Every so often, I'd think about revisiting England, a country I spent +9 months in, and am awfully fond of.

I've gone as far as checking hotel prices. Since it is so far away from S.E. Asia, and expensive, too, it's not likely I'll be there any time soon. On YouTube, there are many excellent accounts of England as is, with seaside towns an appalling contrast to those in S.E. Asia. Any resident of the West who thinks it's doing fine must be insanely sheltered or oblivious. Last week, I got an email from a young French friend who told me France was in deep shit. He got in touch with me to say Tai-Luc, the half Vietnamese legend of the French punk scene, had just died. I hung out with Tai-Luc in Paris.