“The Great Wall of China: a wonder and a curse.”
Category Archives: Asia
Tokyo: One Moment
“We say ‘Ichi-go, ichi-e’ – one chance, one moment. Appreciate the moment.”
Hong Kong: Go Green
“The Chinese say Shan Shui – ‘mountains, water’ – and that is a very good description of the landscape.”
India: Tiger Roar
“Our protection laws are stronger than anywhere else in the world but they are largely on paper and not implemented unless there is some sort of crisis. Numbers seem to drop and rebound in a ten-year cycle.”
Uzbekistan: Golden Smiles
“In the 11th century, ‘Bukhara the Holy’ was one of the most famous centers of learning in the Muslim world.”
Osaka: Second City
“People from Tokyo say we greet each other here with ‘Mokkari-makka (Are you making money)?’ – which is nonsense. We say ‘How are you?’ like anywhere else.”
Istanbul: Turkish Delight
“Most tourists think the Grand Bazaar represents Turkish culture,” says designer and businesswoman Aysegul Ozmen. “The craftsmen there make the same stuff they have always made – as that is what the tourists buy. Our culture is much richer than that – maybe our problem is that our culture is too rich.”
Melbourne: Alley Cats
FROM the 300-metre Eureka Sky Tower, I can see all of Melbourne spread out below me, shadowed by dark rain clouds sweeping in from the horizon. Neon-bright towers blazoned with the logos of insurance and accounting firms – Ernst & Young, Aon – dwarf those raised to the gods of earlier ages: a sturdy 1950sContinue reading “Melbourne: Alley Cats”
Uzbekistan: Silk Road
I GOT into Tashkent at 4am in the morning. Had I woken up at that time, I would not have been at my best, so perhaps it was a blessing that I had not slept on a cramped economy flight via Turkey, after a 7am start in London.
Macau: Gambling on growth
THE JET-LAG wakes me at 5am and I rise to explore Macau, the quiet, rain-soaked streets already warm from the searing tropical day to come. Coming back to my hotel at 8am still befuddled by lack of sleep, I go in the wrong door and find myself in its casino.
Inherit The Earth 