Bandung 

West Java

May 17, 2005

Salamat Malam,

At 7:00pm, the North Sea Bar was dead.  Except for Evert, a smiling Dutchman, 54, enjoying his tall green Heineken.

Evert has a business in Holland and lives with his twenty-seven year old girlfriend in Bandung. Soon to be married. (Where have I heard that one before?)

We chatted for an hour; I ordered some chicken fried rice. He asked me if I would like to meet his girlfriend's girlfriend.  Era arrived quickly. And quickly we decided that we were compatible.

We decided that the next day we would hire a taxi for a drive to Tangkuban Prahu - The "Overturned Volcano" crater 30km north of Bandung.

Bandung West Java

Indonesia

May 18, 2005

Loyal Family
Esteemed Friends
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1955, for one week in April, Indonesia hosted the Asian-African Conference in Bandung. It was the "first intercontinental gathering of coloured peoples in the history of mankind."

Yogyakarta

Central Java

May 22, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I had to leave Bandung. I wanted to stay a day or two longer. I was enjoying the sights and my new friends. But my chest was heaving, my eyeballs burning, my whole system in rebellion. The pollution so intense.

FORGET PHUKET...WELL, NOT YET….

Phuket

Thailand

June 7, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

I am standing on the upper deck of the 27 meter motor craft “Kong Tong” – Golden Mountain – as the young deck hands weigh anchor from the bottom of Phang Nga Bay.

Honey Inn ***

Nang Rong

Buriram Province

Thailand

June 18, 2006

Dearly Beloved, 

Just thirty minutes before the required moment, the mistress of ceremonies at Moon’s evening wedding reception, my friend Rose asked me to speak on behalf of Kevin Brown, Moon’s new husband.  (Moon and Rose and I have been friends for four years.)

Not unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I cheerfully agreed.

Except for Kevin's sister, Jan (and acknowledging the excellent English of Peter from Austria and his Indonesian wife, Norma, and a couple from Belgium) I am the only other native English-speaking Westerner at this gathering of one hundred and fifty Thai-speaking guests of all ages.

Rose provided simultaneous translation.

So, here, slightly enhanced, is what I said:

“Normally the Best Man is a loyal friend who has known the groom for a long time.  Now, I have known Kevin for a very long time – almost twenty-four hours.

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

India

February 27, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

India is blessed with ancient stone -- deep deposits of granite and marble and sandstone. For centuries, for millennia, masons, architects, artisans and artists have quarried and designed and cut and carved their local stone to build a dramatic and eternal heritage.

The glossy white marble of Agra, the sparkling pink sandstone of Jaipur, the rich red sandstone of Bikaner -- the geological riches are the pride of India and a prize for her visitors.

And now, Jaisalmer -- a golden city! Jaisalmer, the golden-yellow sandstone walls rise up from the hills to dominate and defy the golden gauntlet of the Thar Desert.