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Teaching career photographs
(China, South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and England)Ch
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Class photographs
(China, South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and England)New P
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Employment documents
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Theses
(M.Sc and M.A.)
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Intellectual property
Travel photographs
(21 years of international travel in Europe, The Middle East, and Asia)
My hobby
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I have enjoyed electronics and programming since I was a child.
Technology has moved on since then, and now I enjoy experimenting with this credit card sized computer called a Raspberry Pi.
A Raspberry Pi is a computer just like any other, but it's very small and very cheap. But unlike other computers it can also connect to electronic circuits. It can also be programmed in a language called Python.
This is a system I designed and built using a Raspberry Pi - it is very small - not much bigger than a bottle of beer, but is very powerful in the respect that the tiny computer on the right can control the electronics on the left no matter where both the computer and electronics are located on Earth.
I short the tiny computer which could be in England could control something located in New Zealand in real-time. The electronics could also send back data to computer e.g. sensor readings and telemetry.
This is an emerging field called IoT or the Internet of Things.
This IoT system I designed and built utilizes a blend of technologies including Ethernet, Serial communications (UART), M.2 high speed storage, I2C, and General Purpose Input and Output (GPIO). It is programmed in Python. For global communications it utilizes a Wi-Fi hotspot and 4G with data transfer occurring via a secure Proxy Server link.
This system which I designed and built allows me to stream my own video content (2TB of movies on a Hard Drive in my home) over the Internet to my iPad / iPhone no matter where I am located in The World i.e. a private version of Netflix.
Some systems I build can be complicated.
This assembly allows me to turn on and off mains (240v) appliances from anywhere on Earth.lm
About me
I come from Rotherham, South Yorkshire which is 163 miles north of London.
The next few hundred photographs shows my life of work and travel since graduating from University.
London, ENGLAND.
This is me at Piccadilly Circus.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities in The World, and my first job after graduating from Loughborough University was here. I started working for a fashion label called Tommy Hilfiger in the city center.
My job was Network Engineer.
But I worked mostly for Nortel Networks in Amsterdam as a Network Engineer and I also worked in Den Haag (The Hague) for a while.
These are thousands of bicycles outside Centraal Station in Amsterdam.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
After spending 4 years in Amsterdam, something called the "Dot.com crash" happened in year 2000 and many of The World's telecoms and networking corporations went bankrupt, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs globally, so I had to change my career.
Because I had worked as a Network Engineer I was used to looking at and drawing lots and lots of diagrams. I was able to transfer and apply this ability to teaching in schools, colleges, and Universities in Europe (England), The Middle-East (Saudi Arabia), and Asia (China, South Korea, and Vietnam).
Nanjing, CHINA.
Me working at Nanjing Xiaozhuang University. I worked here for about 5 years on two different occasions.
I also worked at another institution in Nanjing called JESIE, but not for long because COVID-19 broke out and I had to leave China.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Nanjing looks like this.
It is the capital of Jiangsu province.
Jiangsu province is the richest province in China.
Xi'an, CHINA.
When the University semesters finished I always went travelling.
These statues of soldiers were discovered in northern China. The emperor at the time was frightened of death so he buried an army with him, including weapons and horses.
You can see from the timestamp I was travelling in January - don't do this, I was cold all the time.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I also worked in Guaungzhou in Guangdong province.
My classes for 1 semester looked like this. People say that people in south China are the most open and friendly, and I think this is true. These students were great to teach.
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Panmunjon , SOUTH KOREA.
This is the border with North Korea. It is the most militarized border in The World. This is me with a soldier from the U.S. Army.
There are thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea, and they have been there since 1953 when the Korean War ended.
When you visit South Korea today it is very westernized compared to other Asian countries because of the American presence. For example, the national sport is baseball, they have adopted Christianity as opposed to Buddhism/Taoism, etc, and they love the American food Spam.
The biggest South Korean expat community is also located in southern California, USA.
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Panmunjon , SOUTH KOREA.
This is a South Korean soldier at the DMZ. They stand in a posture called "ROK Ready".
Sunglasses are worn to intimidate the enemy.
These soldiers are specially trained in hand-to-hand combat and use Tae Kwon Do.
South Korean soldiers assisted the Americans in the Vietnam War. Papers found on dead North Vietnamese officers revealed that on no occasion should they pick a fight with South Korean soldiers - every time they did so, the North Vietnamese lost. Bascially, combat is a skill like any other and South Koreans have an aptitude for it in a similar way to the Ghurkhas of Nepal.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
If you do not know this, the United Kingdom fought in the Korean War along with another 67 other countries, but you never hear about this. British casualties were 1,078 killed in action, 2,674 wounded and 1,060 missing or taken prisoner.
This is a Korean War commemoration exhibit in Seoul.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Seoul is a mix of modern and traditional buildings.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Visiting Gyeongbokgung, also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul.
Taj Mahal, Agra, INDIA.
India is not a clean country. I was sick all the time I was there. I think cows (which are regarded as sacred) living alongside people had a lot to do with me being sick all the time.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
In central Seoul there is a mountain, and on top of the mountain is a tower.
This is the view of downtown Seoul from the tower.
Seoul is in a very bad location strategically, and should there be a conflict with North Korea, Seoul is in range of thousands of North Korean artillery tubes over the border.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea generally looks like this everywhere you go.
I've lived in South Korea 3 times, twice in Daejeon, and once in Daegu.
Chun'An, CHINA.
Holding a python.
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Venice, ITALY.
I travelled Europe after graduating from University in 1995.
I have also driven around Italy and visited Turin, Genoa, Milan, Florence, and Rome.
Mount Everest base camp, Tibet, CHINA
The oxygen level here is very low. You have to be careful of altitude sickness.
I took medication before coming here called Diamox which increases the production of red blood cells.
Travel in China.
Taking a boat through the 3 Gorges in China.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Attending a New Years Eve dinner for Nanjing Xiaozhuang University.
James Bond Island, Phuket, THAILAND.
The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed here
Nanjing, CHINA.
Nanjing is a walled city. This is me besides a section of the wall.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
I like teaching adults the most. These were some South Korean women who I taught.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching to adults.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching at Woosong University.
Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
I often visited the coastal city of Busan when I lived in South Korea. It looks like this from Busan tower.
Gongju, SOUTH KOREA.
These are burial tombs and they can be found all over South Korea.
Fukuoka, JAPAN.
I bought a Japanese rail pass and spent 1 month travelling around the country. I visited Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, Himeji and Mt. Fuji. Japanese people are very polite and the county is clean.
Osaka, JAPAN.
One of my favourite cities in Japan is Osaka in the Kansai region of Honshu, but it's not cheap.
This is the view of the Osaka skyline from the Umeda Sky building.
Osaka, JAPAN.
A photograph I took of the Umeda Sky building.
Osaka, JAPAN.
This is a famous and touristy part of Osaka.
There's lots or bars and restaurants here and all are expensive.
Osaka, JAPAN.
You can get good views of the city from this tower (see next photograph).
Osaka, JAPAN.
View of the city from the tower.
Osaka, JAPAN.
Street food in Japan.
Travel, JAPAN.
Heading to Nakasaki - the place where the second atomic bomb was dropped.
Nagasaki, JAPAN.
Downtown Nagasaki.
People come here to feed the fish (bottom left of photograph).
Nagasaki, JAPAN.
The was the epicenter of where the second atomic bomb was detonated killing 226,000 people.
It was a plutonium bomb and was called Fat Man.
There is a museum about the atomic bombing of the city.
The destruction was unreal.
Fukuoka, JAPAN.
After touring around Japan my trip ended at the port city of Fukuoka, and I booked a cabin and headed back to South Korea.
Travel, SEA OF JAPAN.
Having a few Japanese beers watching the Sea of Japan go by.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Arriving back in South Korea from Japan.
This is the Busan tower.
Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai, CHINA.
The is a glass floor at the top of the tower. It's hard to overcome nervousness at first because your brain is telling you this is not normal.
Some people panic and start to hyperventilate when doing this.
Shanghai, CHINA.
View from the World Financial Center looking towards the Jin Mao tower.
Shanghai, CHINA.
At the viewing deck of The World Financial Centre.
Shanghai, CHINA.
A photograph I took in Pudong district of the 3 tallest towers.
I have been to the top of the World Financial Center (left) and the Jin Mao tower (middle), but the tower on the right was still under construction.
Shanghai, CHINA.
Shanghai Pudong district at night.
Shanghai, CHINA.
This is The Bund at night, the buildings look English, and Shanghai has the atmosphere of London.
Shanghai, CHINA.
This is traditional scenic area of Shanghai, and behind me is a famous Tea House.
Shanghai, CHINA.
I mostly visit the areas of The Bund, Pudong, and Nanjing Road, but the city is massive (18,500,000 people), and I always explore other districts when I visit.
Shanghai, CHINA.
This is an interesting market in Shanghai as everything sold here is fake.
I often come here to buy shirts for work because they're cheap but still good quality.
Shanghai, CHINA.
Buying shirts and ties which would last me an 18 week semester.
Shanghai, CHINA.
After paying for the shirts and ties I was given a menu of other fake items they could sell me - Rolex watches, and Prada, Gucci, and LV handbags.
Travel in China.
Chinese does not use an alphabet, instead there is a unique character for every word.
Shanghai is made of two characters - "Shang" and "Hai" to spell Shanghai.
This graphic shows how Chinese words are formed.
Travel in China.
China has the biggest bullet train network in The World.
This is the best way to get around China, it's called the CRH. I could get from Nanjing to Shanghai in about 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on the number of stops.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Practicing writing (drawing) Chinese characters. The girls who worked at this bar helped me out, and I helped out them with their English.
Travel.
Flying to Shanghai from England is a long way and usually needs a stop-over half way. Direct flights from London are very expensive.
In this photograph, I have just set off from Turkey to Shanghai and I am in for hours and hours of flight across Asia.
Tokyo, JAPAN.
Tokyo – with 37 million people, the Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in The World.
You can get great views of the city from the Tokyo tower which is the orange tower on the left.
]Tokyo, JAPAN.
Exploring the city by night.
I find that China, South Korea, and Japan are similar looking countries, but the cultures are different.
Mount Fuji, JAPAN.
This is a famous mountain near Tokyo. I didn't go up to the top, I just went to the cloud-base (where clouds form).
Mount Fuji, JAPAN.
According to many travel guides it takes between 4-10 hours to reach the top of Mount Fuji which gives a good idea about the scale.
Taking a break before continuing up the mountain / volcano.
Mount Fuji, JAPAN.
I cloud coming towards me.
Mount Fuji, JAPAN.
Trying to touching passing clouds.
You can't really touch clouds as up-close clouds are just like thick fog or vapor which has clustered.
You can kind of touch a cloud, but you're just touching fog, it only looks like a cloud when you are observing it from a distance i.e. at higher altitude from the surface of the Earth.
Mount Fuji, JAPAN.
Back at the base of Mount Fuji, you can see it's a big mountain / volcano.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
Japanese people are cute.
This is me with a Japanese young woman wearing traditional Kimono.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
Fushimi Inari shrine was an unusual landmark in Kyoto.
It is 230 meters of hundreds of bright red torii (gates).
This shrine holds religious and personal significance to local residents.
Kyoto tower, JAPAN.
You can visit the top and get good view of the city (see next photograph).
Kyoto, JAPAN.
View of the city from the tower.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
This is the Gion district, a historic place in the heart of Kyoto and you can see Geishas here.
People here also wear traditional Kimono - like these two women.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
Cute traditional Kyoto couple.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
Making friends drinking with the locals.
This was a heavy metal bar, and I think it was recommended by the Lonely Planet guide.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
If you are travelling on a shoestring these places are great and are everywhere in Japan.
They are called Manga cafes, and they are like little private rooms for you to surf the internet, watch TV, and get some sleep.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
You can hire these rooms by the hour, by half day, or for 24-hours.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
There's not much room in these Manga cafe rooms, but they're good if you just want to get out of the afternoon sun and sleep for an hour or so before resuming exploring the city.
Kyoto, JAPAN.
After trying both Capsule hotels like this and Manga cafe rooms, I preferred Manga cafe rooms because they were just more convenient, spacious, and had internet. Some Manga cafes had a lot of other facilities too like DVD rentals, food and drink services, and showers. There is a good chain of Manga cafes called Popeyes.
Tokyo, JAPAN.
Backpacking in Japan by shinkansen bullet train.
Tokyo, JAPAN.
This is a crazy hamburger you can buy in Japan. It has 10 hamburgers inside!
I never understood what kind of person would buy this never mind finishing it.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
I spent about 2 years in Riyadh working at King Saud University.
This is me messing around with Saudi students by wearing a shemagh.
Nanjing, CHINA.
I cannot speak Chinese, and it is also a tonal language which means there are 4 different ways to say a word. If you don't get the tone correct, the meaning gets lost.
Instead, I learned how to write (some) Chinese.
This is me asking for a train ticket, I drew them a picture of what I wanted. They understood it when I handed it to them.
It says "Hello, I would like a one way ticket to go to Shanghai today at 1pm. I want a second or first class ticket, and I want the CRH bullet train, thank you".
Grindelwald, SWITZERLAND.
I lived in Switzerland near the capital Bern.
Switzerland is the most scenic and picturesque country I have ever seen.
Grindelwald, SWITZERLAND.
Another photo of Grindelwald and the famous mountains there.
Zhouzhuang, CHINA.
China also has some scenic and picturesque places. This was the view from my hotel window.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Lunch in South Korea generally looks like this.
Nanjing, CHINA.
This scenic area is called Fuzi Miao.
Tokyo, JAPAN.
Me in Shinjuku district.
Shanghai, CHINA.
I come from Sheffield which has a population of 530,000 people.
Shanghai is a maga-city and has 18,500,000 people.
Shanghai has become so big it is now its own province.
Los Angeles, USA.
Visiting Hollywood.
This was my first taste of travelling overseas.
It was quite an adventure. I got guns pointed at me by the Bel Air police because I'd fallen asleep in the car near to the area where former President Regan lived.
