Gypsy Road
“Living in the city,” Bo said, “can be a cold and lonely place to be.” He raised his massive woolly head and horns up past the windshield of the Cadillac…
The Pact (prologue)
When I was a child I made a pact with the devil. I wanted to have adventures, to discover new things, to travel to distant shores. The devil agreed, but of…
China: Swords at Dawn
I woke up with salt-encrusted sweat stains on my pyjamas. There was no point in going back to sleep. People were already out, loading up bicycles and scooters…
Hurdle and burn
Spinning out of control, Blake gathered all his strength. How could this have happened again?! Sparks shot from the command console of his capsule. “Houston…
Not So Young Anymore
It wasn’t her body. For forty five years her legs were long and lean, her hair voluminous with gold woven through, and her face a smooth, tan palette for the…
Trinidad: The Manatee Pond
“Can you handle a kayak?” Once upon a time I could. I nodded and glided out into the water, paddling furiously to keep up as Shortman swept by with barely a…
Trinidad: Rehabilitation
We raced down canals which cut like veins through the expanse of reeds. Dense mangrove tunneled above our heads. I feared that at any moment we might be…
Trinidad: Into the Swamp
Grey clouds held the promise of rain. I watched them pile up as the clock turned to eight-thirty, then nine. “Still playing the waiting game?” I wondered what…
A City Unchanging
In the city of Marmor, though many cook, there is no smell roasted meat. Though many fantastic meals are laid out on the tables, they are never consumed. Trees…
Tea in Taroko Gorge
Three kilometres from Tienhsiang, steps lead down to the Taisha river. As I descended the vegetation grew lusher, as if walking into a jungle. A suspension…
Hitching in Taroko Gorge (Taiwan)
During the construction of the Cross Island Highway, deposits of marble—known as white jade—were discovered around Hualien. The Taroko Gorge was declared a…
Magical Morning in Semenggoh, Sarawak, Borneo
I would be lucky to see the orangutans, the keeper said. “It’s the rainy season. Many trees are fruiting.” No sooner had he spoken than a rustling announced…
Greenland: Sculptures of Ice
The light of the arctic summer is unique. The sky shimmers with mother-of-pearl shades of baby-blue, light turquoise and just a hint of bronze. It is the same…
Million Mile Shoes (Zaïre, 1984)
The old man woke me at 5 am. In the light of the petroleum lamp he carried I saw two rats scuttling along the beam above my head. One nearly fell but caught…
The Desert That Wasn't
Humid. That was not what I was expecting when deplaning in Tuscon, AZ. I was expecting hot, dry, arid, but not humid. I quickly grabbed my luggage and raced…
Le vent
I want to run with the wind. The breeze is my sister, the gust is my mother; the gale is my father. I want the Sun on my back and my sister beside me as I find…
Libong Dugong
I watched for movements on the surface, but the coastline kept drawing my gaze. A limestone pinnacle rose out of the water like a shaggy tooth, marking the…
Damascus Roads
Fresh from the sterile, air-conditioned surrounds of airports and hotel lobbies we piled into a taxi, all five of us. The faint odour of dust and diesel fumes…
Sanctuary
The heat was like a furnace. We had seen no people for days. We were short of food and water, and we were lost. Then we came to a verdant shore in an ocean of…
Tobago: Grassroots
The Iguana and I walked down the street. “You have to jam,” I said to the Iguana, “I have to write.” Later I found notes from that night. I’d kept asking the…