There were thousands of people out on the streets of Hanoi. In the middle of the madness was a large stage, apparently sponsored by Yamaha, that wouldn't have looked out of place at some kind of motorshow. The music was booming — David Guetta-inspired hip-hop-electro fusions — while a loud American chap hyped the crowd up as we waited for …

We were in Hanoi over the holidays and I should really have known better than to take my bag out of New Year's Eve, especially as the "slash and run" pickpockets of the city are so frequently written about. Lucky for me I caught the people slashing my bag as they did it and although they managed to get their …

Last September I decided that I wanted to learn Bahasa Indonesia. This is the first time in my that I've really tried to master a language. I learnt French and German for a few years when I was younger, but at that age I didn't care much for anything I was taught in school. After the three or four years …