Paul Walters Blog

In the glittering world of literature, where dreams of bestseller lists and critical acclaim fuel countless hours of solitary toil, there is a darker underbelly that stalks the writer. As an author who has poured years into crafting stories and publishing numerous novels, I know ...

Ah, the life of a writer. · From the outside, it looks glamorous. Sipping coffee in some exotic locale, tapping away at a keyboard while inspiration flows like a fine vintage Bordeaux. · Ha! If only. · Perhaps it’s best if I start at the beginning. · Picture this: Me, holed up in ...

Picture this: you’re at the departure gate, surreptitiously clutching your economy ticket as if it were a winning lottery ticket. · The carefully choreographed boarding ritual is about to begin. · Loading these modern-day chariots of the sky, with their precious and semi-preciou ...

Ah, Sumba, you are so far away, so much so that today, we refer to you as the 'forgotten island,' a label that reflects the island's isolation and the lack of attention it receives compared to its more popular neighbours. · It was aeons ago when you tumbled out of the volcanic so ...

Well, Covid came, Covid left, and what did I do? · Let me think. Nothing, I did absolutely nothing at all. · I mean, think about it. I live on a tropical island with nothing but time on my hands, and what better way to indulge myself than to waste it? Every minute, hour, week, ye ...

On those days when I wake early enough, my morning ritual is to head to the beach, and if I time it right, I will arrive to witness yet another spectacular sunrise. It never fails to disappoint as the slow assent of a giant, the orange sun illuminates the sea and its surrounds, b ...

Standing at the foot of Mt Ijen contemplating the steep sides of this mighty colossus, rising some 2,800 meters above sea level I find myself weighing up the pros and cons of a steep 3 km trek to the top. · At this juncture, I am sorely tempted to turn tail and head back to the c ...

On the 18th of February 2020, the Governor of Bali in Indonesia made a painful decision. As of midnight that day, the island was to be shut off from the rest of the world. · In 2019 Bali welcomed almost nineteen and a half million international and domestic visitors who came for ...

Ah, to be a travel writer, wandering the globe and getting paid to write about it. It does, when you think about it sound terribly romantic and, at times it really is but, without trying to sound arrogant, some travel assignments can turn out to be an odious chore. · In years gon ...

I have always subscribed to the notion that the 'even' years are better than the odd ones. Good things always seemed to happen to me when the numbers were rounded off, all perfectly aligned, neat and tidy, with the numerals always adding up to more even digits. · Sadly, 2022 shat ...

A thin cuticle of a new moon casts its weak light across the deserted port town of Padangbai on the east coast of Bali. The strip of bitumen leading into the harbour is intermittently sewn together by the headlights of one or two cars slowly making their way to the dock to board ...

Another day, another COVID PCR test. · I have looped back from the island of Buru on the overnight ferry to the city of Ambon to catch yet another ferry to my next destination, Seram, the second largest island in the Moluccas. · Indonesian regulations require that I test negativ ...

As my flight descends towards the city of Ambon, the islands of the Moluccas begin to appear across the azure blue waters of the Banda Sea like scattered Pleiades complete with blindingly white sandy beaches lined with swaying palms. · I am about to fulfil a lifelong dream by vis ...

(I've been missing in action for a few weeks due to a liaison with a certain virus) · After 18 months of living through the COVID-19 pandemic, the pesky disease that's changed the world as we know it decided to pay me a visit. · Throughout 2020 we adapted to lives to try and keep ...

Once filled with the sounds of suitcases rattling over the slightly uneven pavements, pulled along by bewildered tourists, my local streets now echo with the sound of children's voices playing outside near-vacant landmarks. Today these landmarks offer locals an intimate experienc ...

Six months ago, I delivered a proclamation to anyone who would listen, and, if truth be told, there weren't many of those.     · My declaration went along the lines of, "I'm not cutting my hair until this bloody pandemic is over."  ·   · Until late, this plan has worked rather we ...

Ignorance, thankfully, is something that we can cure. Stupidity, on the other hand, is terminal. · For example; · "We are at a moment of truth and a crossroads. Will we allow these people to use fear and propaganda to do further harm to our society, economy, and our children? Or ...

This very morning I received an email from my publisher, who kindly sends me quarterly updates regarding sales of my novels as well as a detailed report of the royalties associated with those sales. To say it made depressing reading is rather an understatement, as now I seriously ...

  · ‘Steal from everywhere and everyone and make it your own.’ · Dina Litovsky’s · I have been wrestling with my conscience lately and, for some reason or other, I have developed an overwhelming desire to offload a guilty secret. · You see, the thing is....... I steal.   · There, ...

It has been a time of covering our faces, isolating ourselves from others and watching the world go by on television. When COVID hit Bali, we actively discouraged friends and associates from visiting us, to the point where I seriously considered taking up the banjo as a way of dr ...