know the rest)...but it pours. After months of few publications, suddenly it's all happening, so I'm catching up by posting PDFs of three recently published stories on my publications page. They are: – Delve into Thai rice culture – Teak of the town – Thailand's 'Lost Kingdom' (of Wiang Kum Kam) Enjoy!  My first self-published book was Searching for Shangri-La, a collection of a dozen travelogues that are more about myself than the locations they describe. Occasionally I have changed the story that features on my website, and now it’s time for another change. Since we’re deep into the smog season in Chiang Mai, when the city frequently ranks as the most polluted on Earth, I thought it would be a good time to share the title story. There’s an audio version too, so to read about or listen to a lifetime of Searching for Shangri-La in just 15 minutes, just go here.
If you’re someone who gets through a lot of books, chances are you a) read printed books, b) read ebooks, or c) listen to audiobooks. Yet these days we can tailor our requirements to suit our routine, by using Whispersync for Voice.  And here is how it's typically used: And now a tempting offer for you to try it out. For FIVE DAYS ONLY, from 1–5 December 2023 (PST), the ebook of TEAK LORD will be completely FREE on Amazon, and once you’ve downloaded that, click on the audiobook version and you should find it at a greatly reduced price.   This offer is only for Amazon, but if it seems too complicated and you'd rather just try the audiobook experience for free, email me to request a code to download the audiobook on SPOTIFY, and I'll send a link to nearly 10 hours of exciting adventures in the teak forests of Lanna.  The Covid pandemic from 2020 to 2022 not only wiped out millions of lives but it also brought an abrupt halt to the livelihoods of many people, myself included. Suddenly, during global lockdown, there was no demand for a travel writer, quite simply because nobody was travelling.
Now, over a year after the worst of the pandemic has passed, I’m finally beginning to pick up the pieces and get my stories published again. There are still lots of holes in my client list that used to be occupied by guidebook publishers, inflight magazines and the like, but a few have survived and I’m going to post some recently published stories on my ‘peridoicals’ page. These are: Teak Trails (Fah Thai magazine, September 2023). An overview of the teak boom that took place around Chiang Mai in the late 19th century and buildings that date back to that era. A Mindfulness Journey (South China Morning Post, October 2023). A tour of four temples in Chiang Mai that offer meditation courses ranging from one to 26 days. Conquering Doi Luang Chiang Dao (Fah Thai magazine, November 2023). An account of a trek to the summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, arguably the most enjoyable hike in Thailand.  R.I.P. Sir Bobby Charlton (1937–2023) Having spent much of my life outside my home country, I don’t feel I’m a typical Englishman. Yet there’s one English passion that I share, which is a love of football.
Like other kids worldwide, I spent hours as a boy kicking a ball around in the street and the park with my brothers. I was Bobby Charlton, older brother John was Bobby Moore, and younger brother Steve had to go in goal as Gordon Banks; so we were all stars of England’s 1966 World Cup victory. Many a volley I blasted over the bar in an attempt to replicate my hero’s trademark rocket goals. That’s an overused word – ‘hero’ – but I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever known that I idolised so. I was lucky enough to see Bobby Charlton play a few times for Manchester United, alongside George Best and Dennis Law, the ‘United Trinity’ as they’re dubbed. My best night ever was at Wembley in 1968 to watch United beat Benfica and become the first English team to win the European Cup (now known as the Champions League), Bobby scoring the first and last goals in the 4-1 win. I was hooked, and I’ve been a fan of Manchester United ever since. Maybe Sir Bobby chose a good time to bow out, as Man Utd are currently in the doldrums, floundering mid-table in the English Premier League, with insipid performances, uncaring owners, a famous old stadium that is apparently falling apart, and little sign of change. This really shouldn’t surprise me, as I’m a firm believer in the notion that all things must pass, but there’s something unflinchingly loyal in my support for the ‘Red Devils’ that makes me dream the return of glory days is just around the corner. Where is our new Bobby Charlton?  Reflections on Ian McEwan's novel, Lessons Way back in the 1970s, when I was in my 20s, I chanced upon a book that affected me profoundly. Here at last, I thought, is a writer who lives in my world, with all its weirdness and complexity, and can convey it beautifully in prose. The book was First Love, Last Rites, a collection of short stories by a guy called Ian McEwan, and I became an instant fan. Since then, I’ve read most, though not all, of his work – most recently his longest novel of all, Lessons. Lessons is basically a biography of Roland Baines, who has much in common with McEwan – same age, same upbringing, same boarding school education – though presumably McEwan was never tutored at the piano as is Roland, with a complete sex education thrown in. The wonder of Roland, a ‘serial monogamist’, is that he’s not a superhero, just an average guy who muddles his way through life, reacting to situations such as being abandoned by his wife and left with their tiny baby while she goes off to become a famous writer. In a way, Roland is summed up by his part-time professions – tennis coach for the elderly, greeting-card writer and piano player of ‘munch music’ in fancy London hotels; a jack of all trades but master of none. Yet Roland’s a likeable guy, and we tend to root for him as he tries to lose his virginity at the age of 14 before the Cuban missile crisis destroys the world because he doesn’t want to die a virgin. He also smuggles books and records into East Germany before the Wall comes down, avoids using the London Underground after terrorist bombs go off and sits out several lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic. It’s a strange feeling when you’re reading about a fictional character and suddenly think “The author’s writing about me!” So it was as I read about Roland near the end of Lessons: “He was plausible within the digital age, like a man in a cunning disguise, but he remained a citizen of the analogue world.” The epic scale of this novel brings to mind the marvellous Any Human Heart by William Boyd, which follows the life of a writer against a similar backdrop of world events during the 20th century. These references to shared problems of the past help us as readers to sympathize with the protagonist’s inability to steer a comfortable course through his existence. As for the ‘Lessons’ of the title, like the rest of us Roland doesn’t seem to learn from his experiences, whether they be joyful or painful, though he does revisit the most powerful emotional connections from his past, namely the piano tutor and his estranged wife, for poignant end-of-life reunions. On another level, I wonder whether McEwan is hinting that we humans should learn lessons from the tragic world events that chart the course of this book. Towards the end, his concerns are with the unchecked future of Artificial Intelligence and the fact that we are now beyond preventing a 1.5-degree temperature rise that many say will signal the end of our species. I can’t help but think that McEwan wanted to publish this work before it is too late and we are expelled from Planet Earth for not learning our lessons. For anyone unable to attend my recent Teak Talks in Chiang Mai, I have prepared a YouTube presentation of the same content. Just click on the link below and enjoy!  |
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Ron Emmonsis a British writer and photographer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Categories
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