I also got sued for damage to a car despite the fact she'd hit me.
Los Angeles, USA.
The television series "Baywatch" was filmed here.
Travel in USA.
On the freeway heading to San Diego from Los Angeles.
San Diego, USA.
I have travelled to 40 cities in China, but my main hope is to travel the USA - all 50 states.
I have only been to California, visiting Los Angeles and San Diego.
Landing at Los Angeles international airport (LAX) at night is an amazing sight.
San Diego, USA.
I liked San Diego. It is home to the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet.
Behind me are aircraft carriers.
Moored up in the harbour was also the USS Vincennes, the U.S. Navy cruiser which mistakenly shot down and Iranian airliner, killing all 290 people on board. This is one of the many reasons why Iran doesn't like the USA.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
This is downtown Riyadh from the Faisalia Tower.
The arrow shows the location of the University where I worked.
I never felt safe in Saudi Arabia, there was always the risk of terrorism against foreigners, especially westerners. Note that, 11 of the 15 hijackers on September 11th were Saudis.
Badaling, CHINA.
At the Great Wall of China with a student and another teacher.
I was working at the University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB) at the time.
Badaling, CHINA.
This is me with one of my students at The Great Wall of China.
The student went by the English name "Wendy" and we hung-out a lot.
She'd help me out with anything Chinese, and I'd take her out to dinner in return.
Beijing, CHINA.
This was where I first started teaching overseas in 2004.
This is The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB).
I didn't work at the main campus, instead I worked at a small satellite campus in Guangzhuang district. It took about 25 minutes to get to Tian'anmen Square by taxi from here.
Beijing, CHINA.
Me with some of my students at the Guangzhuang campus of USTB.
Beijing, CHINA.
This was one of my first classes.
I am still in touch with these students. Most are now married and have children.
Whenever I visit Beijing I meet up with them and we go out to dinner.
Beijing, CHINA.
Meeting up for dinner with some of my former students from The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB). One of the girls in this photo is in the photo above (Linda).
Beijing, CHINA.
This was Linda and another student when I was her teacher at USTB.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
Meeting up with Linda when she visited Europe for her job.
Beijing, CHINA.
Me taking a break after class at USTB.
Beijing, CHINA.
Me with another student called Mary.
Beijing, CHINA.
This was a student who I taught privately.
Beijing, CHINA.
This is Tian'anmen Square.
Beijing, CHINA.
This is the ancient Forbidden City in downtown Beijing next to Tian'anmen Square.
Beijing, CHINA.
This is the Temple of Heavenly Peace close to the city center.
Beijing, CHINA.
End of semester photograph.
I am on the front row.
Beijing, CHINA.
Another end of semester photograph.
I am on the front row.
Travel, CHINA.
This is what my name looks like in Chinese and how it would be sounded out by a Chinese person reading this.
But because Chinese don't have the same sounds in their language it sounds a little strange. For example, when some Chinese try to pronounce my name "Chris" when they read it, it sounds like they're saying the girls name "Carissa".
Travel, CHINA.
Lonely Planet travel guides contain essential information for travelling in any county or city. You can now buy E-Books instead of conventional books which you can then put on your iPhone. These guides have helped me a lot over the year with maps, places to see, eat, shop, bank, etc, etc.
Travel, CHINA.
Adding the Lonely Planet guides to my iPhone and iPad.
Another good idea is to E-Mail the .pdf file to yourself and then you can sit in Internet Cafes reading them.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
I have lived in this city twice working for Woosong University.
I was also a student at Woosong University and I did a Masters Degree in Teaching.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Me doing my Masters Degree in South Korea.
The man on the left was my main teacher called Dr. David Kent.
The two women were South Korean students in my class.
Brugge, BELGIUM.
After living in The Netherlands for 4 years, I didn't think Belgium was any different.
Brussels, BELGIUM.
This is Manneken Pis and is a famous landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels.
It is probably the most overrated tourist attraction I have ever seen in 21 years of travel.
Brussels, BELGIUM.
Perhaps the strangest building I have ever seen during travel to 40 countries, it is called to Atomium.
Brussels, BELGIUM.
The Grand Place or "Grand Square" is a scenic square. I didn't spend much time in Belgium, I was just passing through.
Tokyo, JAPAN.
This is a capsule hotel in Tokyo.
Although the Japanese are known to be the hardest workers in The World and work the longest hours, there is a heavy drinking culture in Japan amongst office workers. Capsule hotels were introduced so that drunk office workers who'd missed their train home could sleep somewhere cheap (Tokyo hotels are very expensive).
Guangzhou, CHINA.
One good thing about living in Guangzhou is that it is very close to Macau and Hong Kong, so I'd spent my weekends there.
Macau, CHINA.
I visited the famous casinos in Macau.... and lost.
Don't come here with lots of money to spend, you're going to lose it all. Before you even enter casinos like this, the odds are already stacked against you "statistically" - bad luck has nothing to do with you losing.
Maybe just stick to playing the UK National Lottery every weekend.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
This is a famous bar in Hong Kong, it is next to the Bank of China building and HSBC building. It is called Sevva bar, the address is: 25/F, Landmark Prince's, 10 Chater Rd, Central, Hong Kong.
Don't expect much change when buying drinks here.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Starting work at Peizheng College.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Peizheng College, I worked here for 1½ years. I left here before the arrival of another summer semester because I wanted to avoid teaching in a classroom which was the same temperature as the outside (37 Degrees Celsius).
I like working in China at Universities and colleges, but they have neither heating or air-conditioning. The summer and winters are miserable.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
The good thing about Peizheng College was that it was in the countryside so the air was quite fresh and also the campus was scenic and had lakes and gardens.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Me eating fruit next to another lake on campus.
Although the campus was scenic because it was in the countryside outside the mega-city of Guangzhou there was a big trade-off - it took about 2 hours of travel to get into the city center. There was also not much to do outside of the campus.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
A good thing about working at Peizheng College is that I could get to Hong Kong easily by bus. I lived in Huadu district of Guangzhou and a bus departed to Hong Kong from the center of Huadu town 6 times per day, and cost only £15 (US$17).
This is a screen-shot of my iPhone screen setting off to Hong Kong.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Another good thing about Peizheng College was that they offered free accommodation which was also on campus in what they called the "Teacher's village".
I lived here (arrow).
Guangdong, CHINA.
Evenings in the "Teacher's village" looked like this.
Guangdong, CHINA.
The best thing about Peizheng College was the students.
It were very easy going and I liked teaching them.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
A birthday gift from one of my students.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I think my students at Peizheng had iPhone addition or rather Huawei addition.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
China is probably the best place in The World for food.
This is a big attraction, you won't need to cook because restaurants are everywhere and this competition makes them very cheap.
When I worked in Guangzhou, in 1½ years I never cooked once.
One good tip, if you are in China and want to eat somewhere which has good food and is cheap, go to a University district, and follow the students.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Winter in Seoul.
Don't think because Seoul is in Asia it is always warm.
The winters here are bad, many soldiers during the Korean War for example died of hypothermia.
.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I lived in Guangzhou for about 1½ years.
It is another mega-city like Shanghai.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
I worked in Daegu at the Catholic University of Daegu for about 1½ years.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a photo I took of downtown Daegu.
l have never been to a city with so many pretty women. Even the Korean's say this.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
The campus at The Catholic University of Daegu was probably the best of any University I have worked.
The campus in summer was lush, with flowers, and a mountains backdrop.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
The campus at The Catholic University of Daegu looked like this.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching at The Catholic University of Daegu.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a typical timetable when teaching at Universities in countries like China and South Korea.
You can see that I don't work a 9-5 job when I work overseas. In addition, I receive about 2-3 months holiday per year, in the UK I'd get around 25 days.
The accommodation is also free and usually has free Wi-Fi, but sometimes you have to pay for gas, water and/or electricity depending on the place.
Accommodation is also on campus, which means you don't need a car. So, what I don't spend on a car, I spend on travel to neighbouring countries in the holiday periods, and have done this for 16 years. This is how I have managed to visit 40 countries and hundreds of places.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
The very first class with new students I always do this - introducing myself and giving important information to the students.
Firstly, I give them my E-Mail address and phone number - the knife with blood dripping off it tells the students if they call me at 1am (like one student did) I'll kill them!
I then tell them where I come from, and my country. Actually there is a lot of confusion in The World of the meaning of Britain, England, and United Kingdom - you can actually say you are from either of these 3 places. I explain we have sheep in Wales, cheese in England, and moutains in Scotland etc, and were I come from there are factories which did make steel.
I then explain the course to them in terms of grading i.e. Attendance, Presentation, Participation, Midterm exam and Final exam.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Typical class at The Catholic University of Daegu.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching at The Catholic University of Daegu - messing around with one of my students.
She wanted to take a selfie with my on her phone, she then sent it to me.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
End of the semester...
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching at The Catholic University of Daegu - me with the same student as above, plus her friend.
She wanted to take another picture with the blossom trees in full flower.
The blossoming trees are a very famous attraction in South Korea.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching at The Catholic University of Daegu - these were the trees blossoming on the University campus.
Many students came here to take photographs.
The students recommended I visit the city of Jinhae which is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring.
Jinhae, SOUTH KOREA.
I went to Jinhae to see the cherry blossom, but most of it had fallen. It doesn't last long.
Travelling, SOUTH KOREA.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
I liked working at The Catholic University of Daegu, but it's hard to find a place which is just right.
For example, working at this University had many pros, but also some significant cons.
The biggest con was that even though the place was called The Catholic University of Daegu, the campus was not actually near the city of Daegu. It was actually located in a small town called Hayang in the countryside and getting into Daegu city was a pain because it took busses and subways and 45 minutes of travel to get there.
Getting back to the campus in the countryside was even worse if you went into the city at the weekends to drink. Taxi drivers would refuse to take you back to Hayang because they could not find any customers on the way back to Daegu. Trains and busses has also stopped until 7am.
Also, many Korean students choose to study in the city where they live so they can live at home with their parents for the 4 years of study and save a lot of money compared to say, living in Seoul for 4 years. So this University resembled a school whereby the students came to classes in the morning and then went home about 4pm-5pm. This meant there was not a lively campus atmosphere compared to other places where I'd worked.
Ulsan, SOUTH KOREA.
I visited the city of Ulsan, not a bad city I suppose, but then again, most South Korean cities look identical.
The cities in South Korea probably look identical because much of the country was devastated by the the Korean War i.e. 68 nations of The World turned up for a fight!
I guess when cities were rebuilt they all followed the same blueprint.
This city is famous for a large Ferris-wheel in the city center. It gives good views over the city (see next photograph).
Ulsan, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea cities look space-age at night. This one looks like something from the movie "Blade runner".
Ulsan, SOUTH KOREA.
I got a little surprise when I was exploring the city center of Ulsan, I ran into one of my students at The Catholic University of Daegu - small World!
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Food is sold everywhere in South Korea, even small supermakets have microwave ovens and boiling water for the customers. There are also street vendors and cheap small restaurants everywhere. This works out well when travelling as you can get s snack 24-hours per day.
This is Korean street food, it's cheap and really spicy.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
In the West we have crisps as a snack, in South Korea they have this and there must he 100 different flavours to try.
I like this one, it was really hot and spicy, the also have a good cheese flavour too.
Every supermarket and small store in South Korea sells these types of noodles, you can prepare them by looking for the water boiler in the supermarket or store.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
These places are everywhere and can be found on any city street.
You choose what you want and they generally cook it with a blowtorch.
These places are really cheap, but the quality is a little low.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Another good snack food when travelling is dumplings. Available anywhere and pretty much 24-hours per day.
But, you get what you pay for when it comes to dumplings. If dumplings are cheap the meat inside will be low quality or there'll be very little of it. I'd recommend going to a restaurant if you want to eat proper dumplings.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Travelling around any country gives you a chance to try out local dishes of the places you visit.
This meal for 1 has got many small side dishes with it, this is very common in South Korea.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
In England we have Fish & Chips, in South Korea they have this - it is called Bibimbap.
Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul or kimchi and gochujang, soy sauce, or doenjang. A raw or fried egg and sliced meat are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Generally, most South Korean dishes look like this - colourful, spicy, sour, and hot.
Many dishes are kept warm by a gas stove underneath like this dish.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea is hot and humid in summer.
Crushed ice smoothies are really popular during the summer months.
Giethoorn, THE NETHERLANDS.
Winter travel in Holland.
Travel.
I have spent most of my working life in Asia.
Asia is a great place to live and work, but the travel times are bad getting there and back.
It can take me between 24-36 hours to get back to my home in England from China, this is usually because there is a stop-over for refueling.
Menwith Hill, ENGLAND.
One advantage of living in Yorkshire is that we are a primary target for Russian nuclear weapons called ICBMs.
A Russian first-strike will almost certainly target the American early warning and eavesdropping base at Menwith Hill which means Yorkshire people will be spared the horror of survival!!!
This is good to know.
York, ENGLAND.
York is one of my favourite cities in England.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Me with Korean University students.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Me in downtown Guangzhou.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities in Asia.
But it's very expensive. A beer in a bar is typically £8 or around US$10 and that is just for a can out of a refrigerator. Draught beer is even more expensive.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
One of my favourite beaches in Asia - Repulse Bay on Hong Kong island.
This is a very rich neighbourhood, property here costs tens of millions of US dollars i.e. there is a Ferrari showroom next to the beach!
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Because bars in Hong Kong are so expensive, you sometimes see this.
Instead of going to bars, some people just visit a 7-11 convenience store and drink outside it on the streets.
Basically supermarkets become bars at night.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
When you cross from Kowloon to Hong Kong island the famous Star ferry drops you here.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Open top busses are a good way to see the city and all the skyscrapers.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
One unusual sight in Hong Kong is this - crowds of Filipinos sat everywhere an anywhere in the city.
At first I thought these were homeless people because they were using cardboard boxes, but they're not homeless people, they are just socialising in the street.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
More Filipino people socialising on a pedestrian overpass.
