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    My traffic-island haven

    Hiking Nature Personal Thailand Writing
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    That's Hinsh (left) and me (right) taking time out at our traffic-island haven

    Who would imagine that a traffic island, surrounded by highways and slip roads, flyovers and underpasses, not to mention the constant roar of vehicles, could be a great place to unwind?


    Yet that’s where I go whenever I see a chance to get away from my computer and worries about the state of the world. I hop in my car and go and meet my mate Hinsh at the traffic island to do a few laps of a walking and running track that’s bordered by trees and a small lake.


    As we amble along, we chat about everything under the sun—the football World Cup, the weather, international disasters, gossip about friends and tips for stories that might sell (Hinsh is a writer too). Somehow the shady setting and splish-splash of fountains in the lake helps to soothe my mind, and when I head home after an hour or so I feel recharged, ready for another session of writing travel tales or dreaming up pitches for editors.

    

    There’s a simple explanation for this odd state of affairs. Firstly, though I love living in Chiang Mai, the city has almost no public parks, so small spaces like our traffic island attract locals eager for a taste of nature. Secondly, Hinsh and I live in different districts of the city, and the Chiang Mai 700-Year Park is a convenient spot to meet up. 


    The irony of this public space is that it’s not accessible to pedestrians, who could never cross the multiple lanes of fast-flowing traffic that hold the island in their grip. But once parked on the island, the snarl of engines seems to fade away and the combination of fluttering leaves, whispering breeze and ripples in the lake make the place a refreshing retreat.


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    Walking with Nature

    Hiking Nature Personal Photography Publishing Thailand Writing
    One reason I love living in North Thailand (apart from the super-friendly people, benign climate and scrumptious food) is the chance to go wandering along trails in the foothills of the Himalaya. In the last three decades, I've hiked many of them, and now I've curated six of the best for Nikkei Asia. Enjoy walking with Nature!
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    The Power of Friendship

    Hiking Nature Personal Photography Reviews UK
    A tribute to Colin Moore
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    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.

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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    Jurassic Coast abstract

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    Picking up the Pieces

    Buddhism Hiking Historical Nature Personal Photography Publishing Social Issues Writing
    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.
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    In Search of Chiang Mai's Past

    Hiking Historical Personal Thailand
    The first of several heritage walks
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    Graham Jefcoate (centre) introduces the walk

    After almost two years of Covid-induced hibernation, a small group of intrepid individuals met to look into Chiang Mai’s history as part of the Payap University Lifelong Learning programme. The walk, led by Graham Jefcoate, focussed on the east bank of the Ping River. This was where Chiang Mai’s early farang (foreign) residents – an odd mix of missionaries and mercenaries – lived and worked in the late 19th century.
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    The former First Church

    The walk began opposite the former First Church of Chiang Mai, which is now part of the Chiang Mai Christian School. It was designed and erected in the 1880s by Marion Cheek, a medical missionary turned teak trader who was one of the city’s most colourful foreign residents. Besides this church, he was responsible for building the first sturdy bridge over the river and the city’s first hospital.
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    The Waterfall Walk

    Hiking Nature Personal Photography Thailand
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    One of the many reasons that I love living in Chiang Mai is the nearby presence of Doi Suthep, the city’s ‘guardian mountain’, which rises about 1600 metres above sea level. The most popular place on the mountain is the temple called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which sits at an elevation of around 1300 metres and on a clear day offers sweeping views of the city and valley below.
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    While this temple is one of the must-see sights of Chiang Mai for visitors, there’s a place I much prefer to go to enjoy the mountain’s tranquil, natural surroundings. It’s a trail that leads up the mountain about 300 metres, taking about an hour, and ends at a dramatic waterfall that runs all year. I never fail to finish that walk in a better mood than I started.