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    Adios Hola!

    Personal Reviews Social Issues Thailand UK
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    ADIOS HOLA!
    "Goodbye hello!”…reminds me of an old Beatles song, but the website hola.org is something much more insidious than anything we knew when we used to go round singing “I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello”.

    A friend recommended it as a useful site that would enable me to watch programmes on the BBC iPlayer, which is generally not available outside the UK, as well as any other websites that are generally blocked in the land where I live—Thailand.

    Being a sucker for anything that makes life a bit easier or more fun, I downloaded it and for a couple of weeks enjoyed my new-found freedom—watching the final of Wimbledon tennis and a few insightful documentaries—but then the trouble began.
  • Published on

    Messed up in Mae Sot

    Personal Thailand Writing
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    The Thai border post at Mae Sot on a rainy day

    To be a successful guidebook writer, you need not only good research and writing skills, but also a good sense of direction. This is one area of the job in which I normally feel quite confident, as I spent a few years driving minicabs in London as well as driving buses for London Transport, and I reckon if you can find your way around London, you can find your way anywhere.

    When I’m on the road researching a guidebook update, I often have a list of 30 or more hotels, restaurants, bars, spas, pharmacies and so on that I need to locate each day in order to decide if they are worth recommending for the new edition of the guide. With the help of maps in the guidebook and online, I usually manage OK, but sometimes things go wildly wrong, and I always get messed up in Mae Sot.
  • Published on

    Water Summit Sunk by Hot Air

    Photography Social Issues Thailand

    I had an interesting job last week—shooting images for a company that was exhibiting and presenting technical workshops at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit in my hometown, Chiang Mai. My brief was to provide images of interested visitors at their booth as well as members of staff interacting with VIPs (mostly heads of state).
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    Though my task was only to take photos, I couldn’t help forming an impression of the event as an interested bystander. Like everyone else, I’m a big fan of water, and I dread the day when our taps run dry. Unfortunately, now the summit is over, that day seems closer than ever. 
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    Photographers at the Water Summit

  • Published on

    On Top of Doi Mon Chong

    Hiking Thailand
    If I ever stop and wonder why I choose to live in North Thailand, I only need to get in the car or on the motorbike and go exploring the Northern hills. There's a wonderland out there that just begs to be discovered, and last week I took a couple of days out with friends to hike up Doi Mon Chong, which is located in Om Koi Wildlife Sanctuary, about 200km south of Chiang Mai. It's one of the most remote areas of Chiang Mai Province, and the only habitation around there consists of a few villages of the Lahu and Karen minority groups.

    Because the area is under the protection of the National Parks Department, we had to contact the local ranger and make arrangements for a guide to drive us to the trailhead, then walk up with us to the campsite near the summit, and lead us back down the next day. We also hired a couple of local Lahu porters, dressed in wild pyjamas, who carted our heavy gear such as water, food and tents, in huge bamboo backpacks.
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    The summit of Doi Mon Chong