I always wondered why they didn't go to the parks.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Hong Kong island at night.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Looking back towards Hong Kong island across the harbor at Kowloon.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Me in a plush hotel downtown, I could afford a drink here, but you wouldn't want to pay for a room in a place like this, the room rates are ridiculous.
One thing about Hong Kong is that large corporations are happy to pay crazy room rates in order to make their corporation present a wealthy and prestigious image.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
It was really convenient for me to visit Hong Kong at the weekends when I lived in China because, by chance, a bus departed from Huadu district (where I lived in Guangzhou) to downtown Hong Kong about 6 times per day.
This is me in Hong Kong waiting for my bus back to Guangzhou at the end of the weekend.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
When flying back to England, I'd usually fly out from Hong Kong airport.
You can see in this photograph that Hong Kong is actually a collection of big and small islands.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
My students bought me a birthday cake.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Department staff photo - I am at the back (red arrow).
Guangzhou, CHINA.
One of my favourite classes.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
After exploring Kowloon all day, I relaxed at Hong Kong harbour.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Kowloon overlooking Hong Kong island on New Year's Day.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I have been backpacking in The World for 21 years in 40 countries.
Here I am packing my trash to visit Hong Kong for the weekend as it was close to Guangzhou.
H
Xuzhou, CHINA.
Winter travel in Jiangsu province.
Travel in China.
I visited the 3 Gorges Dam, which at the time was The World's largest engineering project.
It is a dam and hydro-electric power-station, and is still breaking output records.
But this dam was controversial because thousands of people were forcibly moved from their homes, and whole towns were flooded so the dam could operate.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I live close to this estate called Wentworth Woodhouse.
The front is wider than Buckingham Palace.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I am from Yorkshire.
Yorkshire people survive by eating this - Fish & Chips (with curry sauce).
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
A lot of Yorkshire looks like this.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me and my mother.
York, ENGLAND.
York is a nice place to live but it often gets flooded (see next 2 photos).
York, ENGLAND (2021).
When I was in England in January 2021, York was flooded.
York, ENGLAND.
I usually sit by this river and have lunch, but not today.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Spending the weekends at Repulse Bay.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
When I came to Hong Kong at the weekends, I'd spend Friday night in Kowloon, Saturday exploring Hong Kong island, and Sunday at the beach at Repulse Bay.
Here I am checking the time of my bus ticket back to Guangzhou in order to be sure I get back for Monday morning classes.
The best place to live in China if you want visit Hong Kong often is the city of Shenzhen.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
The beach at Repulse Bay.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I sometimes miss English food when I am overseas.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Meeting new students, I can write a little Chinese on the board. I learned about 1,000 characters, but I didn't really write them, I draw them.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I enjoy working as a teacher at Universities and colleges in China, the campuses are good.
Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea is not a bad country to live and work, but it is a small country like England and there is not much to see.
Sometimes at the weekends I would go to Japan. It is only 125 miles from Busan, and takes about 2½ hours by hydrofoil ferry (see inset).
Sheffield, ENGLAND.
I live close to the city of Sheffield.
There's nothing much to see in Sheffield, but it is a good base for exploring the countryside in the Peak District.
Sheffield, ENGLAND.
I sometimes work in schools in Sheffield as a Supply Teacher.
Sheffield, ENGLAND.
I live close to the city of Sheffield.
In this photograph I'd just been offered a place on a PGCE course at Sheffield Hallam University to teach Computing in High schools.
But I changed my mind in the end because I'd already been teaching in High schools without a PGCE for 16 years as a Supply Teacher. I also read that many newly qualified teachers in the UK quit teaching after just 5 years citing overwork, stress, OFSTED inspections, etc. Finally, I already had a Masters Degree in Teaching which was a higher qualification than a PGCE anyway.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me in the countryside near my home (Abdy) in winter.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
This is what Abdy looks like in the summer.
I managed to catch a rainbow in this photograph.
South Yorkshire, ENGLAND.
This part of South Yorkshire is in The Peak district.
This is the view out of my car window arriving there.
South Yorkshire, ENGLAND.
The Peak District is a nice place to relax.
Here I am taking a break and having a few beers next to Damflask reservoir.
South Yorkshire, ENGLAND.
There are hundreds of small villages in South Yorkshire.
This one is called Wentworth.
West Yorkshire, ENGLAND.
This small village is called Holmfirth.
A famous English comedy is filmed here called "The last of the summer wine".
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me visiting England when I lived in Guangzhou, China.
Travel.
If it's a good school I like working as a Supply Teacher.
If you want to be a Supply Teacher you have to get used to driving to different schools everyday, but I don't mind this.
Wakefield, ENGLAND.
Working as a Supply Teacher.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I miss food like this when I am working overseas - curry.
You can find it in China and South Korea, but only in the big cities or the capitals.
My favourite movie - Apocalypse Now.
I also like Goodfellas and Casino.
Manchester, ENGLAND.
I was lucky in a way because I got to see my favourite movie Apocalypse Now in IMAX format at the Trafford Center cinema.
Cu Chi tunnels (near Saigon), VIETNAM.
My own version of Vietnam was not as dramatic as Apocalypse Now, it just consisted of me going into the Viet Cong tunnels at Cu Chi and firing an American Armalite M-16.
Another amazing movie - The Shawshank Redemption.
Doncaster, ENGLAND.
Teaching IT.
Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA.
Me with an American Armalite M-16 at a shooting range.
I also threw a grenade.
Firing a rifle like this is harder than it looks. I didn't even hit the target once with a full clip (magazine), I was either too high, too low or left or right.
Keswick, ENGLAND.
I live a few hours drive from the Lake District.
It's a nice place to explore and is very scenic in places.
I am hot and sweaty because I just climbed a big hill overlooking Keswick town.
#
Travel.
I seem to spend my life filling up Passports, and filling out Visa applications.
I once submitted a Visa application to work in China and the whole process took 6 months!
Travel.
This is all the paperwork I need to work China.
It's also expensive:
Nanjing, CHINA.
Chinese friend, she sent me a photo of her wedding day.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is an ultra modern building in downtown Seoul.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Walking in rice paddies is hard work, the wet mud sucks your feet in like a vacuum.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Heading to class at The Catholic University of Daegu.
Unlike Universities in China, this University had air-conditioning and heating, and as you would expect, this is a huge difference in working conditions when working in these countries.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea is kind of like a 24-hour society. Supermarkets are everywhere and are open day and night, bars open at 7pm and close at dawn, and you can find restaurants open until the early morning, and internet cafes stay open 24-hours.
A lot of South Korean students get into this 24-hour lifestyle and images like this are common with students sleeping over their desks. This was one of my classes when I arrived, nine were asleep.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Looking happier because the summer semester is over.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Travelling in South Korea is particularly easy and convenient because it's a small country and they also have an excellent bullet train network (called KTX) and bus network so I got to visit many places in South Korea.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
This graphic shows where I have travelled in South Korea.
But, the country I have travelled the most is China (40 cities).
Travel, CHINA.
These are the 40 cities where I have travelled in China:
1. Beijing (北京)
2. Shijiazhuang (石家庄)
3. Taiyuan (太原)
4. Suzhou (苏州)
5. Shanghai (上海)
6. Zhouzhuang (周庄镇)
7. Ningbo (宁波)
8. Tianjin (天津)
9. Dalian (大连)
10. Dandong (丹东)
11. Hong Kong (香港)
12. Guilin (桂林)
13. Yangshuo (阳朔县)
14. Shenzhen (深圳)
15. Nanjing (南京)
16. Zhenjiang (镇江)
17. Yangzhou (扬州)
18. Xi’an (西安)
19. Hangzhou (杭州)
20. Chengdu (成都)
21. Qingdao (青岛)
22. Lhasa (拉萨) + Mount Everest
23. Gyantse (江孜)
24. Sakya (萨迓)
25. Shigatse (日喀则)
26. Dinghai (定海区)
27. Putuoshan (普陀山)
28. Chun’An (淳安县)
29. Yichang (宜昌) + 3 Gorges Dam
30. Wanzhou (万州区)
31. Chongqing (重庆)
32. Kunming (昆明)
33. Lijiang (丽江)
34. Xuzhou (徐州)
35. Hefei (合肥)
36. Xiamen (厦门)
37. Yixing City (宜兴) + Qiandao Lake.
38. Guangzhou (广州)
39. Yunfu (云浮)
40. Foshan (佛山)
There is a good cluster of interesting cities in Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province.
There is very little to see in western China.
Daecheon, SOUTH KOREA.
Sunset at Daecheon beach.
Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
This is probably South Korea's best beach.
It is called Haeundae beach.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Fireworks at Daecheon beach.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
At Daecheon beach.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea is a little like the British Isles, in that it has hundreds of small islands around its coast.
Here I am island hopping to explore new beaches.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
I found a beach on Sapsido island that was completely deserted because the island does not have any shops, hotels, bars, restaurants, etc just a police station and some residential houses. I guess the islanders must do a weekly visit to the supermarket etc, by ferry.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Meeting some of the locals on quiet Sapsido island.
These two little girls spotted me walking down the street and came over to say "Hi".
They were really curious, possibly because they had never seen a European before.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
This beach is on Muuido Island.
Muuido island is about 3 miles across.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
I am not sure what this beach was called, maybe it sould be called "Hurricane beach" - it was so windy here as you can see.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Some of the islands do have small villages on them like this. But for things like Internet Cafes, Bars, Hotels etc, forget it.
This is a small fishing village on Muuido island. In this photograph I am going to walk over a bridge to the tiny island of Somuuido, about 0.3 miles across.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Crossing the bridge to Somuuido island, possibly the smallest inhabited island I have ever visited at just 0.3 miles across.
Jeju island, SOUTH KOREA.
There is a large island directly south of the mainland called Jeju, and is really famous for its scenery and beaches.
This was the best beach I saw in South Korea, it is called Hyeopjae beach.
This beach compares to some I visited in The Philippines like Borocay beach.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
My trip to Jeju island looked like this. It was a little complicated because getting airtickets here is almost impossible during the holiday season. Although there are a lot of ferry services, these are also book up too.
Jeju island, SOUTH KOREA.
Even if you manage to get a flight or ferry to Jeju island, if you are wishing to tour the island then finding hotels with rooms available is a nightmare. This graphic shows how small Jeju island is compared to the UK which means it has problems accommodating all the tourists wanting to holiday here.
Andong, SOUTH KOREA.
This is me visiting a Korean folk village near Andong.
The Queen of England actually visited this traditional place when she did a state visit to South Korea in the 1980s.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
This is the first time I have ever seen a band playing music on a train.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Eating iced noodles.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a very good Korean dish, it's spicy meat on the bone.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Some Korean food I would not he able to eat without being sick.
I saw this in my local supermarket - silk worm pupa.
In South Korea (and China) they eat dogs too, but I think this is changing now as dogs are becoming more and more common as pets in both countries.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a popular Korean fast-food restaurant called Mom's Touch.
They sell really good friend chicken and you can choose which spices you want to add - this one is onion spiced chicken.
Fried chicken and beer restaurants are everywhere in South Korea and are very popular with students.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This was my favorite restaurant in my local area when I lived in Daejeon. But it wasn't a Korean restaurant, it was a Chinese restaurant, and they had hundreds of different dishes with photos of them all on the wall.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Although this dish is basically just some beef and some vegetables, the food at the Chinese restaurant was amazingly presented.
I think the food in China is the best in The World. Some of their restaurants are immaculately decorated and lit.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This was Korean hotpot, which had a pretty elaborate setup for cooking it.
This was incredibly spicy and I kept coughing when eating it and restaurant owners kept looking over at me to see if I was able to handle myself eating this!
I like spicy food, but I think this was going a little too far.
Also, this was really expensive.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea has hundreds of cheap-eat places like this.
They are usually family run, and are cheap. These places are usually full of students when morning and afternoon classes finish.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
This is Korean BBQ restaurant. You pay for a big cut of meat and then you cook it yourself.
However, this helpful restaurant owner is cooking it for me because the last time I came here I almost set fire to the place, and there was smoke everywhere.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is an example of a Korean restaurant where you sit on the floor.
I tend to avoid these places as they are just too uncomfortable.
I always feel stiff when I get up after finishing a meal.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
You will be given this side-dish with any meal you order in South Korea, and it is free.
Or, you will be able to help yourself.
It is called Kimche and is basically fermented and salted cabbage with spice added. To Westerners it tastes similar to pickled onions.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This student of mine called "Sophie" was a Culinary Arts major i.e. she was training to be a chef.
So she made this for me.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
South Koreans are really really into spicy foods.
This is my next door neighbour for example, he seemed to have some kind of chilli growing business.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Shopping in markets the food is very alien to Westerners. I don't know what any of this is and how you would cook or eat it.
The supermarkets are a lot better, but even then a lot of the things they sell a mystery to me.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Boryeong, in South Chungcheong Province, in the countryside next to rice paddies.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
Me in downtown Daegu.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
A traditional guard ceremony in central Seoul, maybe similar to Trooping of the Colour outside Buckingham Palace in London.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
In England the Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street, in South Korea the President lives here - the Blue House.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Downtown Seoul.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is Cheonggyecheon, a stream in central Seoul.
Daegu, SOUTH KOREA.
The worst part of being a Teacher is marking. Keeping track of so many students can be a headache. The trick is to keep on top of it and not leave it to the last few weeks.
Chasing up students who you've not seen for a month, or haven't handed in coursework and be a pain.
News Report, SOUTH KOREA.
I was working in South Korea at a very worrying time.
North Korea was threatening the USA with nuclear weapons.
Many American fighter and bomber planes started arriving in South Korea.
The military build up continued for many weeks, but once 3 aircraft carriers turned up I decided that it was time to leave.
News Report, SOUTH KOREA.
When these 3 aircraft carriers arrived in the Sea of Japan, myself and many people in South Korea were expecting the USA to attack North Korean nuclear facilities.
News Report, SOUTH KOREA.
Each day things seems to be getting worse and worse, and it went on for weeks.
