The stupas of Borobudur, central Java The incredible Hindu temple of Prambanan, central Java The keraton (sultan’s palace) in Yogyakarta Javanese dance in Surakarta An amazing sunrise boat ride spotting pilot whales, Tangkoko national park, North Sulawesi Relaxing in paradise a.k.a. Bunaken island, North Sulawesi The fascinating cliff burials of Tana Toraja, Sulawesi Torajan…
Category: Travel inspiration
Stevie in the sunshine: a perfect summer weekend in London
Last night was something I’d been looking forward to for months – Stevie Wonder performing his classic ‘Songs In The Key of Life’ album live in Hyde Park. And Stevie did not disappoint playing for over 3 1/2 hours with a fantastic medley of his hits and other album tracks. It was great to hear…
What to do in Lisbon? 5 different places to see
Lisbon has mixed reviews, it’s fair to say. The city seems to divide opinion but I found much to like during a visit back in January. It didn’t hurt that the sun shone all the time; sometimes the weather can be quite overcast but we were lucky. It’s easy to get around on Lisbon’s buses,…
A great start to the year – Saltwater mentioned in National Geographic Traveller magazine
Something amazing happened last Monday. Well, amazing to me. I was scrolling through my emails on the train into work when I spotted a notification. A pingback link to my site. Normally I would have waited and checked the link later, but something caught my eye. Wait…was it National Geographic Traveller linking to my…
Revisiting an icon – when is the best time to visit Iguazu Falls?
I’ve been lucky enough to visit Iguazu Falls twice now and it’s definitely an amazing place to add to your South American trip. But the two experiences were quite different; one in February (summer) and one in July (winter), when the water reached exceptionally high levels due to floods in Parana state. You can read…
Adventures in the Bolivian Pantanal
“We usually eat them whole, with our hands.” She mimed chomping across the bony flesh, then gestured to the knife and fork on the table. “But you can use those.” Piranhas have a fearsome reputation but most of the time they’re harmless enough. Just don’t get into the water with them during mating season….
What’s in your travel bag? My 5 travel essentials
I recently joined Instagram, which is a terrible time-waster great source of travel inspiration. I love the wanderlust-inducing travel shots, but also the small insights into people’s worlds, halfway around the globe. A morning coffee here, a pet photo there. And I love the little details about travel most of all. I’ve been meaning to…
I left my heart in…Chapada dos Guimaraes
“Ah, my other son. He’s in some tiny town in the far north, in Piaui state. I’ve never heard of it.” Our laid-back guide rolled the window down and shrugged. There’s many unknown places in Brazil. Take Chapada dos Guimaraes. It may be the official geodesic centre of South America, but until we…
Falling in love with travel again
This isn’t the post I planned to write this morning – I have a whole list of things to share from my recent trip and I will get to them! But I am missing being on the road like crazy today, so here goes. You may have noticed a slight change in the focus of…
Bolivia to Brazil – trip highlights in photos
I’ve just returned from a great trip which took me from Bolivia to Brazil, through stunning landscapes and surprising cities. While I gather my thoughts, here are a few of the best pictures from my trip. Above – with ‘sticker Pope’ in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We were there during the papal visit, along with an…