Small things, mostly

As I was sketching on my iPad at a café in Saigon, a girl walked over and showed me a drawing she had made of me.

China let us in homes and hearts, in the coldest North and the wildest West.

It’s hot in Mangalore and finding such water coolers in bus stops is a welcome respite.

It is fun exploring dilapidated buildings and discovering hidden venues with sharp kids and music from a lost age - the 1960s and 1970s Cambodian rock genre.

My original map of Saigon’s JapanTown was getting dated with many “here be dragons” areas.

“The loves we share with a city are often secret loves.”

Back at the Russian market, there is an Uzbek person who bakes black bread.

In early 2000s I went to Tonga on a whim.

Nice to see the return of the flare jeans.

Late December is a great time to wander in Phnom Penh past midnight.

This one is thin and small, but it’s important.

The Moon (cafe and bookstore) is another of my secret places in Singapore.

Sinopticon is an anthology of Chinese Sci-Fi.

For some years now, I have received Vietnamese travellers’ messages sharing their experiences or looking for experiences beyond sightseeing.

My quiet alley (lorong) in Singapore, Kilat means lightning in Malay.

Suddenly miss muối tôm.

Ordinarily, this time of the year, I am skipping Saigon and heading to Hanoi.

Small things mostly: Sometimes it is not those big features in a product, but just a little bit of thoughtfulness.

I saw a 170 bus and remembered a map I once made for a first time traveler from Singapore to Malaysia, hoping that she would not get lost.

In Singapore, my sometimes lunchtime places are in the Korean food neighborhood of Bukit Timah.

Vietnamese coffee outdoors at a cafe in Singapore reminded me of “the reader” in Saigon.

I was missing Russia, did a random search on Netflix for anything that shows our Moscow and speaks Russian.

I am trying the Freewrite Traveler, an e-ink-based dedicated writing gadget.

Sometimes AI is naughty.

The ship stuck in the Suez Canal reminds me of an incident from the late 1960s.

Sometimes I suddenly miss Kampuchea.

I was fond of my iPhone 5s.

You know you’re spending too much time on Apple stuff when you start spelling a certain Malaysian city as iPoh.

I made a presentation to a museum interest group about Saigon’s Japanese enclave.

I think The Fall (2006) must be one of the finest films ever made.

I found this text in the book Weapons of Math Destruction.

Neighbours Cutlet and Kuro approve of this new book.

These shops are not just about books, but this is where I met many interesting people in these cities.

Does anyone want grilled cuttlefish?

A viral outbreak starts in Asia.

In Tokyo, I always enjoy visiting the “Muji Found” stores.

Another secret place of mine - Curry Shika.

One day while roaming around Meguro, we spotted a temple festival at one of our neighbourhood temples.

Tim Butcher writing in Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart WanderLearn Podcast episode featuring the author Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart I had previously mentioned this book while talking about how cheap Chinese imports enco…

Is getting lost an exhilarating experience for you?

Sometimes an official form asks me to fill in my religion.

When people long for the days of the early web, the glorious idiosyncrasies of personal sites and forums, they are really longing for a time and a space where people were free to communicate their own values.

I stumbled upon a podcast episode discussing the making of the movie Saint Jack in late 1970s Singapore.

What book is this?

Wonder if adults can use same strategy to get out of online meetings.

Some public libraries now offer digital books via a service called Overdrive/Libby.

I like how FutureLearn launches such topical courses.

Razib and Spencer talk all things genetic and prehistorical Southeast Asia!

We were exploring some alleys and stumbled upon a shop run by a Vietnamese-Tibetan couple.

In early 2003, I spent some time in China travelling by trains in Guangdong and Hunan provinces.