News Report, SOUTH KOREA.
If the Americans decided to pre-emptively strike at North Korea's nuclear facilities the first wave of the attack was expected to use these - Tomahawk cruise missiles in order to degrade North Korea's air defences first, then followed by waves to stealth aircraft to destroy the nuclear facilities.
But the fear was that South Korea would be targeted, especially Seoul, which was in range of thousands of North Korean artillery tubes.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
In usual fashion, North Korea seemed to enjoy the political crisis in South Korea and had its say on the events.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
South Koreans like spas.
This is a spa in Seoul. The water is extremely hot. I can only stay in for a few minutes.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Many of the spas in South Korea have swimming pools, restaurants, sleeping rooms, steam rooms, hot rooms, ice rooms, etc. They're also open 24-hours per day. Sometimes I would not get a hotel for the weekend in Seoul, I'd just stay at the spa.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a little door into a hot room.
There are different rooms with different temperatures - low temperature, middle temperature, and hot temperature, or as I would phrase it "Really hot temperature", "Completely over-the-top temperature", and "Cremation temperature".
I could only tolerate the low temperature room, the others made me feel sick and dizzy.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is what an ice room looks like at a spa.
I don't understand what the appeal is with roasting yourself for 30 minutes in a dry sauna, and then freezing yourself to death in an ice-room. I can't imagine this is good for human thermoregulaton.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korean people like to sit on the floor even if it is hard marble like this in the spa. This can look a little strange to Westerners.
For this reason, when ever you go into a Korean's home, you must take off your shoes.
Failing to do this will be a serious faux-pas. Similarly, if you walk into a Korean restaurant where people are sitting on the floor, take off your shoes at the door. There may or may not be shoe racks to place your shoes near the door.
But, I think more and more Koreans are choosing the western style and buy couches/sofas, etc now.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a steam room at the spa.
These places are great to visit especially if you've just spent the day walking the city streets.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Spending the day walking the city streets.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Still walking the city streets - me outside Seoul city hall.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is downtown Daejeon, I have lived in this city twice, both times working for Woosong University.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
70% of South Korea is covered in mountains, so most cities like Daejeon are surrounded by small mountains.
I took this photograph from a mountain viewing platform overlooking the city.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a view of the city from near where I lived.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Me at Daejeon Immigration trying to get a Residence Permit. You can imagine it is a long and frustrating process, and last time I came here they refused to give me back my Degree certificates even tough I was leaving the country. They finally agreed and accepted colour photocopies instead.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is what you need to work in South Korea, once you have this, you can then apply for the Residence Permit.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a Residence Permit.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Me at Woosong University.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Fireworks over the campus on the hill.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
I find that each class I have has a different personality. Some classes are very serious and don't say anything to you, some just come and sleep, some are really enthusiastic, some are chatty and never be quite, some are dying to meet you and want to know everything about you, and some are totally indifferent to you.
This class was OK, they were quiet at first, but after about Week 3 they started to open up.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is probably the most interesting museum in The World I have seen.
It is the Korean War museum and exhibits perhaps every weapon used, there is even a B-52 Stratofortress bomber in the gardens.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Me at the Korean War museum. Behind me is a Cobra gunship helicopter.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Namsan tower can be seen from just about anywhere you are in Seoul.
This is the tower seen from the Korean War museum.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
There is a cable car up to the Namsan tower.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
There are restaurants and observation decks at the top of the tower.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
I chose a bad day to visit Namsan tower. It was the middle of winter and foggy.
This was the view of downtown Seoul.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
At Namsam tower in winter.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Trees made of love locks.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Heading back down to the city by cable car.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Many Westerners living in South Korea descend on Seoul for the weekend.
Most end up in an area called Itaewon, there is also a large American base close by called Yongsan, so you can find yourself chatting to off duty American soldiers from the base.
The bars (pubs) in England have last orders (last call) at about midnight, but last orders in South Korea is about 5am.
This is me at a bar at 5:05am.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
My favourite bar in Seoul is an English themed pub called the Rose & Crown. They sell a lot of English beers and ales. But they cost about double the local beers because they've been imported.
Budweiser from the USA is probably the cheapest foreign beer you will find in South Korea.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Just arrived in Itaewon on a Friday night. I could reach Seoul from Daejeon in just 55 minutes by KTX bullet train.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Downtown Seoul in a taxi.
The building in the distance is actually a gate called Namdaemun (남대문) gate.
Haeundae beach, Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
The beach is just as popular at night as in the day.
Students and young people drink in the bars next to the beach and then sit here all night long, drinking, smoking, eating, and chatting.
Gwanganli beach, Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
This beach is smaller than Haeundae beach and has the view of a suspension bridge which is lit up at night with light shows.
Deajeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This is a typical neighbourhood student bar, and they almost always look like this inside.
The beer in these small bars is the cheapest you'll find in South Korea.
But they don't open until around 7pm and then stay open until dawn.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Me at Woosong University.
Woosong wasn't a bad place to work, but there was nothing of interest in Daejeon.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Woosong University expanded and built an international business school called Solbridge.
They assigned some of my classes here but it was a different setup to teaching to just Koreans.
Instead, working at Solbridge my classes would have students from all over The World e.g. Uzbekistan, Nepal, China, France, etc, etc. It was OK, but I was in Korea to teach to Koreans, and the fact that I'd just spent a few years doing a Masters Degree in teaching to Koreans meant that working at Solbridge didn't make much sense.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching an international students class at Solbridge looked like this. They are from Vietnam, Japan, China, South Korea, USA, and Nepal.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
I was teaching Business English at Solbridge, but the English proficiency level of different students from different countries was uneven, some were good at English, some were borderline at best, so I drew everything on these huge whiteboards for them to make sure everyone knew what I was talking about.
I think in this class I was discussing how to write formal and informal letters.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Another day at Solbridge.
I think in this class I was teaching how to write procedures, and gave using an ATM machine as an example.
We also discussed how to fill in English-style forms.
This was a particularly large class, maybe more than 60 students. I prefer classes of 15-20 students as you can get to know each of them.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
In comparison to having large classes at Solbridge I also did evening classes at Woosong Language Institute.
For this class only 2 students booked on the course, and it was a very informal, and I got to know these two really well.
Believe or not, the guy on the left was actually a millionaire and owned a pharmaceutical distribution campany in the city. I could never understand why he'd spent his evenings in a classroom.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
My smallest class ever... 2 people!
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Marking student presentations. They could choose any topic they wanted, the guys mostly chose sport, especially football. I think these guys were talking about Arsenal.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Treating my kids class to pizza.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Downtown Daejeon.
Woosong University, SOUTH KOREA.
Each semester the students had a gala and they did stage performances.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
The student galas were really popular and lots of the teachers would go too.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Because there was nothing of interest in Daejeon, on Friday after classes, I'd pack my rucksack, and head out of the city - usually visiting Seoul, Busan, or Daecheon beach.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Arriving in Seoul by KTX bullet train.
This is a famous landmark building you can see crossing the river into downtown Seoul.
It's called the 63 Building.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Arriving at a campsite in South Korea.
Deajeon, SOUTH KOREA.
In the neighbourhood around Woosong University were many restaurants.
This was a great place to eat BBQ meat.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
An average class at Woosong University would look like this.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Looking a bit happier because this was my last class for the semester.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
This was an example of a busy timetable because I took on extra classes in the evenings for extra money.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Woosong University library at exam time.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Graduation time.
Me with one of my students at Graduation day.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Island hopping in South Korea.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Most of the South Korean countryside pretty much looks like this everywhere you go.
70% of South Korea is covered in small mountains like this.
The mountains are generally safe, but because the mountains are covered in trees you're effectively in a mountainous woodland and without a GPS you could easily get lost here.
Sapsido island, SOUTH KOREA.
Being attacked by an over-affectionate dog.
This dog was very much a "people person".
Daecheon beach, SOUTH KOREA.
This beach is 2-hours bus ride from Daejeon.
Daecheon beach, SOUTH KOREA.
Relaxing on the beach at sunset (again).
The best sunsets I have seen were not in South Korea but in Saudi Arabia.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
Travelling home from South Korea was always a pain.
It would sometimes take 36 hours to get back to Rotherham by car, taxi, bullet train, subway, and aeroplane.
Incheon, SOUTH KOREA.
When you fly to Seoul, you don't actually land at an airport in Seoul. You actually land in a city close-by called Incheon, and get a high-speed shuttle train into Seoul city center.
Incheon airport is really busy and there are often long queues of aircraft on the runways waiting for their take-off slot.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
The flag of South Korea is quite complicated compared to some other nation's flags.
The flag of South Korea, also known as the Taegukgi, has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue Taegeuk in its center, and four black trigrams one toward each corner.
The white background represents Peace and Purity.
The blue and red yin-yang symbol represents Balance.
The top left trigram represents Heaven.
The bottom right trigram represents Earth.
The bottom left trigram represents Fire.
The top right trigram represents Water.
Travel, SOUTH KOREA.
I was looking for somewhere to put my litter, this made me think a little - Cans, Bottles and Pets????
Maybe you dispose of your dead cat here.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
When I arrived back from South Korea I'd call my Supply Teaching agency and they'd find me work in comprehensive (high) schools in my local area - Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster.
It works pretty well because you could not make a living being a Supply Teacher as your sole job, but it's OK for someone like myself who can make some extra cash when I am visiting my parents.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Working at St Bernard's Catholic high school (11–16 academy) in Rotherham.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Teaching kids is OK, but I'd much prefer to teach adults.
I have also taught in some primary schools, but I'd never want to do this full-time.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me in the center of my hometown of Rotherham.
Rotherham is a nondescript town in England like many others, it was an important industrial center in the past with mining and steel production. (My Dad was a steel mill worker for the most part of his working life).
I enjoyed growing up in Rotherham and going to school here, I think I met some of the best people on Earth here.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Teaching at Haugh Road school in Rawmarsh.
Lake District, ENGLAND.
If the schools were closed when I flew back to England, I'd usually travel in the UK as I have not spent much time in the UK in 21 years of overseas travel.
Here I am travelling around the Lake District.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This photograph summarizes my life for the past 21 years. My life has to fit into 2 rucksacks, one which is a carry-on, and another which goes in the hold.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
South Korea is advertising overload.
Travel.
I have lived in 3 Chinese cities - Nanjing, Beijing, and Guangzhou.
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province, and this province is also the richest province in China.
Nanjing is also in a good location because it's very close to some of China's best and most popular cities like Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.
Travel.
This graphic shows the location of Nanjing, Beijing, and Guangzhou where I have lived (red pins).
The yellow pins shows the location of the other 37 cities that I have visited.
London, ENGLAND.
I spent a whole day walking around London.
Taking a break with a unique beer besides Tower bridge.
London, ENGLAND.
Primrose Hill has a good view of London's skyline.
London, ENGLAND.
Chinatown.
London, ENGLAND.
Me in Leicester Square.
London, ENGLAND.
Oxford street. I was in London on this occasion because I had to have a medical to work in Saudi Arabia, and the clinic where I had to go was on Harley Street which is where all the expensive doctors, consultants, and plastic surgeons work.
London, ENGLAND.
Every time I work overseas I always have to supply a medical. This is me in a clinic Harley Street in central London. A simple medical here cost me over £400 and only took a few minutes, and they only made a few simple checks like blood pressure and ECG, and gave me a chest X-Ray.
£400 for that? I feel I am in the wrong business.
Brighton, ENGLAND.
After spending a few days in London I went to the beach at Brighton.
But it's a pebble beach. Not good.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
I like English breakfast, and you can find it in Hong Kong but it's really expensive.
If you think £15 is expensive, it gets worse. In hotels like the Marriott in Hong Kong it will cost £45.
York, ENGLAND.
I always end up in York when I visit my parents in Rotherham after each semester.
Harrogate, ENGLAND.
English people always complain about the weather (and also used to do this).
But living in Asia the summers can't be enjoyed because they are too hot and too humid.
English summers are probably the best you will find, and humidity in England is practically unheard of.
Here I am in a park in Harrogate.
Knaresborough, ENGLAND.
Enjoying the English summer in Knaresborough.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I like Timberland boots because they are good for travelling.
But, they seem to get more and more expensive, I remember they used to be £90, now they're about £165.
They seem to increase in value as much as gold over time???
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I like Scottish tartan, but only these colours.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I like sunglasses, but only these styles:
Shanghai, CHINA.
The skyline behind me is called Pudong.
The tower on the left is called the Oriental Pearl tower and has two large spheres.
Shanghai, CHINA.
The lower sphere of the Oriental Pearl tower.
You can see window cleaners on ropes cleaning it.
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge belongs to St John’s College of Cambridge University. It was built in 1831 and crosses the River Cam between the college’s Third Court and New Court.
It is not open to the public but I sneaked inside (see next 2 photographs).
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge, looking back to where the photograph above was taken.
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge, looking up the river.
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
Relaxing near the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge.
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
Near King's College of Cambridge University.
Cambridge, ENGLAND.
The Mathematical Bridge is the popular name of this wooden footbridge at Cambridge University.
It's a famous landmark on the river.
Nanjing, CHINA.
These are the walls of Nanjing, you can see they are unbelievably thick compared to the walls of York in England.
Travel.
Some of my essential travel gear.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Giving certificates to students at a graduation ceremony.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Eating Beijing duck.
Nanjing, CHINA.
I was living in China when COVID-19 started in Wuhan, which is next door to Nanjing.
When this photograph was taken it was the early days of the pandemic, it had not reached Europe yet.
I still cannot understand how countries like the USA were not better prepared, at this time 400,000 dead.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
This is what a mega-city in China looks like.
When I lived in Guangzhou I was lucky in that the college campus where I worked was in the countryside.
Shanghai, CHINA.
For the past 21 years, I have visited my parents twice per year (at the end of each University semester).
It's a hard journey back and takes a long time.
I find it difficult to sleep on aeroplanes so 12-hours in the air and sat in the same seat is not good.
It's also expensive.
Travel.
