Whitewater rafting is just as dangerous as it looks

I once spent a week in Bali as a stopover on the way to India. I stayed at one of the "party hotels" in Kuta, just next door to the nightclub that was bombed a couple of years later. The place was full of 18-30s doing what they do, drinking and flirting all night and spending their days (or the afternoons anyway, after the hangovers were bearable) testing their bravery with adventure sports like scuba diving, para-sailing, and surfing.

Don't go scuba diving with a headcold

It's one of the first rules that the instructor told me in the PADI diving course - you can't dive if you have a cold, because you won't be able to equalise the pressure and your ear drums will explode. 

You can never fart with confidence in Asia

If you've travelled through any countries where the food is unfamiliar and the water is somewhat suspect, there will come a time when you forget to use bottled water to brush your teeth, or eat a crispy garden salad that's been washed in the sink, or sip a margharita with home-made crushed ice.  And when that time comes, chances are that you'll learn the hard way:  you can never fart with confidence in Asia.  Those that ignore this rule often regret it, and have a hasty end to their day as they search madly for an emergency laundrette.

Ho Chi Minh City traffic waits for no man

By the time I visited Ho Chi Minh City, I thought that I had seen it all.  My passport was as colourful as a children's book, my backpack was nicely scuffed, I could repack a bag in minutes, and instead of buying a book in the airport I carried a dog-eared novel that I'd picked up in an internet cafe book swap.  I wasn't a tourist, I was a "traveller".

Drink the snake wine and eat the sushi

You only live once, and there's nothing worse than walking away from a situation and wondering "what if". There are several times during my travels when I had an opportunity to try something new and unique local delicacy, but held back because it was too different and scary.  I'm not now ever likely to go travelling to the same places again, and so the opportunity is lost for me forever. 

Skiing lessons are worth waiting for

The first time that I went skiing was at Whistler, in Canada.  On a good day, it's a little piece of alpine heaven - majestic mountains with deep powdery snow, and sky that is as clear and blue as the seas in the Carribean.  I didn't go on a good day.

Job interviews should be as easy as trying on a pair of shoes

On paper, I should have been beating potential employers off with a stick when I graduated. I spoke Japanese, had two degrees, got first class honours. Sure enough, most of the places that I applied to asked me in for an interview, and I turned up in my black suit with polished shoes and a hopeful smile. But the rejection letters kept coming in. I didn't even need to open them to know what they were - a thin envelope meant one page, which meant "We're sorry but we are unable to offer you a graduate position at this time. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you every success in your future career." Big Fat No.