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Apr 19

26 Comments

Orchid Island: battleship of the Tao

Orchid Island_1

The island is by the sea, and the sea by the island
Our island is a tiny, motionless ship

– On the Island (based on Tao myths), Chen Li

Ducking into the Dornier 228, a 19-seater plane with low ceilings and no overhead compartments, we squeezed down the narrow aisle and edged into our front row seats. I sat just ahead of the portside propeller, watching intently as it spun into motion with a rattling crescendo that sent the smell of aviation fuel through the cabin. The two pilots were almost within arm’s reach, scanning a checklist and preparing their manual instruments for takeoff. Read more

Apr 15

10 Comments

The Tze-Chiang Express

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“Get on, get on!” The stern-faced ticket inspector growled at us with no small hint of annoyance. Three minutes before departure, we had suddenly realised the worn, rusting train waiting at the far end of the platform – with no label above the conductor’s cabin – was the Tze-Chiang Express. Read more

Apr 12

22 Comments

Gluttony, thy name is Taipei

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“What kind of filling do you want? Lean pork, half-lean half-fat, or all fat?”

We stand at the head of a queue in a narrow street near Gongguan Station, lit by a barrage of neon signs hard against the silhouette of cables strung across a darkening sky. I haven’t seen Nelson in the three years since I left England, and now reunited on his home turf, my old friend is taking us for a “light dinner” of gua bao. Read more

Mar 24

66 Comments

Beneath the cherry blossom

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It’s been more than ten years since I last set foot in the Japanese islands, but they continue to occupy a special place in my mind as the setting for some of my fondest travel memories. I’ll never forget learning to ski in the soft powder of Hokkaido, making snow angels when we fell, laughing, into a deep white cushion. Christmas Eve in Sapporo meant a bowl of steaming, spicy ramen in a tiny restaurant down a back street as the snowflakes drifted silently outside. Read more

Mar 12

21 Comments

Nan Lian: the unlikely garden

Nan Lian_1

Across a startling orange bridge the two-storey pavilion was clad in gold leaf that glowed, mirror-like in the midday heat. At its crown an umbrella-shaped canopy, frozen in gilded timber, dripped with miniature bells that dangled and chimed in quiet unison. Rows of manicured bonsai beckoned down the winding path, its sun-bleached bricks laid carefully in herringbone patterns. I stopped, basking in the sound of wind chimes tinkering softly in the breeze, and the melodious tones of a guzheng plucked by expert fingers – its source a hidden loudspeaker in the bushes. Read more

Mar 9

24 Comments

Borrowed place, borrowed time

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Walking down the length of Wing Lee Street, I couldn’t help but marvel at the degree of change around me. The ageing tenements running along one side had been renovated in bright pastel yellow, with balconies and windows refitted to accommodate new tenants. A cheery sign midway indicated the presence of an artists’ studio. Formerly earmarked for demolition, the entire row was saved after a public outcry following its appearance in Echoes of the Rainbow, winner of a Crystal Bear at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival. Read more

Feb 24

22 Comments

Beyond Cholon, the scars of history

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Founded by Cantonese settlers on a tributary of the Saigon River, Cholon is the symbolic heartland of the Hoa, the Sino-Vietnamese community. Ethnic Chinese residents know her as Tai-Ngon, named for the embankments that buttress the town. On my final day in Saigon I had come here in search of a personal connection. “No need for Vietnamese,” I was told. “Maybe you can talk to people in Cantonese or Mandarin.”

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Feb 20

21 Comments

Gallic echoes in old Saigon

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Saigon is a pleasant enough place to idle in for a few days… It is very agreeable to sit under the awning on the terrace of the Hotel Continental, an electric fan just above your head, and with an innocent drink before you to read in the local paper heated controversies upon the affairs of the Colony and the faits divers of the neighbourhood. Read more

Feb 12

27 Comments

Saigon: pulse of the rising dragon

Saigon_1

The Boeing 777-300 makes its final descent through the afternoon haze, over rice paddies and a jigsaw of narrow buildings like slices of layer cake. We are just a stone’s throw from the delta of the mighty Mekong, whose brown waters I had seen eight months earlier in Laos. Read more

Feb 9

19 Comments

Springing into Chinese New Year

CNY flower market_1

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Chinese New Year, without a doubt the biggest festival of the Hong Kong calendar. Families gather together for days of feasting, exchanging well-wishes and red packets of lucky money – lai see. Read more

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