Travelling to and from Asia is a nightmare for me because I find it difficult to fall sleep on aeroplanes, so it's a long 12 hours. It then takes me about 2 weeks for my sleep pattern to synchronise with the local time i.e. China is 8 hour ahead of GMT and South Korea is 9 hours ahead of GMT.
Nanjing, CHINA.
This is a famous area on Purple mountain in Nanjing.
This was my last day in China for working for JESSIE - a college in the city center because COVID-19 had broken out and I had to leave.
Nanjing, CHINA.
I was working in China, in Nanjing, when COVID-19 broke-out in Wuhan next door.
My plan was to stay in Asia, and once I had settled all my affairs in China I was going to fly to South Korea. But one-by-one all countries in the region barred flights from China. I tried other countries like The Philippines and Japan, but it was too late and COVID started appearing on news headlines all over The World.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I went back to Rotherham, and I spent the lockdown relaxing and catching up on sleep because I'd spent most of my life travelling around The World (21 years).
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
The lockdown looked like this for me.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I'd also spent a lot of time walking.
York, ENGLAND.
This was York during the early COVID-19, no one was on the streets.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Like most people I expected some country would find a cure and everything would return to normal after a few months or so.
But this didn't happen, and I noticed when I applied for jobs overseas, one-by-one the countries started to close their borders. Airlines globally also reported a 52% loss in business.
I knew then, COVID-19 was going to get a lot worse and it did - 1 year later 500,000 Americans had died because of it.
This graphic shows the countries I applied for jobs as the pandemic spread and subsequently heard nothing.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I read one day that out of all countries in The World, it was England that was affected the most.
From then on the restrictions got more and more strict, for example, you couldn't go to a hairdressers for months and my hair grew long.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I love pepperoni and pineapple pizza, but it was months before you could sit in a restaurant for a meal because of COVID-19.
Travel.
My name in the different countries I have worked - China, South Korea, The Netherlands, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
During the COVID-19 outbreak I worked in UK schools for a while until the Government closed them for a second time.
Travel.
I have travelled in India, but I won't do this again.
India does have some good beaches but I disliked the cities. The best city I visited was Bombay.
After 1 month of travel in India, I was happy to be leaving.
Yangshuo, CHINA.
In comparison to India, I was sad to leave this place.
This place looks like something out of a fantasy book.
Yangshuo, CHINA.
This is the traditional town of Yangshuo.
It was interesting because I met a local woman about 60 years old who took tourists on bike tours in the countryside. She told me she'd never been outside of this town in all her life. She said the only place she wants to live in China is here.
As a Dutch friend of mine would say "What ever floats your boat", but I'd say "Maybe you should get out a little more".
But this was not an isolated situation, some of my students in Beijing were 20 years old and had never even seen the sea. (The sea is only a 1 hour train ride from Beijing in Tianjin city).
Beijing, CHINA.
My first University teaching job overseas.
These are some of my students.
Pohang, SOUTH KOREA.
I travelled to the beach in Pohang, but the beach is next to the biggest steel factory on Earth.
The factory is enormous, perhaps the size of a town.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
These girls are wearing Korean traditional dresses called Hanbok.
Shanghai, CHINA.
This is an unusual photo because it was actually taken at 1pm, but you can see it is dark when it should be the middle of the afternoon.
I am in an eclipse of the sun.
Kunming, CHINA.
This is a famous tourist attraction called Stone Forest.
Hiroshima, JAPAN.
This is the epicentre of where the first atomic bomb was detonated.
Hiroshima is now completely rebuilt, but the explosion and subsequent fires destroyed the whole city.
If you wonder why the Americans dropped it, it was because the Japanese refused to stop fighting even though they knew the war was lost. Because of strict honour codes in Japan, they considered that if you go to war, you either win the war, or die fighting it. There was no 'concept' of surrender, this would be total shame in their culture.
Even when the Americans dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima, the Japanese still didn't surrender. So when the Americans dropped a second atom bomb on Nagasaki the Japanese knew if they didn't understand the concept or surrender real soon, their country would be obliterated.
Any survivors would have been propelled back to the stone age.
If you wonder why Hiroshima is not radioactive, it was because the bomb was an airburst i.e. it was detonated above the city not at ground level.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Winter 2021.
Rotherham, England (2020).
I work as a school teacher in England, and have been doing this for around 16 years for various Supply Teaching agencies.
Lijiang, CHINA.
This is a traditional part of Lijiang.
It's very scenic, but also very touristy.
Edinburgh, SCOTLAND.
Fireworks at Hogmanay.
Note, Edinburgh is absolutely freezing around Hogmanay time, my advice is wear everything you own if you come here.
Edinburgh, SCOTLAND.
Winter in Edinburgh.
Travelling.
Visiting Scotland by car.
Loch Lomond, SCOTLAND.
I also visit Loch Ness, but didn't see the monster there.
Cairngorms National Park, SCOTLAND.
Me in the Cairngorms.
Yangzhou, CHINA.
This is called West Lake, it is a famous scenic lake in China.
Yangzhou, CHINA.
Another photograph of the scenic lake area.
Yangzhou, CHINA.
You could easily when a whole day relaxing at this lake and the gardens.
Suzhou, CHINA.
This is a very famous garden in China.
It's called the Garden of the Master of the Nets - I don't know why it is called this.
Bern, SWITZERLAND.
Switzerland is a pretty place to live, but it's very quiet. This is me in the capital, excluding me, there's only 2 other people in the photograph.
Basel, SWITZERLAND.
I had a job interview in Switzerland for UPS-SCS Supply China solutions. I went to Basil for the day after the interview. I got the job, but after working in Beijing for the year before, I couldn't get used to living in a place so quiet. I left after 6 months and went to live in South Korea.
Manchester, ENGLAND.
Me outside Manchester United football stadium, but I don't follow football (or any other sports).
Whilst all my childhood friends were watching Rotherham United or Sheffield Wednesday games, I was heavily into computers as a kid and connecting to other computer systems via a modem.
Beijing, CHINA.
Me outside the CCTV tower.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching South Korean middle-school children.
They were OK kids to teach, but I preferred teaching South Korean adults.
Two weeks of teaching to these two characters (and the rest of their class) was enough for me.
Beijing, CHINA.
I also taught at this high school in Beijing for about 1 week!
You probably think "1 week? Why just 1 week?"
You have to be really careful when working in countries like China because many employers will put things in the Contract, but never actually adhere to the Contract despite the fact that you and them have signed it.
For example, I took a job with this high school on the understanding I would work just 12-hours per week. I then spent 2 months on my Visa application in England. Only after I'd arrived at the school in China 2 months later did they then tell me I would actually be working 36-hours per week and not 12-hours per week which was agreed in the Contract.
So, I left after just 1 week.
There would have been little value in staying at a school like this because if you had stayed, the management would have started taking further advantages out of you.
The internet is full of teaching in China horror stories a lot worse than mine here e.g. schools refusing to give Passports back to teachers who want to leave, teachers not getting paid, teachers getting paid only half what they expected, or teachers getting paid months late, teachers not getting refunded their airfare as agreed in Contract, teachers not getting their end of Contract bonus, etc, etc. This list goes on and on, but there are websites now where you can check on schools and Universities by previous employees leaving their feedback and advice on whether or not to work there.
Dalian, CHINA.
I am flying in a microlight aircraft in this photograph.
Gateshead, ENGLAND.
The Statue of the North.
I taught in high schools in Gateshead and Newcastle for 1½ years - that was also enough for me!
Tibet, CHINA.
I saw some amazing photographs of Tibet before travelling there.
But I found Tibet to be a desolate place, and looked like this pretty much everywhere you went - just rocks, mountains, and snow. If you have ever seen pictures taken by astronauts who went to the moon, Tibet looks pretty much the same!
It was also very cold and quiet, and since there are no major cities anywhere, at night there was no light pollution and you could not see your hand in front of your face if you turned off your torch. I've never known a place so black.
On top of this, on arrival in Tibet the lack of oxygen means you become very lethargic until your body acclimatizes.
Tibet, CHINA.
Meeting Tibetan monks. These people live a very spartan existence in every way.
Tibet, CHINA.
My only advice I could give to anyone wanting to visit Tibet is don't get yourself lost here, there is just miles and miles of nothingness. This is some serious wilderness and there's no one around.
Goa, INDIA.
Instead of getting lost in Tibet, you could get lost in a place like this - a beach in Goa.
Travel, INDIA.
Travelling in India was an experience - let's just leave it at that.
Delhi, INDIA.
This was me just after arriving in India.
You can see that the streets are starting to flood behind me because of the heavy rains.
It got much worse than this, and since cows roam around the streets freely (because they are regarded as sacred), animal waste contaminates the flood waters.
This contaminated water must have entered my body via small blisters on my feet when I was wading through the flooded streets. I was ill in India for the whole duration of my stay there because of this. I had constant diarrhoea no matter how much medication I took, and had what is colloquially known as "Delhi Belly" too.
Delhi, INDIA.
Cows are everywhere in India and live along side people.
Delhi, INDIA.
This was a typical street scene in India.
I thought the streets looked dilapidated and dirty.
China has done an excellent job at modernising public spaces and cities, and I just think that India needs to follow their example.
Travel, INDIA.
Because there is a lot of poverty in India you have to be careful with your things, and especially so in crowded places.
Travelling on an overnight train I stayed awake because if someone was to steal my rucksack whilst I was asleep it would have caused me a lot of problems.
Goa, INDIA.
I was glad to leave the cities and arrive at the coast in Goa.
I hired a scooter and explored the beaches. But there were problems doing this too. The roads are in a bad state of repair, and if you are not vigilant all the time you could hit a pothole and be thrown head first off the scooter. Many roads are also unlit at night, and the locals are psychos when driving scooters and cars.
Goa, INDIA.
Swimming in the sea (Indian ocean) gives you a heart-attack too, especially when you have things like this taking an interest in you. This is some kind of sea snake/eel which has teeth. You can see it's big in comparison to my Lonely Planet book.
There's nasty looking jelly fish everywhere too, and things you've not even seen in textbooks floating and swimming around in the sea.
In short, I did not enjoy travelling in India, but some travellers who I met loved the place.
Paris, FRANCE.
At the Eiffel Tower.
Paris, FRANCE.
This is one of the most impressive structures I've seen in my time travelling.
Paris, FRANCE.
This was the Eiffel tower area on Bastille Day.
Paris, FRANCE.
Camping at a campsite close to the center of Paris.
Paris, FRANCE.
I'd spent the whole day walking around the center of Paris.
By the time I got the Louvre Museum, I was couldn't walk any more.
Chamonix, FRANCE.
On Mont Blanc.
Annecy, FRANCE.
Annecy has a lake and it's really popular in the summer.
Annecy, FRANCE.
Annecy during the day.
Annecy, FRANCE.
This is the lake at Annecy., it is very popular in summer.
Strasbourg, FRANCE.
This is a nice city to live. I visited the city for a night before continuing my drive to England from Florence, Italy.
News report.
On 7 January 2015 at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Armed with rifles and other weapons, they killed 12 people and injured 11 others. The gunmen identified themselves as belonging to the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which took responsibility for the attack.
Mount Batur, Bali, INDONESIA.
I took a holiday in Bali, and also travelled to Lombok next door.
Bali is pretty, and is popular with Australian surfers from the city of Darwin which is not so far from Bali.
I enjoyed the nightlife in the Kuta tourist district when I stayed in June 2002. But 2 months after returning something really bad happened.
On 12 October 2002 some Islamic terrorists attacked the Kuta tourist district with car bombs. The attack killed 202 people - 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalities. A further 209 people were injured.
They specifically parked the car bombs outside the 2 bars I went to every night - The Sara Club and Paddies Bar. If I'd delayed my visit to Bali, I would probably have been killed because I would have been in those bars.
Hue, VIETNAM.
Travelling on the Perfume river.
Hue was the scene of intense fighting with Americans in the Vietnam War, much of the culture of the city was destroyed, so there is not actually much to see here. The Americans decimated the Viet Cong for the first time here once they'd come out of the jungle and into the cities, and they were starting to win the war. But they decided to withdraw.
Kowloon, HONG KONG.
Bruce Lee was from Hong Kong, his statue overlooks Hong Kong harbour.
Chengdu, CHINA.
Visiting the Panda breeding center in Chengdu.
Pandas are an endangered species in China, if you shoot one, you will get the death penalty.
I was working in Nanjing when there was a serious earthquake in Chengdu. It made the building shake in Nanjing where I was teaching and put cracks in it despite Chengdu being over 1,000 miles away (see next photograph).
It killed 40,000 school children in less than 1 minute because they were sleeping in badly constructed buildings because of corrupt Government officials.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Cracks in the building where I worked from the Chendu earthquake.
DMZ, Panmumjom, SOUTH KOREA.
A strange place where American and South Korean forces face off with North Korean soldiers.
Xi'an, CHINA.
I liked the city of Xi'an, but the Chinese winter meant I didn't enjoy my time there.
Namsan Tower, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
The views from this tower are amazing in the day and at night.
Volendam near Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
This is a traditional Dutch town close to Amsterdam and can easily be reached by bus.
Travel, THE NETHERLANDS.
After living in The Netherlands for 4 years, I'd been to most cities and towns e.g. Utrecht, Delft, Groningen, Rotterdam, etc, and I also worked in The Hague for a short while. Outside of the cities, The Netherlands looks like this - flat.
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Travel, SWITZERLAND.
Compared to living in The Netherlands, living in Switzerland looked like this everywhere you went outside of the cities.
Some of the views by train when travelling through Switzerland are stunning.
Temple of Heavenly Peace, Beijing, CHINA.
A student of mine took me to visit this place. It's just outside the city center.
Guilin, CHINA.
These are not mountains, they are called karsts.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
My adult students at Woosong University took me to dinner.
This is a really good South Korean BBQ.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Two of my students.
They told me that they'd been to a night club all night and they then came class when the nightclub closed.
I don't why they came to class in this state???
But I didn't mind - I've been a University student 4 times so I know the drill.
ew Paragraph
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Heading to the beaches at Busan.
