To be able to see one wild species of ape is a privilege but to see two species (orangutans and gibbons) would be like all my Christmases had come at once. The alarm went off at 4am and I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched as best as I could in my small […]
November 15, 2014
Camp is delightful! It has a wonderful simple charm while still being pretty modern compared to other field stations. The “mansion” as it’s been christened, is raised above the ground with wooden boardwalks linking the main house to the kitchen and other areas. Camp is all wood with a tin roof and few glass windows, […]
November 15, 2014
After booking flights to Bali and a quick trip to the supermarket. Scrat and I loaded up our stuff together with two other researchers at the town house and waited for the bemo. Bemos are local buses that look like mini vans. Ours was driven by a man in his 70s. He’s married to a […]
November 9, 2014
That was the reaction of my well-travelled mate B in Bozeman. There is no doubt this city has a bad rep. I’ve not heard anything nice about Jakarta, so when I landed yesterday I was filled with apprehension but curiosity too. “How bad can it be?” I thought. If you’ve been to India, then Jakarta […]
November 7, 2014
Lantau is twice the size of Hong Kong island but nowhere near as developed. It has a Disneyland park, ancient forts, a fishing village, some say excellent beaches and a cable-car ride that leads up to an enormous bronze Buddha. My cable-car ride up to see the statue started off as impressive but only for […]
November 5, 2014
The ferry over the Pearl River delta to Macau takes 55 minutes. It is part of two artificially fused islands jutting off the Chinese mainland. Unless you gamble, smoke and know how to shop, you are not Chinese according to my friend. In Macau gambling is big, we’re talking vegas style. There are in fact […]
November 4, 2014
My plane landed in Hong Kong yesterday at around 1300. I grabbed my backpack and jumped on the airport city express train and sat with my nose pressed up against the glass watching the landscape change as we whizzed towards the mainland. I was greeted by one of my mates I am staying with “The […]
May 17, 2014
Fitness is something I have come to late in my life. It’s not because I’m lazy, it’s because up until now I haven’t found anything I particularly enjoyed doing to keep up the momentum of regular practise. For the last 18-months I have been practising Bikram yoga four times a week. I am dedicated and […]
November 15, 2014
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