Poppies in Kuta Beach, Bali – really hit by the Covid-19 Pandemic – and how to help
21 June 2020 | Living
The Covid-19 Pandemic continues to rage with some countries – pretty much all of Europe – getting the numbers down while in others – like most of South America – the numbers are still climbing dramatically. Plus there are fears of ‘second waves’ showing up. The econom...
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Kuta – then & now
19 September 2018 | Living
◄ Poppies Gang – a ‘gang’ is a narrow pathway or alleyway – and this popular gang at Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia, runs by Poppies Restaurant and Poppies Hotel. Despite Kuta’s massive growth Poppies Gang looks just the same as it did in the ‘70s, right down to the tr...
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Canangsari – Balinese offerings
2 April 2012 | Culture
Observant visitors to Bali soon become familiar with canangsari, the little offerings which are put out every morning for the spirits, good and bad, which pervade everything in Bali. A little woven tray sports a few flower petals, a few grains of rice, perhaps a crack...
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Tell Them to Get Lost
28 August 2011 | Media
Maureen and I travelled around South-East Asia for most of 1974 researching the very first edition of South-East Asia on a Shoe- string. Much more recently Brian Thacker took the same trip from Timor in the south to Laos in the north using a copy of that first edition...
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Costa Rica – Montezuma & Monteverde
9 May 2009 | Places
Why has it taken me until 2009 to finally visit Costa Rica? It’s been our best selling guidebook in the Americas for years and yet for some reason I’ve never been here. Never mind, I’m sitting watching a full moon over the sea at Montezuma and contemplating that I was...
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