Haeundae beach, Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
This is probably South Korea's most popular beach.
Haeundae beach, Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
Relaxing at the beach.
This is a good beach, but in summer it gets too crowded.
Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
Waking up at dawn on Haeundae beach happened to me a few times after drinking in the nearby bars the night before. But neither did those 5 guys/girls in the distance make it home last night either.
The police won't bother you if they find you asleep on the beach after a night on the town.
.
Busan, SOUTH KOREA.
Me on Haeundae beach.
The Matrix.
Me in the Matrix.
No, not really, me experimenting with computer graphics.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Wearing a Thobe and Shemagh - traditional and current Saudi dress. The black band is called an Agal.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Alcohol is forbidden in Saudi Arabia, but I had an American friend who made homemade wine in his apartment.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Me at the top of the Faisalia tower.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Downtown Riyadh, next to the Mamlika tower.
Dammam, SAUDI ARABIA.
Saudi food is very simple.
Eating Kabsa or this is about as good as it gets.
Dammam, SAUDI ARABIA.
Me teaching at The University of Dammam next to the Persian Gulf.
It was so humid here that walking 5 minutes across campus to the lunch hall made your clothes stick to your body.
Manama, BAHRAIN.
When I lived in Dammam, every Friday night after classes I would get the bus to visit the island nation of Bahrain to go out drinking. Bahrain can be reached from Saudi Arabia by one of the longest bridges in The World. But it takes about 4 hours to make the crossing because all cars have to be searched for alcohol.
Travel to Bahrain.
On the bus heading to the Bahraini-Saudi border which is actually on a bridge.
Travel to Bahrain.
Me at the Bahraini-Saudi border.
The traffic jams here and compulsory vehicle searches takes about 2-3 hours of waiting around.
Manama, BAHRAIN.
When you see these two green buildings out of the bus window you know you've arrived in the capital Manama.
Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol, but when you visit Manama the bars are full of Saudis getting drunk.
Manama, BAHRAIN.
Sunday night, heading to catch the last bus back to Saudi Arabia (Dammam).
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
A lot of people rate Dubai very highly.
But, I didn't see the appeal of this place. Maybe I didn't meet the right people.
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
On the freeway heading to the Burj Khalifa.
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
View of downtown Dubai from the top of the Burj Khalifa.
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
At the Atlantis hotel.
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
Flying out of Dubai heading for China.
Travel (2013).
2013 was a very busy year of travel for me. It looked like this.
Manila, THE PHILIPPINES.
Arriving in Manila, I was told there'd been a typhoon the day before I arrived. All of downtown Manila was flooded.
Boracay, THE PHILIPPINES.
I travelled to the beach at Boracay.
Boracay, THE PHILIPPINES.
The colour of the water at Boracay beach is amazing.
Boracay, The PHILIPPINES.
Amazing beach.
Boracay, The PHILIPPINES.
Amazing beach.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
The summers in Riyadh were unbelievably hot, sometimes over 40 Degrees Celsius.
Wearing white shirts, a shemagh, and sunglasses is the way you dress.
Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA.
This is the closest I've been to being in an air accident.
On landing in Jeddah the 2 left tires blew out.
The plane was scraping down the runway in a trail of sparks.
Fire trucks were on the scene very quickly, no one was hurt.
Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA.
Fire trucks and rescue vehicles surrounding the plane I'd travelled on.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Riyadh suburbs are very very bland, everyone lives a white/light brown boxy house with a septic tank on the roof.
Me on the roof of my apartment building.
Manama, BAHRAIN.
In the jacuzzi at a nice hotel in Manama.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
When I worked at King Saud University in Riyadh we had teaching partners.
This was mine, he was an American.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Me experiencing my first sand storm with my student Abdullah.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
I did not particularly like working in Saudi Arabia.
The only good thing was that salaries there were Tax Free.
But one thing I will always remember about that place is the blazing sunsets.
Travel, SAUDI ARABIA.
I have travelled in Saudi Arabia, but as a non-Muslim I was not allowed to visit either Mecca or Medina.
Saudi Arabia has only 1 train route - from Riyadh to Dammam and it cuts straight through the Arabian desert.
This is what the Arabian desert looks like out of the window, just hundreds and hundreds of miles of nothingness like this. It's fair to say that if you got into difficulties here your life will last only as long as your water does. Do NOT come to this area of Earth unless you have local, or financial, or professional, or military, or personal, or economic, or Government/s support.
However, believe it or not, some nomads still live out here, so do camels. I wish them both the best of luck.
Travel, SAUDI ARABIA.
I took this photo from the train as I passed through the desert.
These camels are in the middle of nowhere.
I cannot understand how they survive.
Of course, I know they can store water in their bodies, but I don't know how they find water in the first place???
Travel in Saudi Arabia.
I travelled around Saudi Arabia by bus. I went to Abha, Jizan, Farasan island, and Ta'if.
Travel, SAUDI ARABIA.
I have never met any Westerner who has travelled in Saudi Arabia, and admittedly I only did this out of boredom. This graphic shows where I visited. Note that some cities (Mecca and Medina) as a non-Muslim, you are not allowed to enter.
Because of Visa restrictions I could not leave the country during the holiday break. There was nothing to do in the cities except shop at the malls. There were also no bars and even no cinemas.
So, I decided to travel around the desert country by Saptco busses, but I never really felt safe doing this alone. Some of the places I went to e.g. Khamis Mushayt, the locals had obviously never seen a British backpacker tourist before - and local people would spot you immediately and stare at you with curious/surprised looks on their faces. But you never knew if these same folks were passing on their sighting of you to the local Al Queda branch in town.
So, I always wore a shemagh and sunglasses to blend in and hide my face.
If you find yourself being offered a job in Saudi Arabia at some point in your life - I'd recommend Al Khobar out of all the places I visited there. It's about as westernized as you're going to get, and it's next to the island country of Bahrain where you can drink alcohol at the weekends.
The rest of the country - there's nothing to see, just miles and miles of featureless desert. It's also hotter than hell.
Dammam, SAUDI ARABIA.
I have worked at 2 Universities in Saudi Arabia - King Saud University in Riyadh, and The University of Dammam, in Dammam.
Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Teaching at King Saud University generally looked like this.
Travel, SAUDI ARABIA.
Seeing the Saudi desert from high altitude gives you a good sense of how expansive the dessert is.
There is simply nothing down there except rock and sand.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
I went to live in Saigon after Saudi Arabia. I had difficulties adjusting to this different environment and difference in culture.
I didn't know what "culture shock" was until I woke-up to Saigon in the morning!
I liked the children here but the school had a shocking staff turnover.
I didn't stay here for any more than 3 months, and went back to South Korea.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
One thing about working at this school was that I worked at two different campuses.
This was teaching at the other campus.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
The traffic in Saigon is probably the worst I have seen anywhere I have travelled in The World.
The rules of the roads seem to be that there aren't any.
So, I always took a taxi to school. Here I am showing the taxi driver my iPhone where to take me.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
These hats are actually a really good design for keeping the rain and sun off your head.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
The school where I worked was very well equipped compared to Vietnamese schools.
It was just a shame that the management of the school made the teachers' lives a nightmare.
The school management lied about everything, even that they were a Cambridge accredit school when Cambridge had not even heard of them.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
The traffic in Vietnam is probably the worst I have seen in The World.
I'd say 90% of all traffic are scooters/motorcycles.
There seems to be no rules on the roads except for stopping at traffic lights.
Traffic also uses the pavements (sidewalks).
I was also told that if you are a foreigner, and have a accident with a Vietnamese, the accident is automatically your fault.
I never been interested in motorcycles and have never learned to ride one, so I never bought one in Vietnam as I figured this must be the worst place to learn. I have rode scooters in some countries e.g. Indonesia (Bali) and India but they were simple to operate - just turn the throttle on the handle.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
Outside Saigon city hall.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
There is a good museum in the city called the Vietnam War remnants museum.
They display a lot of weapons used by both sides in the war.
This is me next to an American Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. They attacked ground targets with rockets and Vulcan cannons (known as "gunships"), extracted the wounded (known as "medivacs/dust-offs"), and transport troops (know as "slicks").
Saigon, VIETNAM.
This is a good graphic at the museum showing the statistics of the war - 14,300,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped in this country. I heard that this was the equivalent to 17 Hiroshima sized bombs.
Saigon, VIETNAM.
This is the tallest building in Saigon called Bitexco Financial tower.
Seoul city hall is in the distance behind me.
Tian'anmen Square, Beijing, CHINA.
Me outside the Forbidden City.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
This is the view of downtown Seoul from a restaurant in the Jong-no tower.
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Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
A photograph I took of the Jongno tower.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Teaching in South Korea looked like this.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Me with two students at China University of Communication Nanjing (CUCN).
This was a second job I had whilst working at Nanjing Xiaozhuang University (NXU).
I also used to work at a language academy at the weekends called New Dynamic.
Travel.
Flying back to China over the Swiss alps.
Porto Fino, ITALY.
This is where millionaires live in Italy.
Some of the yachts in the marina cost millions of dollars.
Pisa, ITALY.
At the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Milan, ITALY.
The famous cathedral in Milan.
Milan, ITALY.
A stylish mall next to Milan cathedral.
Genoa, ITALY.
This was a good city, but the beaches were all pebbles.
Camogli, ITALY.
A nice town to visit, but the pebble beach ruined it...
Santa Margherita Liguria, ITALY.
This was a nice town on the Italian Riviera.
I look tired in this photograph because of lots of driving and then exploring cities and towns during the day.
Florence, ITALY.
I drove all the way from Florence back to Rotherham (England).
It's the longest drive I have ever done - it took hours and hours!
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I reset my car's milometer and started the drive back to Rotherham, ENGLAND from Florence, ITALY.
It was 1,311 miles, and was very tiring, but I passed some very scenic places on the way e.g. Lake Como, St. Moritz, Davos.
Travel in Europe.
This was the route I took driving back from Florence to Rotherham (England).
Lake Como, ITALY.
Driving through the lake Como area. This is a spectacular place to live.
Davos, SWITZERLAND.
Passing through Davos.
St. Moritz, SWITZERLAND.
Passing thru St. Moritz.
Travel in Europe.
Driving through Switzerland looked like this.
Vaduz, LIECHTENSTEIN.
Passing through the tiny country of Liechtenstein.
Travel in Europe.
Travelling to England on Eurotunnel.
Travel in Europe.
These were all the places I visited during my driving trip in Europe.
Doha, QATAR.
Based on its wealth and small population, Qatar is supposed to be the richest country in The World.
Doha, QATAR.
A bench with a good view of Doha's skyline.
Doha, QATAR.
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The waters of the Persian Gulf are about the same temperature as a bath.
Near Nottingham, ENGLAND.
Summer in England.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me - image processed.
Barnsley, ENGLAND.
Teaching GCSE Biology at Shafton Academy.
I've taught almost every GCSE over 16 years of working as a Supply Teacher.
Engineering.
I am an Engineer by qualification and experience.
I never meant to become a Teacher, I only became a teacher because I lost my job as an Engineer in 2002.
In 2002 something happened that was called the "dot com" crash.
This is when almost all telecoms and internet companies in The World went bankrupt.
When the "dot com" crash happened, I was working for a large Canadian telecoms corporation called Nortel Networks, in Amsterdam. It had 120,000 employees globally. Today it has zero employees.
Since 99% of my University studies and qualifications were in IT/Computing/Telecoms engineering, I did not know anything else and I was worried about my future when I lost my job as an Engineer. But when I left Amsterdam and came back to England, I learned that you could work in Comprehensive schools (high schools) if you had a Degree in a subject which schools wanted.
So, I left Engineering and became a Teacher.
This graphic shows what working as an Engineer was like.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
When I worked as an Engineer I also studied in my spare time and got an industrial qualification called MCSE which means Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
I had to study 6 thick books about Microsoft networks and then take 6 exams:
It took me about 6 months to get the Microsoft qualification.
At the end of it, Microsoft give you this card to treasure!
Leeds, ENGLAND.
Making and testing telecommunications equipment on the Telecoms course.
Leeds, ENGLAND.
Making telecoms notes - this is the type of material you cover.
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Leeds, ENGLAND.
Telecommunications class.
I enjoyed this class, but there was a second wave of COVID-19 and the class went online.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I did 2 online courses during the COVID lockdown:
But this day I had 2 online classes at the same time - one on my PC (using Microsoft Teams) and one on my iPhone (using Zoom).
Travel.
You have probably noticed that I take a lot of photographs of my life and travel.
This is the type of camera I always use and would recommend if travelling - the Olympus TG-6.
This camera is to all intents and purposes an armoured camera, it is drop proof, water proof, dust proof, freeze proof, etc. You would have to try hard to break this camera (but I can). The downside is that it is expensive for what is essentially just a Point & Shoot camera, and the zoom is almost non-existent.
Travel.
Although the TG-6 is a very hard camera to break, this is what my last one looked like after 2 years of travel.
Conisboro. ENGLAND.
England has castles everywhere.
I live near one called Conisboro castle.
Nottingham University, Nottingham, ENGLAND.
Relaxing on a rowing boat on the lake at Nottingham University.
Nottingham University, Nottingham, ENGLAND.
Rowing a boat on the lake at Nottingham University.
Travel.
I have lived in South Korea 3 times, twice in Daejeon, and once in Daegu.
I left South Korea because "Rocket Man" (Kim Jung Un) the crazy North Korean leader was threatening the USA with nuclear weapons.
The USA then decided to build up forces in South Korea, especially the Air Force.
3 aircraft carriers arrived and I thought war was going to break out so I left.
This is a satellite photograph showing lighting from South Korea and North Korea. You can see that South Korea has made unbelievable progress since the end of the Korean war, whereas North Korea has achieved, in comparison, practically nothing.
This is an example of what happens to a country when it is run by fanatical lunatics.
Travel.
