Keith Hockton

Keith Hockton is IL’s Malaysia Correspondent. He worked in the investment banking arena for several years before retiring in 1998. Keith then went on a three-year journey of discovery around Australia during which time he combined his passions for travel, scuba diving, and writing. The result was Atlas of Australian Dive Sites: Traveller’s Edition. It was published by Harper Collins in 2003. He worked for various think tanks in Australia and the U.K. between 2003 and 2009 concentrating on Asian and European country risk, before moving to Malaysia with his wife, Lisa, in 2010. He started writing for International Living in 2011 and also writes and publishes books on his adopted homeland of Penang.

Luang Prabang—Leisurely, Serene and Spiritual

By Keith Hockton April 2012

This is a special place of stillness and tranquility. Luang Prabang, in north-central Laos, is a riverside town like no other. Here you’ll walk wide, French-style boulevards and feel like you’re in 1920s Paris, yet you can linger in palm-shaded temples and enjoy the serenity of Buddhist shrines.

Why I Think Malaysian Doctors are the Best

By Keith Hockton March 2012

There’s so much to love about island life in Penang, Malaysia, that it’s hard to know where to start. My wife Lisa and I spend just $1,719 a month to live here, and that’s renting with an ocean view and eating out regularly in the island’s amazing restaurants.

Island Life in Colonial Malaysia for only $1,719 a Month

By Keith Hockton December 2011

On the terrace of the grand, British-colonial E & O Hotel, evening light flickers through the coconut grove as a warm breeze drifts in from the Straits of Malacca. I’m sipping a gin and tonic, watching the sun go down. This has become one of my regular habits since moving to the island of Penang, off the west coast of mainland Malaysia, over a year ago.