Monthly Archives: December 2013

Food poisoning is a common, yet distressing and sometimes life-threatening problem for millions of people throughout the world. People infected with foodborne organisms may be symptom-free or may have symptoms ranging from mild intestinal discomfort to severe dehydration and bloody … Continue reading →

CAMBODIA Dec 28-Jan 4, 2014 After catching the boat across the Mekong from Don Det, we filled out all the paperwork for the Cambodian Visa and 2 1/2 hours later were finally through immigration. I had removed my Brazil visa … Continue reading →

History. In the first century AD, traders from India brought Hinduism and Buddhism to the interior of Cambodia. The collection of competing kingdoms in the 6th to 8th centuries came together by the Angkorian era that lasted from 802-1432. King … Continue reading →

In Laos, I met a young Canadian who did not have a remote clue how to use her expensive Canon camera. She was shooting on M or manual. I suggested that she should never use Manual as making any adjustment … Continue reading →

Canada is a very big country, and not all of it is worth seeing. The country has ten provinces, from east to west: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island (our maritime provinces, all bordering the Atlantic Ocean); Quebec … Continue reading →

LAOS Dec 12-28 2013 The previous border crossing from Chiang Khong, Thailand into Laos changed on the day I crossed. Instead of crossing the Mekong River by boat, the route changed to the New Bridge several kilometres south. After paying … Continue reading →

History. Before the French, British, Chinese and Siamese drew a line around it, Laos was a collection of disparate principalities subject to an ever-revolving cycle of war, invasion, prosperity and decay. In the 14th century, a Khmer backed Lao gave … Continue reading →

WILDLIFE FROM AROUND THE GLOBE IS ENDING UP IN CHINA’S RESTAURANTS AND FOLK PHARMACIES In the spring of 2007, Chinese authorities boarded a large boat found deserted and adrift in their national waters. They discovered a cargo hold literally crammed … Continue reading →

CHINA MAKES EVERYTHING, WHY CAN’T IT CREATE ANYTHING? With China as the world’s growth engine, it is a mere 30 years since its communist leadership exchanged Maoist rhetoric for cood old capitalism – or what it calls “socialism with Chinese … Continue reading →

CHINA NEEDS MORE CHILDREN Having children has grown expensive in China. Special classes, expensive tutoring to get their toddlers into a good school, and further into the future, to buy a son an apartment so he can persuade a woman … Continue reading →