When "Rocket Man" (Kim Jung Un) the crazy North Korean leader was threatening the USA with nuclear weapons, B1-B bombers were landing in South Korea. I was pretty sure the Americans were going to conduct a pre-emptive strike on North Korea's nuclear facilities. This is why I was anxious to leave as I worried about getting trapped if war broke out.
SOUTH KOREA.
Many of these types of aircraft arrived in South Korea.
They are Rockwell B-1 Lancers, which is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force.
The Americans deliberately let the South Korean news broadcast these images so the North Koreans would know they stood little chance to stopping these aircraft. Since much of Korea is mountainous, these aircraft are specifically design to fly through maintain valleys making them practically undetectable. The pilot does nothing, a terrain following radar flies the plane through the terrain automatically.
These aircraft can also carry double the bomb load as a B-52, twice as fast and twice as far.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
My students had to do presentations as part of their classwork.
Many gave presentations on the deteriorating situation with North Korea.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me in infra-red.
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Nanjing, CHINA.
Nanjing has a large lake in the city center, some other cities are like this too in China e.g. Hangzhou.
This is me at Xuanwu Lake.
The mountain behind me is also famous (Purple mountain).
Nanjing, CHINA.
When you work overseas as a Teacher, the University provides an apartment for free (but you have to pay for utilities).
This is an example of what a typical apartment looks like. This was my apartment in Nanjing.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Unfortunately, my last job in Nanjing was ended by COVID-19 starting in Wuhan next door to Nanjing.
I felt sorry for a girl in the office who had spent 6 months helping me on a Visa application to live in China, but I had to leave after about 2 months because of COVID.
I bought her some Chanel things to say thanks for all her help - 6 months of work for nothing.
Nanjing, CHINA.
This is a Chinese Residence Permit. It took me 6 months to get this.
Nanjing, CHINA.
You can see that Wuhan where COVID-19 started was not far away from Nanjing where I was working.
I was a little worried at the time, and I had no idea it would spread all over The World and kill so many people as it has. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initially covered up the outbreak, and even arrested the scientists what disclosed the epidemic to the public.
When I was in Nanjing rumours were circulating that the death toll in Wuhan was horrendous and no way as low as what the CCP were claiming. The rumours were that the CCP had started digging mass graves and that JCB diggers were being used to dump bodies into them.
Shanghai, CHINA.
This is the fastest train in The World.
When I lived in Nanjing I would always fly to Shanghai. This train runs from Shanghai airport to downtown Shanghai.
This train has no wheels, it floats above the track using electro-magnets.
Electro-magnets then push and drag this train to a cruising speed of 300km/h.
Nanjing, CHINA.
I have lived in China longer than any other country that I have worked and I miss living there.
I miss eating cheap noodles like this.
You do not have to visit expensive restaurants to get the best noodles in China, just go where you see the locals go and follow them.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Having worked as a Telecoms Engineer I can not understand why in China they leave telecoms cabinets located in the streets, containing fibre optic cables, unlocked and open.
Those yellow wires are fibre optic cables and each one carries thousands of telephone and internet connections. You could take down a whole city district pulling out these cables.
I just can't understand why they don't lock these telecoms cabinets???
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I miss English beers when I live overseas.
For example, South Korea only has 2 beers to choose from - one is called Cass the other is called Hite.
In comparison, England has hundreds of beers.
These ales of my favourites. There's also others I like, one called Spitfire, and another called Bishop's Finger.
I like wine too, but I rarely touch spirits (unless you're buying!).
Barnsley, ENGLAND.
Another day, another school - this is what working as a Supply Teacher is like.
I work as a Supply Teacher when I visit my parents in England after each semester working overseas. I've been doing this for about 16 years.
At last count I've worked at 46 schools in this 16 years, in South Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland, and Tyne & Wear.
Some of the schools in Newcastle and Sunderland did not fit the definition of "school" and many were on special measures.
Barnsley, ENGLAND.
Teaching SEND pupils (Special Educational Needs).
I was working with a pupil who had autism. I've also worked in primary schools.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Teaching English online to Chinese children.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
Me and my Mum.
Whitby, ENGLAND.
I like walking, this is a popular walk I did from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay.
My legs were really stiff when I finished, and I could barely walk.
Whitby, ENGLAND.
Walking from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay.
A nice walk, but very windy and sheer drops into the sea.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I love cats, and generally they like me.
This is a cat that someone had where I was working at a college in China.
When its owner went back to the USA during the summer vacation this cat loved me, but when its owner returned when the college restarted it wanted nothing to do with me anymore.
This cat totally used me!
Guangzhou, CHINA.
I love dogs too.
I also loved this little Chinese girl who lived opposite the college where I was working and would always run over to me when she saw me. You can see she is really cute.
Guangdong province people seem unusually receptive to peoples of western origin, but I don't know why?
But, some Asian children fear foreigners (probably because we look different) and you can make them cry just by saying "Hello" to them as a stranger. As a general rule, if a oriental child talks to you first, you're safe.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Even the Chinese themselves say that the south China people are the most open and friendliest of all of them especially in the areas around Zhuhai.
The students whom I taught in Guangdong province, like this one, were probably the best students I've ever taught and I enjoyed my time at this college. The only downside was when teaching these students there was no air-conditioning in the summer and it was 37 Degrees Celsius outside and inside.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
This is Guangzhou. It is a mega-city.
Travel.
Before I even step on a plane to a new city I learn my way around by using GoogleEarth.
When I finally arrived in Guangdong city I knew where I was in the city because I had remembered these landmark buildings and had zoomed and panned around this 3D map.
Google street view also really helpful to look at before you set off to a new city.
Travel.
Guangzhou is located in Guangdong province.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
Guangdong province is next door to Hong Kong.
These are trams on Hong Kong island.
Travel in Guangdong province, CHINA.
I decided to travel around Guangdong province.
I ended up in a city called Yunfu.
Yunfu, CHINA.
The Chinese Communist Party is notorious for blocking western websites e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp etc, etc.
One thing which is frustrating is that when you try to use Google Maps on your iPhone in China the place names do not overlay onto the aerial photograph properly. This means it's easy to get lost in Chinese cities.
But, the Chinese now study English in school, so if you get lost you can always ask kids for directions and they will understand you. These kids are helping me find the bus station after getting lost.
Foshan, CHINA.
I also visited Foshan in Guangdong province, they have a big Buddha statue here.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
The college department bought the staff Moon Cake for a festival.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Me in the Teacher's village at Guangdong Peizheng College.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Just finished class at Guangdong Peizheng College.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
If you are travelling it's quite easy to lose your iPhone.
What I do is put as much information as possible about myself on my lock-screen e.g. E-Mail address, Mobile, WeChat, etc, in case some honest person finds it.
I also put my employers address in Chinese on my lock-screen and their phone number and an E-Mail address of a Chinese person that knows me.
It's also a good idea to put a photo of yourself on your lock-screen too, so you can easily prove the phone is yours if you go back to the place where you left your phone.
Lastly, I put my teaching timetable on my lock-screen so I can instantly check it.
Macau, CHINA.
I came here for a day visit from Hong Kong.
Many tourists come here for the Casino scene.
Macau, CHINA.
One of the biggest casinos called Grand Lisboa towers over the city. I went here to lose my money.
Macau, CHINA.
At the Grand Lisboa casino.
Macau, CHINA.
Playing roulette in the Grand Lisboa casino.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
This is a popular sweet snack sold everywhere in China - various fruits and glazed in a sugary syrup.
Here I am in a touristy area in downtown Guangzhou.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Guangzhou is not officially in the tropics, but it should be!
This was the weather forecast - continuous thunder storms for 2 weeks!
Guangzhou, CHINA.
Getting around China is easy now, and I heard they have the most miles of bullet train tracks in The World.
Here I am outside Guangzhou train station.
But the subways are a nightmare in mega-cities like Guangzhou - it just descends into a crush of people.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
This is a very spicy fish dish in Guangdong province.
But I can't remember the same of it.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
BBQ is popular all over China from street vendors.
It's cheap and good.
Guangzhou, CHINA.
At the college where I worked in Guangzhou I had 10 classes - this is very unusual, you'd normally have 5-6 classes.
I had over 250 students, which meant I had to do data entry of results, etc for each one at the end of each semester.
It was a really painstakingly slow part of the job.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
If you visit Hong Kong there is a mountain (called The Peak) overlooking the city.
The view here is spectacular, especially at night.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
View from The Peak at night.
Hong Kong, CHINA.
There are also walking trails on The Peak.
New Paragraph
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I have always had an interest in flight.
My favourite aircraft is actually an old aircraft but is still in service today (designed in 1952).
It is the B-52 Stratofortress. It was used heavily during the Vietnam War.
The statistics associated with this aircraft are off the chart i.e. to begin with, it has 8 engines.
In Seoul, South Korea, there is a museum, and in the gardens outside are aircraft used in the Korean war. They have a B-52 in the gardens and the gardens are open all day and all night.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Me stood under the B-52 Stratofortress at the museum in Seoul.
RAF Waddington, ENGLAND.
Me watching an airshow in England.
A Vulcan bomber is passing overhead. This is a really menacing looking plane - it reminds me of a bat with its unique wing design.
This plane, designed in the UK, flew one of the longest bombing missions in history by striking the airfield in the Falklands islands by a series of complex mid-air refuelling stages.
The Argentinians could not understand how the British had bombed targets so far away from home.
London, ENGLAND.
Boarding the new Airbus A380 at Heathrow.
This is the World's largest passenger aircraft.
The flight is very smooth and the reduction in engine cruising noise is impressive.
I also saw on the internet that one airline had bedrooms on board.
But with World-wide travel now reduced to almost nothing because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, these large aircraft couldn't have been built at a worse time. I even heard that British Airways doesn't even have a single 747 aircraft now. It looks like there is no future for large passenger aircraft anymore.
I suspect the management at Airbus can be found at the bottom of a whisky bottle now after spending 14 billion Euros on the A380 project. I knew all along that they should have given all that money to me instead.
Bakewell, ENGLAND.
Bakewell is a nice small town, I like coming here in summer.
Travel, ENGLAND.
One thing that travel teaches you is to be careful. When you are travelling you are moving into new environments and doing things you'd not usually do when being in your regular home environment.
I've never had a serious accident (yet) when travelling, but I have hurt myself.
This is me hurting my lower leg travelling in southern England.
The car door slammed on my leg when I was on a hill.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
Putting myself in hospital after tumbling with heavy luggage on arrival in Seoul.
Manama, BAHRAIN.
Tripping on a pavement in Bahrain.
Travel, ENGLAND.
Sunburn on my legs.
Sunburn can be a nightmare, especially in Asia.
Most of the time, you don't realise you're getting sunburn in Asia until you look in a mirror.
Dammam, SAUDI ARABIA.
This was a painful knee condition called "Roofer's knee".
It happens when you are kneeling on your knees, and too much weight is going onto the knee cap.
I did this by kneeling a lot when I had a heavy rucksack on my back. The rucksack's weight went onto my knees.
This is very painful, even putting on trousers over the kneecap was an ordeal.
Nanjing, CHINA.
Scientists don't know why mosquitos have a tendency to bite some people but not others.
Either way, to mosquitos I must be like Kentucky Fried Chicken to them - this is what they did to me overnight when my shins were exposed.
I can't believe I don't malaria yet because I feel I deserve it!
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Doodling on the whiteboard.
Daecheon, SOUTH KOREA.
Most people have a keyring - this is mine for travelling.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA.
When I lived in South Korea their president was impeached.
There were mass protests in Seoul.
The female president is now in prison for corruption, blackmail, and abuse of power, etc, etc.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Some of my students were crazy. Take these two girls for example.
During my classes they would have desk wrestling fights. I photographed them doing it.
You can see in the last photograph the girl on the lower left lost and started crying because the other girl bent her fingers back?????
Travel, ENGLAND.
Heading to Manchester airport, the start of a long journey back to Asia.
Travel, ENGLAND.
I've seen this place about twice a year for the past 21 years as I come back to England to visit my parents after each semester.
Travel.
Because the journey from Manchester to my home in Korea was such a long journey I would sometimes choose a flight with a stop over to break up the journey.
If you are a transit passenger you can sometimes get a transit Visa on arrival which means you can leave the airport and enter the country for 24 or 48 hours.
For instance, sometimes if I was travelling to South Korea I would stop off in Shanghai, and spend a day there visiting and sleeping. This time I took a stop off in Taipei where I'd never been before and explored the city for the day before resuming my trip to South Korea.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
View over Taipei from the Taipei 101 building.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
The design of Taipei 101 incorporates a number of features that enable the structure to withstand the Pacific Ring of Fire's earthquakes and the region's tropical storms.
This 660 metric ton steel pendulum inside the building serves as a tuned mass damper. It is suspended from the 92nd to the 87th floor, and the pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by earthquakes and storms. If you're interested in this engineering a good explanation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1U4SAgy60c
Taipei, TAIWAN.
This is the Taipei 101 building.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
A famous temple in downtown Taipei.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
This a touristic area in downtown Taipei called Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall area.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall area - raising of the flag.
According to China, Taiwan is a part of China, and if Taiwan declares independence from China they will invade.
But, Taiwan is to all intents and purposes a country of its own - they have their own government, money, and democracy, and the Chinese have no influence over the people here.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall area.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
Me in downtown Taipei.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
Taipei looks just like any city in South Korea.
Taipei, TAIWAN.
This is downtown Taipei, again, looks the same as South Korea.
Stonehenge, ENGLAND.
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire.
It was built around 2200 BC.
There was no engineering in 2200 BC, so the mystery is how did they get the stones to this location given that they weigh 25 tonnes. More importantly, how did they get the horizontal slabs in that position with no cranes or engineering?
London, ENGLAND.
Me in Trafalgar Square.
London, ENGLAND.
This Chinese girl is called "Sally".
She was a student of mine when I worked at The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB).
Whenever my former students visit the UK, I meet up with them in London.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
I have graduated from 3 Universities in England and 1 foreign University (South Korea).
