Tag Archives: people Bong! Bong! Bong! The sound of gongs reverberate in my head; deep, surprisingly melodic tones that almost transport me back to Bhutanese monasteries… But in this image there are no tall, ornately carved and painted wooden buildings; in fact we are outdoors on dusty ground, surrounded by dry trees, old people and children, with few […]  Have you ever wondered where your salt comes from? No – I haven’t either! Salt is one of those many things we tend to take for granted. In Thailand, most of the salt used comes from brine salt-farms, and the largest number of these brine salt farms are close to Bangkok, along Highway 35 in […]  Money trees for sale! Why should I be startled? Morning markets in Asia are a jumble of surprises – people and products rubbing shoulders in unexpected combinations. The morning market in Attapeu, southeastern Laos is a great example: a treasure trove where the nails are next to the make-up and crayons; where you can buy live […]  Some people are larger than life. James Harrison Wilson Thompson, more commonly know as Jim, or even ‘Lord Jim’, is one such person. He is, amongst other things, credited with single-handedly revitalizing the commercial Thai silk trade. An Office of Strategic Services (OSS; precursor to the CIA) operative during the second World War, he resettled in […]  On the break between Christmas and New Year’s, I thought we had both: time and good reason. We had family visiting from both Canada and Australia, so a visit to the Allied war memorials at Kanchanaburi (more about that some other time) and beyond, seemed like a good idea. I had failed to take “time” […] |
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