Notes from a Nomad

I have just returned from an exhausting four and a half day stay in Singapore and I am wondering if my tiredness was a reflection of getting older or the fact that there was so much to see and I needed much more than four and a half days to fit in everything that I had hoped to visit. Probably a combination of both. Continue reading →

For the uninitiated, which I readily admit would have included myself until recently, Bohol is an island Province in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It has a population approaching 1.5m and is situated east of Cebu where I have been based, south of Leyte and is the 10^th biggest island in the Philippines, a nation of islands.

With a population of around 100 million the Philippines is the 12^th biggest nation on the planet by population and both one of the most dynamic and impoverished nations in South East Asia. With another 10 million Filipinos living and working overseas many families are dependent on overseas income. Continue reading →

One of the downsides of spending extended periods in Thailand on a Tourist Visa (rather than use a Retirement Visa) is that it is necessary to leave and re-enter Thailand every 30 days. And indeed, many Travel Agencies operate daily ‘Border Runs’ for a quick 3 hour hop over the nearest border so ‘residents’ can extend their visa with the minimum of inconvenience. Continue reading →

As anyone who has spent time in Australia will testify the residents of both Sydney and Melbourne have always been strong advocates of their respective city’s claim to being Australia’s number one city. Continue reading →

Although they took place 40 years and several thousand miles apart I think it is fitting that this article begins and concludes with two events involving Roger Woods, a boyhood friend of mine from Bournemouth. Continue reading →