These are the programmes I graduated from:
1. M.A. Teaching English (TESOL), Woosong University, SOUTH KOREA.
2. M.Sc Computer-Based Information Systems, Sunderland University, ENGLAND.
3. B.Sc (Hons) Information Technology & Human Factors, Loughborough University, ENGLAND.
4. Pg.Dip Interactive Computing System Design, Loughborough University, ENGLAND.
This is me graduating from Woosong University in South Korea
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
When I lived in Daejeon South Korea, I was a teacher at Woosong University during the day and student at the University at night.
It's hard to work and study at the same time, especially if you've had a long day of teaching, and then you have to do coursework and assignments when you get home after work.
This is a photograph of me with 2 other students (the 2 girls) and my teacher Professor David Kent who is Australian.
Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, ENGLAND.
Do I believe in UFOs? Do you?
My answer is this, if life has occurred on planet Earth, there is no reason why life cannot have occurred on other planets "similar" to Earth, and we now know that there are trillions and trillions of Earth type planets in our own Galaxy (called The Milky Way) and the Universe.
Therefore, extra terrestrial life is in my opinion both possible, and statistically probable. I would guess that the Universe is teeming with life of all types i.e. plants, trees, protozoa, bacteria, funguses, animals, etc, but it's just so spread out across such vast distances that we are unable to observe it.
Do I believe that extra terrestrials have visited Earth?
Same answer, it's both possible and probable based on statistics alone and that life is present on Earth. Either way, if Earth has been visited, alien technology (and their civilization/s) would inevitably be thousands of years ahead of that of Earth. We would probably be considered as animals by them. Aliens capable of visiting Earth will be so culturally, socially, intellectually, economically, biologically, technologically, and theologically different to us that there would probably be little common ground between their species and ours and relating to them would be extremely problematic.
Any public alien visitation could also cause global panic, as people from Earth will feel vulnerable and afraid.
Any public alien visitation would also destroy all religious beliefs instantly because there is no mention of alien life in the Bible, Qu'ran, etc. That is, alien existence is incompatible with religion and this discrepancy would be impossible to ignore. The ramifications of this could be catastrophic as human society will have to accept the realization that it has been deluded and deceived by myth/superstition for thousands of years.
But, there is more and more public evidence (video and photographs, civilian/military pilot testimony, eye witness sightings, radar returns, and Government disclosures) to suggest there are some unusual events transpiring in Earth's atmosphere. The common narrative is that something appears to be moving around in our atmosphere with an unusual form of motion, under intelligent control, and appears to operate with complete impunity, that is, there is nothing we can do about this even if we wanted to do something about it.
The good news (if it is true) is that these "people/s" have not attacked any of Earth's sensitive targets in all of human history, e.g. Military forces (Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy) of any nation, Troop concentrations (bases) of any nation, Transportation networks or Infrastructure of any nation, Agricultural production or Telecommunications facilities of any nation, Factories or Businesses of any nation, or have introduced/disrupted/interfered with any Financial, Political, Social, National, or Religious institutions of any nation.
Also, according to disclosed US/UK Government documents, 100% of "scientifically detected" unusual aircraft operating in Earth's atmosphere have always withdrawn or disappeared when being investigated/confronted by NATO, or any other air force of any nation.
In short, I believe it is possible and plausible someone may know we are here (and are even visiting Earth), but they have done nothing against us (or for us).
England, THE UNIVERSE.
The narrative from the Internet suggest this.
I am not convinced.
More military intelligence/Government disclosure is needed - the widely available grainy footage from USS Nimitz F-18 pilots was uninspiring and didn't really reveal anything...
Travel in Europe (1995).
In 1995 I graduated from Loughborough University with a Degree in Information Technology.
My parents gave me some money to travel in Europe for 1 month.
I bought an Inter Rail ticket which allowed unlimited use of trains in Europe for 1 month.
I've been travelling ever since.
Travel in Europe (1995).
These are the places I travelled to in 1 month by Inter Rail.
I would explore cities in the day, and then sleep on the trains overnight and arrive in a new city almost every morning.
Berlin, GERMANY.
When I went Inter Railing in Europe the Berlin Wall was almost fully dismantled.
But, I found a remaining section of it.
Sognefjord, NORWAY.
One of the most impressive sights I saw in 30 days of Inter Railing in Europe was the Norwegian fjords.
They are an amazing place to live.
I liked Norway, but it was, and still is, very expensive.
New Paragraph
Manchester, ENGLAND.
Me underneath Concorde.
Rotherham, ENGLAND.
I was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
My parents still live here.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
My first job overseas after graduating from Loughborough University was in Amsterdam.
My first job was working for Tommy Hilfiger as a Systems Engineer.
They gave me an apartment to live, and it was behind the Red Light District, and my bedroom window looked into a prostitute's room of business.
I never saw anything going on in the room, but sometimes the prostitutes would wave to me.
The Red District is an interesting place to visit just for the unique atmosphere. There are some really authentic Dutch bars here.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
A cozy bar in the Red Light district.
I like the "brown bars" in Amsterdam, they are typically old fashioned and wooden, and are dimly lit.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
This is where I worked for my first job after leaving Loughborough University - Tommy Hilfiger.
I worked in this building in the city center opposite Leidseplein.
It was a good place to work because most of the people who were working there were young people because it was a fashion business.
My job was working as a Desktop Support Engineer which meant I'd go around the building fixing peoples' computer problems. I spent a lot of time at peoples' desks, and I got to meet everyone.
The only problem with this was that the phone would never stop ringing once you'd fixed someone's problem, so I was always busy.
This job introduced me to something called Windows NT, and network hardware like Hubs, Routers, Switches, and Patch panels, etc, so I started studying to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MSCE). I passed 6 exams and I think it took me about 8 months in total. I also studied to become a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) which deals with routing an switching (internetworking).
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
I lived on this street/canal called Brouwersgracht when I lived in Amsterdam.
I also lived on the street/canal Singel, and the street/canal Nieuwe Keizersgracht.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
This is Brouwersgracht in the winter.
The canals freeze over but I never saw anyone skating on them which you see on some postcards.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
Everyone knows Amsterdam's reputation for a) The Red Light district and b) Coffee shops and smoking marijuana.
Iived in this Red Light district, but not the main one. There is a small Red Light district on the canal called Singel.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
This is what a typical coffee shop looks like - they're not much to look at really.
This one was popular with tourists especially backpackers. It was called Rokerij and was at the bottom of my street/canal called Singel.
I heard something just recently on the news that they want to close all the coffee shops or only allow locals to visit them because the Amsterdam government wants to put an end to drug-tourism.
I heard something similar about The Red Light district too, so things may be changing soon
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
In case you were wondering this is what a "drugs menu" looks like at a coffee shop in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
When in Holland, eat fries with mayonnaise.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
I used to visit this cheese shop at the bottom of my street/canal (Singel).
It's only a small shop but they had every type of cheese you would want.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
Taking a stroll around the city at night.
This used to be a defensive position in the past and is now a restaurant.
I took my Mum and Dad here when they visited me.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
I lived near this bridge when I lived in an area called Waterlooplein.
I lived on the canal/street called Nieuwe Keizersgracht at the time.
During the 4 years I lived in Amsterdam I also lived on Brouwergracht canal/street, Singel canal/street, Haarlemmer street, and Rembrandtplein.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
I used to live in this building on the canal/street called Nieuwe Keizersgracht.
If you live in the center of Amsterdam all the buildings are tall and narrow so you don't get much real-estate for your money.
Many of these types houses are very old, and some are visibly leaning. They are also cold in winter and the Amsterdam government won't allow residents to fit modern double-glazing windows in order to preserve the original character of the city. This means that these buildings are cold in winter, and there are constant draughts around the windows when it is windy.
Interestingly, because the buildings are so narrow, if you bought furniture you would need to hire a special street lift to put the items through the windows.
Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
Visiting Conwy castle.
Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
This place has the longest name in The World.
This is the train station at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Portmerion, Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
Another unusual place in Wales, it is like an Italian themed village.
Snowdonia National Park, Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
Passing through Snowdonia National Park, probably one of the most scenic areas in the UK.
Snowdonia National Park, Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
View out of my car window driving through Snowdonia.
Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
The South Stack lighthouse built on a small island off the north-west coast of Holyhead, Anglesey.
Wales, UNITED KINGDOM.
This is a great place to visit in Wales. It is called Tenby.
It has great beaches and a historic town center.
Tenby, WALES.
View of the small town and one of the beaches.
Sheffield, ENGLAND.
Sheffield is famous for steel. This is a factory that has been turned into a tourist attraction to demonstrate the steel making process.
Stratford-upon-Avon, ENGLAND.
This is where William Shakespeare lived. It's a really popular tourist attraction for foreigners.
Oxford, ENGLAND.
I like Oxford, but so does everyone else and key workers can no longer afford to live there.
Bibury, ENGLAND.
The best part of England to live I think is the Cotswolds.
This is a famous traditional row of cottages in Bibury, and is a big tourist attraction for foreigners.
Travel in England.
I drove past this house in the Cotswolds.
Everyone was taking photographs of it.
The Peak District, ENGLAND.
The Peak District is scenic but the Lake District is better.
Travel, ENGLAND.
I did a road-trip around southern England for a few weeks as there were many things and places I'd never seen in my home country.
My route looked like this.
Oxford, ENGLAND.
Me outside Oxford University library. It is closed to the public.
Oxford University is very old and had students here as early as 1096.
Windsor, ENGLAND.
A nice town in southern England and located on a river.
Behind me is Windsor castle, one of many homes of the Queen of England.
I think the Royal Family is an old fashioned institution now, and there is no need for it. Royal families ruled nations in the past, but this function has been replaced by Governments now.
Moreover, the Royal Family has no skills or qualifications that no one else has. For instance, none of the Royal family are any more gifted than anyone else at Science, Engineering, Art, Medicine, Law, Entertainment etc, etc, so I do not understand how many hold them in such reverence except for historical significance.
Bath, ENGLAND.
An unusual residential street in Bath called The Crescent.
Gold Hill, ENGLAND.
Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in Dorset. It is a very photographed street in England as was also used to advertise bread (Hovis) on national television.
Cornwall, ENGLAND.
Cornwall has some dramatic coastal scenery.
I think place was called Kynance Cove.
Dover, ENGLAND.
Arriving at the Port of Dover after doing winter travel in Europe.
Dover, ENGLAND.
The white cliffs of Dover.
American cemetery, Cambridge, ENGLAND.
Travelling sometimes makes you think a little - 3,811 American soldiers lie here for example, almost all were younger than me.
During 21 years of travel I have seen a lot of bad things as well as good things.
I have seen extreme poverty in India, drug addiction in Cambodia, alcoholism in The Philippines, underaged (and probably forced) prostitution in Vietnam, people who are missing arms and legs from bombings during the Vietnam War, horrendous disfiguring diseases, persons involved in organised crime, child slave labour, etc, etc.
Probably the most extreme thing I saw was actually in Amsterdam and happened in broad day light. I was walking into the city center, and I heard a pop sound behind me. It was pretty loud and it caught my attention and I thought a car's tyre had perhaps blown out. When I looked around there was a black man lying on the floor with blood on his chest. He'd been shot dead - probably in drug related killing. The whole thing happened so fast I never even saw the person who'd done the shooting.
Wentworth village, South Yorkshire, ENGLAND.
I guess you could say my parents are traditional Yorkshire folk - having tea and scones (baked and sweetened bread kind of things).
Travel to China.
This was the first time I'd ever flown in Business Class for a long haul flight because it's extremely expensive. This day I was flying with Swiss Air.
I didn't actually pay for a Business Class seat, I was upgraded for free.
If you look smart and presentable at check-in i.e. wearing a business suit, some airlines will think you are a business man and will treat you to try their Business Class.
Travel to China.
The main selling point of Business Class seats on long haul flights is that they can transform into beds and you can lay totally flat. The food is also better, and they serve drinks throughout the flight.
Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA.
Drinking beers, hanging-out in bars, and meeting new people can be a big part of travel for most people.
But you have to be careful in bars, especially in places like The Philippines e.g. Angeles city, Vietnam e.g. Saigon, Thailand e.g. Bangkok, etc, etc.
The worst thing that can happen is that you leave your drink at the bar when you go to the toilet. Don't ever do this. Your drink could be spiked instantly and the person/s who did it just has to wait for the drug to make you more and more vulnerable as the drug takes effect. This actually happened to a former Manager of mine at work and he found himself in a card game and lost £10,000 on his credit card in Thailand.
Men also need to be careful of pretty girls like this one who chat to you. This girl actually turned out to be OK and was just a friendly Vietnamese student in South Korea. But sometimes such girls are really prostitutes working the bars, some even employed by the bars.
Other girls can be trying to scam you by saying something like "Let's go get something to eat", then you'll eat at a restaurant owned by her friends who will charge you 10 times the real cost. Girls could also be assessing how drunk you are in order to determine how easy it would be to pick-pocket you or distract you to get your bag under the table. When you leave a bar, always also check you're not being followed especially if you've had one too many.
The safest bet is to drink in international hotel bars even if the drinks are expensive.
Manchester, ENGLAND.
I have to visit Manchester a lot because they have a Chinese Visa Application center there.
Travel to Costa Rica.
I worked in Costa Rica for a short while.
Central America (Latin America) I think is an acquired taste. Because of drugs passing through Central America from South America and destined for the United States causes many problems in this region of Earth.
Costa Rica and Panama are the most stable of countries of Central America but many of the others are relatively dangerous places to go e.g. El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize have terrible reputations with crime and murder rates.
Travel to Costa Rica.
Another problem with Costa Rica (and Central America) is that there are just 2 seasons - wet and dry.
I made a big mistake and went to Costa Rica in the wet season. This was the typical weekly weather forecast - heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and winds.
Just going to the supermarket was a gamble if you'd come back drenched or got pinned down by an electrical storm.
It also made visiting places of interest in the country undoable.
San José, COSTA RICA.
Even though I don't give Central America the best appraisal there are of course many lovely people there.
This woman was my student at a language academy where I worked.
She was from nearby Nicaragua. She told me she left there and came to Costa Rica because of political violence (which didn't surprise me).