When I saw the sign, I couldn’t resist – I’ve always wanted to chat a monk up, so I dashed over to the monk assignation area. My monk was called Claim, and he told me all about his life in the monastery and at the university attached to the monastery, where he studies Pali, which… Continue reading Chatting up a monk
First, coat your elephant liberally with mud …
Have just returned from a few days in Chiang Mai, where I learnt two very useful new skills – firstly, how to give an elephant a mud bath, and secondly, how to wash the mud off again. The elephants at the rescue centre have been rescued from performance venues in Thailand – all except the… Continue reading First, coat your elephant liberally with mud …
What do Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales and three ugly-looking ladies have in common?
The answer could well be that they all have names that I find easy to remember – which is a definite bonus these days. The new school year has brought with it a whole set of new name problems for me … and I used to think I was good with names. Having finally got… Continue reading What do Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales and three ugly-looking ladies have in common?
You can wear any colour you like … as long as it’s red
Things are hotting up for Chinese New Year next week. Interestingly, it’s always called Chinese New Year, or CNY, even by the Chinese. In our usual imperialist way, the West seems to have commandeered the term ‘New Year’ for 1 January – so perhaps we should embrace diversity, acknowledge that other New Years exist and… Continue reading You can wear any colour you like … as long as it’s red
There’s something about Tuesday …
I was in the midddle of explaining an activity in my phonics class yesterday when a five-year-old boy looked up, pointed to my head and asked, ‘Is that a wig?’ I was astonished. Does he really think that I’d pay for a wig that looked like this? If I buy a wig it’ll be long,… Continue reading There’s something about Tuesday …
I think I’ve found my ideal home
When I saw this place, I knew I had to move in immediately – Anyone else care to join me? Rant for today … When you land in KL all you see around the airport are miles and miles of palm oil plantations According to a report online, Malaysia and Indonesia produce 85% of the… Continue reading I think I’ve found my ideal home
Malaysia … home of witchcraft and wizardry
According to a newspaper report, in Malacca alone last year there were 2,492 cases of spells, jinxes and other forms of witchcraft reported to the police. They usually involve bomohs, who are a type of witch doctor/shaman. Now, I’m no medical expert but … … I’m pretty sure there’s a medical term for this which… Continue reading Malaysia … home of witchcraft and wizardry
The School of Hard Knocks
In Malaysia, the School of Hard Knocks is not a precursor of the University of Life and an essential component of any I-dragged-meself-up-by-me-bootstraps success story. It’s actually a workshop where you can go and learn how to make things out of pewter. I already knew that Kuala Lumpur’s fortune was founded on tin. KL was… Continue reading The School of Hard Knocks
Still doing their own thing in Myanmar
On my travels around Myanmar, I was struck by the fact that traditions are still woven into the fabric of everyday life and not just resurrected for the tourists every night at 8 pm, with a matinee on Saturdays. We were lucky enough to see a novitiation ceremony in a small town that we were… Continue reading Still doing their own thing in Myanmar
In which I discover that I’m a guinea pig …
Myanmar is apparently the most devoutly Buddhist country in the world. There are temples everywhere and it’s a country where anyone who’s anyone builds their own stupa, so wherever you go there are gilded spires rising up into the sky Sometimes there’s a thousand of them all together Or just a few – When I… Continue reading In which I discover that I’m a guinea pig …
It’s a man’s world …
I went to the ballet in Laos – the Ballet Theatre of Luang Prabang – to see a show called ‘The Return of Princess Sida’ The unhappy princess was separated from her husband due to war, and pined for years. Her husband also claimed to be unhappy to be separated from his wife. Finally the… Continue reading It’s a man’s world …
The Champagne lifestyle
Luang Prabang – Wats and wiring
Laos is a country that loves wires – This picture was taken in Vientiane in a not particularly attractive area, but it was the same story in Luang Prabang, which is a UNESCO world heritage town, full of monks and magnificent temples, called Wats – all gilded and carved and generally very splendid. So I wondered… Continue reading Luang Prabang – Wats and wiring
The gardening monks of Laos
As I walked past a temple in Vientiane I was pleased to see that the monks were out doing a bit of topiary and trimming the hedges. There’s something very homely and unthreatening about Buddhist monks, and I’m pleased to be back in a Buddhist country again – if only for a couple of weeks,… Continue reading The gardening monks of Laos
A dilemma …
What do you do when you’re out for the evening and you bump into a chap from work and he’s clearly wearing eyeliner and lipstick? … Go and watch him in his panto, of course! It was my first experience of expat amateur dramatics and there were the usual cheesy jokes, songs and topical references… Continue reading A dilemma …
On a foodie tour of Malacca
On a trip to Malacca last week I rekindled my love affair with the Peranakan culture. The Peranakans were also known as the Straits Chinese, and were the first wave of Chinese immigrants from the 14th Century onwards; wealthy merchants who traded in Malacca and intermarried with the local Malays. They had their own culture,… Continue reading On a foodie tour of Malacca
Little Bo-Peep and her helicopter sheep
I’m still getting to grips with Malaysian education. This week a parent asked me to look at his son’s exam paper, to see why he hadn’t scored particularly highly. The exam paper contained several language errors – but the boy already knew that if he didn’t repeat the error in his answer, he’d lose marks,… Continue reading Little Bo-Peep and her helicopter sheep
Ahead of the curve … yet again
I see in the UK press that Nigella is predicting that the next hip ingredient – essential for every foodie refrigerator and food-related hipster conversation – will be pandan. Well – sorry, Nigella, but I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt to prove it … or the photos, at least. Here is Mr Toad… Continue reading Ahead of the curve … yet again
If you go down to the woods today …
This week I was highly disturbed to discover that, in a long blond wig, I look just like a transvestite – I spent the entire weekend in an itchy, sweaty wig pretending to be some sort of dodgy, senescent version of Goldilocks – and all in the name of Hallowe’en dress-up weekend. Have you ever… Continue reading If you go down to the woods today …
Phew, what a scorcher!
The temperature in Malaysia doesn’t seem to stray far from 32 degrees, with humidity around 70%. It’s usually sunny in the morning, and there’s often rain later in the day – but this week has been an exception. Last Tuesday we went to the Helilounge to celebrate Julia’s birthday. It’s a helipad by day and… Continue reading Phew, what a scorcher!