By a series of fortunate events I was employed in June 1993 at a Bangkok international school. I was to spend 20 very happy years teaching, and learning from, the delightful students there. Bangkok was like the centre of the world. From here it was a short hop to many fabulous destinations: Hanoi, Vientiane, Angkor, Bali and Beijing. My bookshelves soon filled with guide books to cities and countries that had once been inaccessible, or even forbidden.
This book covers this wild ride from 1987 to 1993, first with frequent visits to Hong Kong; magic days in Japan; Saigon without cars or motorcycles; Beijing before the Olympics; Shanghai before skyscrapers; Vientiane with gravel streets; Angkor under the Khmer Rouge threat; Phnom Penh, a wrecked city; Bali before Chinese tourists; and Bangkok before the Skytrain.