Bangkok21
Mornington Peninsula
The drive down last night was hassle free, but my failure to stock the pantry before hand has me worried. Squeezing down the BMW 4WD jammed main street of Sorrento, tackling the tiny supermarket at peak hour beep beeping, chocker block with prams and trolleys, is no mean feat on an empty stomach.
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Review of .com/Unity!? Get Real... Estate! for the Melbourne Fringe Festival
I hereby declare .com/Unity!? Get Real… Estate! compulsory viewing for Fitzroyalty and other Yarra dwellers. This hilarious cabaret show is directed by Melbourne’s cabaret queen Ella Filar and devised and performed by Komissar Kabaret and KGB. This is what the Fringe is all about; local acts, alternative styles and a whole lot of talent.
Photographer Matthew Sleeth takes on chaos with his camera
Back home and showing his work in the Melbourne International Arts Festival, Matthew Sleeth talks to Louisa Whitehead about countering chaos with his camera.
Two sides to the 'tear drop in the Indian Ocean'
Boarding the plane is like checking into heaven. You don't normally feel this way about economy in a 747, but you've just spent three days in Bangkok.
You ooze into the seat, listening to Sinhalese laughter and not an Aussie in sight.
Leaving Colombo airport in a three hour taxi to Hikkaduwa, you're lost in early morning darkness, careering along the coast, looming upon late night roti stands and overgrown jungle. The spicy air is sticky. The driver, peering over the steering wheel, sits on the white line and drives forty kilometres over the speed limit. You have three near misses and are pulled over by police four times, not counting all the stops at army checkpoints.
Hikkaduwa for a great surf holiday
Put your hand up if you want to live unemployed and surf every day for three months…
No, I’m not suggesting a summer on the dole in Torquay. I’m talking about Sri Lanka, the civil-war torn ‘tear-drop’ in the Indian Ocean.
After spending three months in the South-West coast surf town of Hikkaduwa, I can think of no better place to kick start your surfing career.
Here are three reasons why Sri Lanka is the best place for a surfing holiday…
Petrol Price Part of Solution for Pollution and Obesity
Snow white air whistles out of my lungs into the crisp morning air and my legs pump round and round to the music in my ears. The fatties sit in peak hour traffic as I rush past, a smiling, singing blur on my bicycle.
I am smug this morning. I am saving the environment and getting fit at the same time!
Cycling to work is wonderful for my fitness and the state of pollution in my city, but these fabulous effects are not actually the reason why I cycle every day. The reason is a lot less worthy: I cannot afford it.
As I peddle from Camberwell to Carlton , I realise that the soaring price of petrol could be just the answer to the pressing problems of obesity and global warming.
Lockout no solution
I was proud at the Treasury Gardens on Friday 30 May. Many of us had never protested before, but we all, from the age of eighteen to eighty, came together to stand up for our rights.
With TV Rock spinning tunes across the park, it felt like no matter what the State Government wants, us Melbournites will retain our right to freedom of choice. 
We rallied against the proposed 2am lockout.
We rallied for out right to choose where we go and when.
Violence from binge drinking is a problem that we must fix, but a 2am lockout is simply not the solution.
Eelam War IV
The war in Sri Lanka has officially commenced. Again.
‘Eelam War IV’ kicked off on Wednesday 15 January 2008 with the collapse of the five-year long Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
The government is calling this the ‘war to end the war’.
Almost every day since we arrived two months ago, civilian lives have been lost in this conflict that ravages the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.
Tiger Chief's Heroes' Day Speech
The following are excerpts from the "Tiger Chief’s Heroes’ Day Speech".
We found the speech on a page of newspaper that our lunch was wrapped up in, purchased in the hill country of Sri Lanka in a town called Hatton.
Having discovered this little piece of gold, we cannot help but to share it with you.
The newspaper, we think is called Sat Mag, published by Upali Newspapers Ltd on Saturday December 1, 2007.
We found this speech fascinating, and are sure, if anyone is reading this, that they will appreciate this incredible insight into the civil war in Sri Lanka, terrorist organisations, and in particular the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Cricket in the Hills
A ‘nail-biting Test match’ is considered to be an oxymoron in almost any circumstance. But not so the case in the Kandyian hills, where, nestled between jungle and shanty-town, an epic test match took place.
The crowd, half Sri Lankans standing on the grass and half barmy army in the stands, danced, sang and cheered to the beat of steel drums and trumpets. While a giant Buddha quietly overlooked from the hillcrest on one side, a crew of bright orange monks spied from the jungle above.
One Englishman missed the point completely, remarking upon arrival, “I heard this ground was very beautiful, I expected more than just a tin shed and a school pavilion.”
Yet the setting so breathtaking and far removed from the ‘real world’ was just a hint of the magic to come in the first official England-Sri Lanka encounter.