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an urban primate with a conscience
Browsing All Posts filed under »Asia«
China
I have just returned from a month’s gallivanting around mainland China. It’s taken me 20 years to get there but it’s been worth the wait. China has to be one of the most diverse countries I have explored. And I have hit almost 90 now. The landscape is jaw-droppingly beautiful, the food culture is astonishing: […]
The “Domino” Effect
June 3, 2024
The Buddhists say grief is the price we pay for love. On Friday night the wounds I had just managed to seal with the death of my father in 2022, were ripped wide open. My dear friend Domino Lee died. She was the only other person I know who had my disease, Multiple Myeloma. A […]
Tibet
May 22, 2024
I flew past Mount Everest in 2016. Her perfectly shaped snow-capped summit jutting out of the fluffy white clouds on my Bhutan flight back to Nepal. The sight of this incredible mountain captivated me immediately. My nose pressed up against the tiny plane window, mouth gaping, eyes wide and heart beating fast. From that moment […]
Earthquake
April 4, 2024
It was 0758 when the earthquake hit on Wednesday. I was in the kitchen of my hostel in Taipei, Taiwan making coffee. The floor beneath my bare feet started to shake hard, the noise was like a stampede. At first I thought “wow that’s a crazy vibration from the train station,” but the trembling turned […]
Happy Fourth Anniversary to my Bone Marrow Cancer.
November 15, 2021
HAPPY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY to me and my bone marrow cancer!!!! This tribute is especially for you:Without you, I would never have evolved into the person I am today. You showed me what it’s like to hit rock bottom and be in a place so dark and frightening, i didn’t think I would ever have the […]
Alive and drying out
January 24, 2021
I owe many of you a huge apology for being silent for so long. I am sorry. The truth is I’ve not been well and have had zero appetite or the means to be able write. So a brief update. Home is Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand where I have been drying out from my […]
Singapore
November 27, 2014
I left Bali feeling very chilled and excited to see my friends GorgeousNess and Monty in Singapore. Singapore is strict. They have a zero tolerance attitude to crime and something that should not be baulked at. As I touched down they were already by the harbour gearing up for their Christmas party. I grabbed my […]
Food porn
November 27, 2014
My Balinese cookery class was just the tonic for my final day. It started in the market where my small and bespoke group – just three of us – learnt about the different spices and foods on sale first. There was a wonderful Canadian woman in her mid 50s and a Swiss/German woman, who took […]
Ubud – part 2
November 24, 2014
The plane journey was interesting. The world’s smallest aircraft. The propellers looked like they weren’t spinning fast enough. It feels good to be back in Ubud. I didn’t get ripped off by the cab driver when i exited the airport and to top it off, I actually managed to direct him straight to where I […]
Mercury Poisoning
November 24, 2014
I reluctantly left Gili Air. The diving was so bloody spectacular I really wanted to stay another full day, however I had a prior engagement. On Sunday after a week of chasing a scientist I had pinned her down and got her to arrange a driver for the day to take me to see artisanal […]
britaine.co.uk
whogivesamonkeys 
October 8, 2025
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