Category Archives: Travel

Vignettes of Puerto Galera

A chattering, boisterous crowd gathering on a quay with bags and boxes, cases and Eskies, already sipping beers, keen, eager, ready to party, clambering aboard a large, pelican-like banca bobbing in matronly fashion on a subdued sea… A significant birthday, … Continue reading

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Coming of Age

“Life is a game… play it with a light heart.”  I often think that perfect holidays are perfectly awful to write about. When everything goes smoothly, there is no drama, no humour, no adventure to give the tale an edge. … Continue reading

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Of Monitor Lizards, Macaques and Flying Mammals

To visit the Underground River was the underpinning of our trip to Palawan. We had even booked a hotel nearby. And then we nearly didn’t make it! Strong currents on the Sunday – backlash from the typhoons further north – … Continue reading

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Nicky & Ally’s Awfully Big Adventure

An old school friend flew into Manila last week, and two days later the typhoons chased us off Luzon and down to Palawan. We were booked into Daluyon Resort, two hours drive up and down winding, half made roads from … Continue reading

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Cabbages and Condoms

Almost twenty years since we left Bangkok, I was not expecting to find my favourite restaurant alive and thriving after so long. Our concierge assured me  that it was still in business… …So I gathered up my friends and caught … Continue reading

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City of Angels

The Royal Palace is one of the sights to see in Bangkok. Home to the Kings of Siam for almost two hundred and fifty years, this  sixty acre compound – one square mile – contains the Royal residence, throne rooms … Continue reading

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Snippets from Siam

Bangkok – or Krung Thep, its Thai name – began as a small trading post on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in the fifteenth century. Today, the capital city of Siam – now Thailand – has grown … Continue reading

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Tasting Tinola Soup in South Australia

I have spent the past three years in the Philippines exploring the history and flavours of Filipino cuisine, so I was delighted to discover a Filipino restaurant in my own home town of Adelaide, in South Australia. Map book in … Continue reading

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Heavenly Peace

I first met Kelly in Kuala Lumpur over fifteen years ago. Today, we are a far cry from that modern, bustling Asian city with its Twin Towers, multi-cultural population, concrete overpasses, lush tropical gardens and heavy, humid climate. Kelly and … Continue reading

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Woodside Wine & Food

I have always loved the melodic sound of the Onkaparinga Valley Road and its string of small country towns with their syllabic names: Verdun and Balhannah; Oakbank and Woodside. These pearls shimmer amongst the hills and huge gum trees, especially … Continue reading

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