The Maharaja of Sydney
For two decades I’ve dreamt about an Indian palace on a peaceful lake in the desert of Rajasthan. It’s a hotel now, but when I first fell in love with it, the Lake Palace in Udaipur was home to a … Continue reading
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Tagged india with kids, james bond palace, kaspia's caravan, Lake Palace, lake palace india, lake palace udaipur, luxury india, luxury travel with kids, octopussy, taj, taj lake palace, travel with kids, traveling with children, travelling with children, udaipur
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Geo-politics of polio eradication in Pakistan
The brutal murder this week of five Karachi health workers involved in a UN-backed polio eradication drive says more about the wider effect of misguided US policy in the area than it does anything new about the Pakistani Taliban. Polio … Continue reading
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Tagged karachi, Pakistan, polio, polio eradiction, polio in karachi, polio in pakistan, Taliban, vaccination in pakistan
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‘Poetry of the Taliban’ Review
Surprising beauty and tenderness in the writing of these Afghan warriors provides a fresh perspective on a demonised people. BENJAMIN GILMOUR In the past decade, countless books have been published about the Taliban, examining its origin, ideology and goals. But … Continue reading
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Tagged book review poetry of the taliban, poetry of the taliban, taliban poetry
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Does aid REALLY come after security?
How can we bring development to Afghanistan if we don’t have security? It is still the question put to us by backers of our longest war, and we buy it. How indeed, can aid convoys get through if they are … Continue reading
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Tagged Afghanistan, aid, Aid dollar, Herat, Herat ambulance, Herat hospital, PRT, security, security first then aid, Taliban
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Valley of Roses
Travel SMH 1/5/11 EVERY great poet, from Keats to Browning, Milton to Lorca, has written about the rose. And almost every lover has delivered them. Many would agree that no flower is quite as wondrous. Its scent, although too sweet … Continue reading
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Tagged Bulgaria, bulgarian rose festival, kazanlak, rose, rose distillery, roses, travel bulgaria
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Dressed Up, Somewhere To Go
Culture SMH 6/3/11 IT WAS halfway over the Laxman Jhula suspension bridge in Rishikesh that my wife Kass and I felt, for the first time, like tourist attractions. While the bridge helps thousands of pilgrims cross the Ganges to their … Continue reading
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Tagged being a tourist attraction, dressing up, India, Kaspia, Ricky Ponting, Rishikesh, Travel with a baby, Venice, Venice with a baby
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Letter From Peshawar
Pakistan CRIKEY 24/11/09 From the car we could see a busy morning unfolding at the Peshawar Courts as we passed them, an enormous crowd filtering through a half-open security gate, each person frisked carefully. Old men with shifting slowly to … Continue reading
Pakistan’s Cinema Renaissance
Film CEO INK 20/5/09 While teaching film studies at IQRA University in Lahore a number of years ago, a young student in the front of the class put up his hand and asked me a question. ‘Sir, all I want … Continue reading
Welcome To Pakistan
Pakistan CRIKEY 11/6/09 In early 2006, when a band of scruffy kids and a former Afghan mujahid joined me on the streets of Peshawar to shoot a film about a boy who runs away to the city, fear of suicide … Continue reading
Lion Of The Festival Circuit
Film FILM JOURNAL 1/2/2009 A film like our feature ‘Son of a Lion’ has a festival life of one or two years, a terrific journey I am mid-way through and one that has amused and taught me much. It began … Continue reading
