What’s wrong with eating horse?
There’s not much to do in Almaty, Kazakhstan. You can take a peek at the pretty wooden Orthodox cathedral, which…
Taking the fast train back to imperialism
I’m on a high-speed train. Forty years ago, such a statement would have been notable and specific: essentially, it meant…
Has Donald Trump saved the world?
Like the definition of an old man in a hurry, since his inauguration Donald Trump has been pumping out orders…
Is Ukraine heading towards a Korean-style demilitarised zone?
It is the strangest place, the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates South Korea from North Korea. It is simultaneously a…
How debauchery turns to tragedy in places like Vang Vieng
I still remember the first time I saw Vang Vieng, in Laos. It was many years ago, before the Chinese…
My glimpse into a childless world
If you are looking for a pointer for the future of the world, the free-diving fisherwomen on the matriarchal, shamanistic…
Has AI just killed the podcast bro?
It’s a well-known psychological phenomenon: that time seems to slow down if you experience lots of new and unusual events.…
Why Cambodia returns to joy in October
In Cambodia, everybody is looking forward to Bon Om Touk. If your Khmer is a bit rusty, this means the…
Keir Starmer and the evil of banality
First, a little story. About three years ago I was given an eccentric but fun assignment between Covid lockdowns –…
It’s time to get rid of your pet
Around the tolerant British dining table, there are few opinions which will see you shunned, instantly. ‘Bring back the birch’…
Keep Michelin men out of our hotels!
It’s probably escaped most people’s attention, what with the football, the election, the Ukraine war, the horrors of Gaza, the…
My day in Le Pen land
At first glance, for the visitor driving by, Guingamp in northwest Brittany looks idyllic. It is a typically lovely stone-built…
The day I met a sun priest
Palomino, Colombia I’m in a truly wonderful place: the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s got more bird species than most…
AI will change everything – so why is the election ignoring it?
Imagine if you somehow knew a war was coming in the next few years. Imagine if you knew this war would…
Tourists are the new pariahs
Think of Majorca and what do you picture? Maybe it is elegant tapas bars in the Gothic quarter of Palma,…
Sam Altman is not evil
It’s a classic trajectory. You start as a likeable and geeky tech tyro, you morph into a squillionaire with disagreeable…
No tips please, we’re British
I hate tipping, not because I am intrinsically mean but because of the anxiety it induces. You pitch up at…
Paris, city of blight
You know that feeling when you haven’t seen someone for several years and when you do, you really notice the…
The world would be a better place without Facebook
It’s sometimes difficult to remember a time before Facebook, isn’t it? It’s like trying to remember a time before the…
AI just changed the world. Again
Argentine President Javier Milei’s recent speech, to the World Economic Forum in Davos, has caused a stir for several reasons.…
Why wokeness really is like fascism
If you had to choose a political word of the decade you could do worse than ‘woke’. Because these days…
Why the world loves Margaret Thatcher
There are many rituals surrounding the placement of a new Japanese Emperor on the Chrysanthemum Throne. Perhaps the most peculiar…
