THE SULTAN AND THE MERMAID QUEEN Paul Spencer Sochaczewski

       The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen is a compendium of articles and essays on Asia written by Bangkok resident Paul Spencer Sochaczewski. Encompassing several decades of travel throughout the continent, they originally appeared in publications such as the International Herald Tribune ,Wall Street Journal CNN Traveller ,Geographical ,Travel and Leisure Golf and Destinasian .Sochaczewski has a knack for finding oddball characters and offbeat stories on his journeys. Within these pages we meet a homeless Hawaiian who claims to be the last real emperor of China, the last elephant hunter of Vietnam, and the Sultan of Yogyakarta who lends his name to the book's title and who professes his love for a mermaid queen.
       We also learn how Burma's generals are using white elephants to justify their hold on power and ponder the disappearance of a modern day Swiss Robin Hood who disppapeared in the Borneo jungle while trying to stand up for the rights of Penan tribesmen, among many other interesting tales.
       The author's enthusiasm for Asia is apparent throughout, as are his interests in conservation and golf. He combines all three with an article written in Bangkok which considers the ecological impact of Asia's obsession with a game that requires more land than some Balkan states.
       As a non-tree hugger I found it a bit tiring trying to read all the eco-centric articles in one sitting, likewise reading about golf, which gets me about as excited as sitting at the lights at Asok on a Friday evening. In a thunderstorm. However,this is not a book to be read all at once, much less so in lateral order from cover to cover.
       Dipping into TSATMQ is like eating squid on a stick with green chilli sauce. If you use too much then it becomes a bit overwhelming and could even make your eyes water, but applied sparingly it's a delectable and invigorating