Author Archives: dgm

well it looks like the world is finally paying attention to the Thai election with a good report in the Guardian (syndicated in the SMH among others), a good piece in the NYTimes on the impact of the social changes … Continue reading →

Something that struck me during our recent trip to Thailand was the sheer number of tourists from what used to be known as the sub-continent – a tribute both to the growth of discount air travel in both India and … Continue reading →

In Ao Nang, across the street from  some dodgy looking bars is a MacDonalds. Outside the McDonalds is the usual garish Ronald McDonald effigy – except is Thailand, so the figure is standing, palms together in a classic wai gesture … Continue reading →

Thailand, being a poor country, is full of people trying to turn a dollar. Most are legit, some are dodgy and some are very dodgy. The dodgy ones tend to cluster around where tourists go on the basis that you … Continue reading →

Bangkok is a big brash, noisy slut of a city, and getting around it can be intimidating, with manic cab drivers, whose meters often seem to be broken, even more manic tuk tuk drivers intent on taking you somewhere you … Continue reading →

One day, when I was in Bangkok, I looked over the edge of the Skytrain walkway near Asoke station. Traffic was snarled as usual, and as always in Bangkok it was disciplined in an anarchic way, ie there are rules … Continue reading →

We’re just back after three weeks in steamy monsoonal Thailand, and yes, we had a great time. This wasn’t a serious trip, we spent most of the time swimming, snorkelling and doing other human things. It was most definitely un … Continue reading →

Back in November I blogged about my mother’s admittedly tenuous connection with Basque refugees and the Spanish civil war. Today’s Guardian brings news of unfinished business: Spanish civil war victims’ bodies finally removed from mass grave Scottish anarchist in legal … Continue reading →

Twitter has recently brought news that AIATSIS’s digital preservation program is to be cut. This is unfortunate to say the least. AIATSIS was engaged in digitising the cultural patrimony of the first cultures to inhabit Australia, and in the process … Continue reading →