Published works

Published articles

October 2009

Public Transport and You 

Published in InTravelMag (http://intravelmag.com)

Excerpt: No matter what your guidebook tells you, catching a bus/ train/ bemo/ tuk tuk or motorbike is never easy, and will certainly leave you tearing your hair out in frustration at least once. The problem is not a language barrier, but a cultural one…

 

 

September 2009

The Fight Against Malnutrition

Published in Asian Week, USA (www.asianweek.com)

Excerpt:  Charlotte Halligan examines the problem of food insecurity in Laos, and one initiative that is trying to find a long term solution 

Look at Meena from a distance and you will see a normal, healthy Lao girl, of average height for a seven year old. Look a little bit closer and you will notice that her arms and legs, poking out through her oversized second hand clothes, are painfully thin. Her hair lacks a healthy shine and her eyes are tired and weary. Meena struggles to concentrate a lot of the time … Full article

Profile of a Borrower

Published in Microfinance Insights Magazine (print edition)

Excerpt: Tern Sayvaonjoung sits at her loom on the front porch of her home. Around her, children in ragged second-hand clothes run around: the lucky ones have come back from school; most have come back from a day working in the fields.

 This is Ban Hai, or Special Village 790 in the Vientiane Province, Laos, and Tern is one of 30 women that have signed up for a micro-finance scheme run by the Social and Economic Developers Association (SEDA). … Full article

 

Takinging the Plunge

Published in Vagabondish (http://www.vagabondish.com)

Excerpt: It seems like an unlikely venue to have a panic attack: the calm azure blue sea gently lapping against the stern of the small glass bottomed boat, surrounded by happy and excited tourists, pulling on their flippers and splashing into the water, while the glorious sun beats down, making everything around sparkle like paradise…

 Full article

 

 

The Calling of the Souls

Published in On a Junket (http://onajunket.com)

Excerpt: The room is mostly dark. Made entirely of wood and bamboo, high  upon stilts to avoid the inevitable rainy season floods, and with no furniture at all, the room’s windows are just big enough to let in shafts of light illuminating the room’s focal point: a beautiful arrangement of jasmine flowers, food and gifts known as the Pha Kwan… Full article

 

 

 Life in Laos’ not so fast lane

Published in Travel Mag (www.travelmag.co.uk)
Excerpt: Charlotte Halligan finds the pace of life slows dramatically on her volunteer placement in Laos. Hammocks are everwhere and even the Buddha statues seem in permanent recline…

Something unusual happens when you cross over the border and enter Laos: time slows down… Full article

 

 

Trekking Thailand’s Rainforests

Published in Romar Traveler (http://www.romartraveler.com)

 

Excerpt: Waking up In the Thai rainforest to the sound of cockerels crowing, the sun slowly sauntering over the mountains, spreading a warm morning glow over the lush forest, I take a deep breath of fresh, unpolluted air… I am amazed that I am only a few hours north of Bangkok and yet in an entirely different world… Full article

 

 

August 2009

Laos’ Forgotten Women

Published in Online Opinion Australia (http://onlineopinion.com.au)

Excerpt: I find myself in a rural Lao village surrounded by 15 women. They are all different ages: mothers, daughters, grandmothers, even babies. Their language is completely alien to me. I strain to understand but I only grasp a few numbers in their exotic tonal tongues. But I don’t need to understand what they’re saying to understand that they’re excited. The women hold up and pass round different cottons, fabrics and intricately embroidered silk. Their sing-song voices clamber over each other, reaching a deafening crescendo which descends into near hysterical laughter. Notable is the complete absence of any men.

This is my first trip to the Ban Hai village in central Laos, and I am witnessing something truly special – micro-credit in action… full article

Also published in:
Hua Hin Observer – Thailand
Migrant News – New Zealand
Online Opinion Journal – Australia
Go Nomad Magazine

A more pleasant way to eat intestines – and other culinary delights

Published in On a Junket magazine (http://onajunket.com)

Excerpt: If you are feeling adventurous, another popular snack is steamed duck eggs. Doesn’t sound too bad, huh? It isn’t, until you get to the steamed fetus in the egg yolk. If you can feel feathers tickling the back of your throat you know you got a good one… Full article

 

 

Thailand’s Voyeur Tourism

Published in On A Junket Magazine (http://onajunket.com)

Excerpt: Charlotte Halligan escapes Bangkok’s oppressive heat and seedy underbelly to see the ‘other’ Thailand, and ponders the ethics of voyeuristic tourism. Come see… Full article

 

 

 

Taman Negara National Park

Published in Backpackers Travel Magazine (http://backpackerstravelmagazine.com)

July 2009

The Problem with Leeches

Published in In Travel Magazine (http://intravelmag.com)

Excerpt: I have learned something new: leeches move like ‘Slinkys.’ And when they sense you approaching they stand to attention and wave backwards and forwards like a finger beckoning you toward them.

 They don’t look like the large slimy slugs that TV has led me to believe. Instead they are nimble and lithe; they are contortionists that can climb, wriggle, and burrow, finding any and all means possible to break through the barrier of your clothes to the feast beneath… Full article

June 2009

Beat the Credit Crunch – Run Away

Published in Diverse Traveller (http://www.diversetraveller.com)

Excerpt: My alarm went off at six this morning, like every other morning. Bleary-eyed, I stumbled to my bathroom, stood under a steaming hot shower, and washed away the night before. I tried to banish thoughts of the ‘too many’ calories in last night’s three course meal, but the strange churning sensation in my stomach hinted at the hangover I would be trying to shake off all day… Full article

Reports published for the Social and Economic Developers Association, Laos

http://seda-laos.org/welcome/?p=513

Report on trip to Salavanh Province

http://seda-laos.org/welcome/?p=488

A response to micro-credit critics

About the Author

Charlotte Halligan is a freelance writer currently living in Laos, South East Asia, volunteering for a local NGO that focuses on economic development. She specialize in writing feature articles and reports about travel, religion, economics and international development. 

If you would like to publish any articles seen on Escape to Asia, or would like to comission an article, please email charlotte.halligan@yahoo.co.uk.

About Escape to Asia

Who are we and what are we doing?
Good questions! We are Scott and Charlotte, and we are two twentysomething professionals. At least, we were. Now we are two unemployed twentysomethings on the run from the recession in South East Asia.

What’s the website about?
As well as keeping our friends and family up-to-date on our activities, we will be publishing more serious travel articles and photography.

And, to help out other travellers around the region, we’ll be rating and reviewing all the things you need to know about South East Asia – from the best and the worst hostels to the cheapest eats and the local moonshine; from travel insurance to the nature reserves and mountain hikes – you name it, we’ll review it.