On The Road

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  Wednesday, 04 April 2012

  Singapore Day 2

  Over a decade ago I used to lecture in a shophouse in Tras Street, Chinatown. In the 1980's, Chinatown was one of the first areas to be restored. Crumbling shophouses were repaired and repainted with their original vibrant colours. In the 1990's the area was starting  to attract small quirky businesses but it still felt like a neighbourhood. After classes we would all go out for very cheap food in hole-in-the-wall eateries. I wanted to see the changes that time had bought to the area.
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  Friday, 30 March 2012

  Singapore Day 1

  It's been a decade since I spent much time in Singapore. From 1992 to 2004 I was a regular visitor, interviewing International students and lecturing for a month at a time. My friends commiserated, as for them, Singapore was a boring place of transit. I always loved coming here.
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  Thursday, 29 March 2012

  Vientiane Day 5

  Well it's the last day in Vientiane so I couldn't stay in bed while I heard the chanting outside. I took the last opportunity to record the rituals outside the hotel..
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  Wednesday, 28 March 2012

  Vientiane Day 4

  Up early to catch the monks again and then off to work. There were also some rather odd night dwellers hanging out at 4.30 in the morning Today is our last day working so we will get some sight-seeing in later today.
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  Tuesday, 27 March 2012

  Vientiane Day 3

  I missed the monks this morning. I slept in but was up in time to see the street lights dim and the sun rising. It is going to be a very, very, hot day today.
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  Monday, 26 March 2012

  Vientiane Day 2

  Another en-chanting morning. The drums started at 4.45am. Still a magical light with the halogen street lights adding to the glow. This morning the monks were accompanied by a pack of dogs.
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  Sunday, 25 March 2012

  Vientiane Day One

  The chanting started at 4.15am. It was just as well that I was up at 4.00. Jet-lagged body-time 8.00. Went on the balcony to see a wonderful start to the day. Devotees were stretched along the pavement outside the hotel giving food to a passing parade of monks.
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  Saturday, 24 March 2012

  On the road to Vientiane

  Can someone please tow Australia closer to the rest of the world? Yesterday started with a midnight cab ride to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. Then a sleepover on the plane to Singapore.
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  Thursday, 22 March 2012

  Madurai. Temples, pilgrims and colour.

  As with everything else in India you need patience to fly internally. We discovered that delays were normal and frustration was useless. We were flying to Madurai in Tamil Nadu after a week in Mumbai. Madurai is one of Southern India's largest cities and is a centre for learning and pilgrimage.
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  Saturday, 17 March 2012

  Meandering around Los Angeles

  In 2011, Los Angeles Airport was the fifth busiest airport in the world, with 61,862,052 passengers: most of them going somewhere else. Grabbing their bags trying to find connecting flights. Jet lagged and cranky. All in a hurry to get out of Los Angeles.
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