…I don’t know what happened, OK? I got up, and took the mic, and after about a dozen notes I realised I was… just a tad… off-key. Maybe I was too sober..? There is nothing quite as traumatic as being given a pitying glance by good musicians when you are a tad off-key… In one…
Hitchhiking north from Ayuthaya. If your job is standing outside a hotel, indicating that people should drive in and book a room, then you need to make your own fun. Is this the perfect name for a condo development? The Queen of Thailand is never seen in public anymore. her face…
…I wake up at eight, after two hours sleep, mouth tasting of cigarettes and hung over as fuck. (Ever had a morning like this? I’m sure you can relate.) All I want to do is crawl into a hole in the ground. It’s my lucky day today because crawling into a hole in the ground…
I said this, or something equivalent when I was eating lunch with some other travelers today. People laughed like they knew exactly what I was talking about. It seemed to resonate with them. It definitely describes one of the aspects of being a nomad that I Iove. The photo is from my recent visit…
Facing each other across the Chao Phraya River, in Ayuthaya, Thailand, two temples present a stark historical contrast. Wat Tha Ka Rong is a bustling modern complex, something between a strip mall and a church. A stone’s throw away is Wat Chaiwattanarm, a crumbling ruin dating from the early 17th century. (Top photo: what…
Joe picks me up on his scooter and we head out to the band’s share house in Krabi’s outer suburbs. The guys all live in two small rooms, and the third room is set up as a make-shift studio. Joe’s little brother is the producer and operates the computer. We sit on the tiled floor, playing and singing. It is just too much fun…
…I climb up and sit on the throne. Looking down on the cave floor below, I can imagine the people who lived here a hundred thousand years ago. Jessy clambers up and sits beside me. ‘Your highness’ she greets me, with a sardonic smile. ‘Doctor.’ We kiss on the throne. It is intensely erotic… I…
“…we will fight to save this place. The army came during the curfew time and wanted us to close. We told them no way…” The Joy Bar, the last of Krabi’s once numerous live folk bars, is going to be forced to close it’s doors, on the 16th of this month, June 2014. This day…
…There is a vertiginous weight about the structures. Passing through the gates into the temple enclosure, struggling up the endless steep stairways, I am acutely aware of the intention of Angkor’s architects: impress the bollocks off people – make them feel very small… Me and J-man get on the slow train out of Bangkok. Actually,…
…a small demonstration is under way. A group of about fifty people stand on the steps. A few of them have small placards. What they are doing is completely illegal under the martial law regulations… The King of Thailand is old and frail. The govermnent is venal and unpopular. The people are angry and hungry…
…We read on the interweb that the generals have officially admitted that what is going on is a coup d’etat. A 10 PM curfew is in effect, apparently, and Thailand’s elected leaders have been cordially invited, by the generals, to report to an army barracks at their convenience. All over Thailand tourists are freaking out:…
…I am woken by crunching gravel. I blink into the blinding beam of a powerful flashlight. Oh, sorry mate. Didn’t realise you were sleeping in there, says a nervous young voice. The flashlight beam moves off my face, and I see an embarrassed looking young cop, with his hand still hovering over his gun holster……