Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam Approaching Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport from the south-east gave stunning views over the meandering course of the Mekong Delta. As we descended, Ho Chi Minh City’s vast sprawl was apparent; 13.5 million inhabitants live in the metropolitan area and 8.4 million live in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) itself.

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam From Manila we flew over the South China Sea again and arrived back at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia at 17:05 on Thursday 8th November 2018. Getting through immigration had been relatively tricky here. We all had the correct documentation but the sudden deluge of our group rather overwhelmed the sole

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam As soon as our plane landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on 4th November 2018, an army of workers were waiting at the gate ready to unload our aircraft. I imagine they had at least double or triple the number of ground staff that would meet a plane landing the United Kingdom. We left to meet two coaches

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam Marking the half-way point of the tour, we arrived in the capital city of Cambodia at Phnom Penh International Airport. Two coaches, decked out with lace curtains like a Pullman carriage, transported us toward the busy city centre and our hotel. It was interesting to observe the shops and stalls at the roadside. There

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam We arrived in Vientiane at Wattay International Airport on the evening of Friday 26th October 2018. The Lao Plaza hotel was only 6km away and we checked in very efficiently upon arrival. After dropping off our luggage we left the hotel and went to find something to eat. The hotel was near Nam Phou, a square with a central

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam We arrived at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (‘Land of Gold’) airport to the East of Bangkok and met the coaches that would take us to the Swissôtel Le Concorde in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district. The scenes from the coach window were very different to Brunei’s. Even though it was 22:00 the volume of traffic was immense.

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam As we entered the arrival hall at Brunei International Airport we received an exceptionally warm welcome. There was a 10-metre wide banner upon which ‘Welcome Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’ had been printed, and a whole team of people had come to greet us: taking photographs of the occasion, helping us with

Overview | Brunei | Thailand | Laos | Cambodia | Philippines | Malaysia | Vietnam The weekend of the 16th and 17th of June 2018 saw three significant events in my life. Saturday 16th June 2018 was my stag do; seven of us visited the Adnams Brewery in Southwold and enjoyed incredible food and hospitality afterwards at the home of my former trumpet teacher. The following day, after tidying up (and notably

As a young lad, if I showed any reluctance to attend a rehearsal I was given the choice of: 'band, ballet or bed'. I ruled out ballet immediately and always chose band eventually. To a six-year-old, the prospect of going to bed early seemed like a punishment - how times change! Being allowed to stay up late was a privilege reserved for very special occasions - one such occasion being the Last Night

On Tuesday 4th of November 2014, I performed as an off-stage trumpeter with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in (or technically, just outside) the Royal Festival Hall in London. Sir Mark Elder conducted Donizetti's 'Les Martyrs', directing around 150 performers. My modest role involved playing a straight fanfare trumpet, which was provided for me by the orchestra. It had valves (which