Letter from ...around the world

report from iron mountain

209 - Summer already in Bangkok

🇹🇭 Here in Thailand there are three seasons in the year. Officially called Cool Season (November to February), Hot Season (March to May) and Rainy Season (June to October). Locals refer to them as Hot, Very Hot and Hot and Wet. Since 22 February we are now in the Summer (Very

the meaning of life is simple

208 - 恭喜發財 - Kung Hei Fat Choi

🇹🇭 We have now moved into the Year of the Fire Horse and the Solar Eclipse has passed. Bangkok is noticeably full with tourists at the moment, easily recognisable by their Thai pants and "I ♥ Bangkok" T-shirts. Over the weekend V and I had our Valentine's Day

energy in the field

207 - Year of the Fire Horse

🇹🇭 Hot on the heels of Friday 13th we have Valentines Day on Saturday and then the Annular Eclipse kicking off the Year of the Fire Horse on 17th February. Plenty of energy in the field and I expect this will not pass off without something noteworthy. You may or may

2020 hindsight

206 - Are your ducks in a row?

🇹🇭 The weather is warming up here in Bangkok. It is already up to 36 degrees in the afternoon and the mornings are rather less fresh than in January - around 24-25 degrees. We are continuing to make the most of this with our morning swims in the pool on the

sovereign computing part 3

205 - Quite a month!

🇹🇭 We are already at the end of January - one month into what will surely be an interesting year. You may think that a lot has already happened on the geopolitical front (it certainly has) but as a reader here you will know that there is much more in the

sovereign computing part 2

204 - Transformative times

🇹🇭 We really are in the quiet time here in Bangkok. It is the time that you do need to enjoy Bangkok the most. V and I are busy with all our own projects and enjoying the city. I have been out to a few new meetups in addition to all

sovereign computing

203 - An interesting start

🇹🇭 This is the best time to enjoy Bangkok: the city quiets down, tourist waves subside and the weather reaches its annual peak. Over the weekend I did a great evening hike around town with a new meetup group. Bangkok evenings are fantastic. This is when it cools down and you

ordo ab chao creative destruction

202 - Looking forward - 2026

🇹🇭 Christmas and New Year are over and the tourists have departed. Bangkok is settling back into the run up to Valentine's Day and then 3 days later, Chinese New Year. We will be moving from the year of the Wood Snake into Year of the Fire Horse. It&

life after 60

201 - Review the year - 2025

🇹🇭 V and I are celebrating another Christmas and New Year back in Bangkok - this is our fourth in recent years; Bangkok is just great at this time of year. Like last year I'm taking the opportunity of the Christmas-New year period to reflect and review the year

The Yugas and 360 day years

200 - Phuket this week

🇹🇭 This week V and I exchanged the hustle and bustle of Bangkok for that of Phuket! We are down south on the island for a bit enjoying the change of scene. While here we took the opportunity to do a few island things and also to meet up with a

legend of king arthur

199 - Almost Christmas

🇹🇭 It is almost Christmas and in the West most folks will be gearing up for Christmas and New Year holidays. Out here in SE Asia the locals are happy for you to visit and enjoy the nice weather but Christmas day is a day like any other. The big event

erosion of national sovereighty

198 - Chatuchak this week

🇹🇭 Life in Bangkok proceeds at quite a different pace than elsewhere. The activity here is relentless - a bit like the heat! V and I have settled into our routine here that is different from HK and elsewhere and that is well adapted for the local circumstances. Sun rises early

a lot going on this week

197 - Bangkok this week

🇭🇰 🇹🇭 Over the weekend V and I travelled down to Bangkok. Just as we left the weather turned cooler and cloudy in HK - during the winter months that sort of weather can be intermittent and even persistent. In Bangkok, however it is warm and sunny every day in this season

the gold standard

196 - Hong Kong this week

🇭🇰 We do love being back home in Hong Kong and this week the weather has been absolutely perfect - this is the best time of the year to visit HK - not too hot and none of the infamous humidity. We have had an action-packed week being busy every day.

the illusion of choice

195 - Macau this week

🇭🇰 🇲🇴 We are really making the most of our stay in Hong Kong. In addition to doing all the usual things this week, V and I broke pattern again - we did a trip over to Macau. Since we had such a good time in Madeira, why not visit its twin

the preparation

194 - Back in the city

🇭🇰 This week V and I are back in the city after our week out in the countryside. It is one of the advantages of living in HK that you really do have everything available, no matter what you prefer. Everything is so convenient, the weather is nice and the people

breaking pattern

193 - Sai Kung this week

🇭🇰 This week, V and I have been breaking pattern. We are up in Sai Kung in the North East of Hong Kong - a popular area for holiday, hiking and all sorts of water-sports. The weather was often cloudy and not too hot - almost perfect in fact! We used

windoze - just say NO

192 - Hiking in Hong Kong

🇭🇰 November already - V and I are just enjoying ourselves being back home in HK. We have lots of things to do and catch up on. I have been out hiking every day this week - the weather has been about perfect - not too hot and not too humid.

upside-down thinking

191 - Back in Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Over the weekend V and I travelled back home to Hong Kong. Travel was fairly smooth and we arrived just in time to enjoy the cooler weather from severe tropical storm Fengshan. It passed well south of HK and everybody here was loving the cooler weather it brought but things

predictive history

190 - Catching up

🇹🇭 We had a fairly busy week in Bangkok. We moved into our apartment here and V had to get things organised the way she wants. We also got our annual medical checks and it seems that we are both good to go for a while longer - nice! Monday was

reckoning feels imminent

189 - Back in Bangkok

🇬🇧🇹🇭 This week V and I travelled back to Bangkok - we have been here now for a few days and it already feels nice to be home again in SE Asia! Before leaving I got to meet up with quite a few local friends and to get along to the

drop the script

188 - It's all East from here

🇵🇹 🇬🇧 We had a great last weekend in Funchal - enjoying our west-most location for the coming year or so. Porto Moniz was the west-most spot that we visited. From now on we're heading East of here! Funchal has been a good location for us. We were based right

secret of secrets

187 - Motorbike trikes

🇵🇹 This week V and I got out and about around the North and East of the Island by jeep and by motorbike trike. You have likely seen photos of motorbike trikes before and you may even have been on one yourself - it's good fun - give it

stop watching the news

186 - Around the island

🇵🇹 We had a few busy days over the weekend and on Monday with family visiting here in Funchal. We had a great time, first doing a tour around the island by car and then by boat! We visited all the usual spots down here on the South and West of

let the games begin

185 - Family visit in Funchal

🇵🇹 We have settled in to our apartment in the centre of Funchal. It is in a great location just beside the Jardim Municipal. This is a great little park with a nice cafe in it. The garden is very well maintained and it is a really great place to sit,