Here’s the thing; when one looks for commercial accommodation listings, there are a few universal truths that we all know: 1) The cheapest hotels use the most expensive photographers 2) Small rooms are photographed with fish-eye lenses 3) They don’t exaggerate about “the bones” If a room is small, its dimensions are given in terribly […]
“Why are you going to La Réunion?”, I heard a lot. Well, firstly because it is an amazingly interesting place; Réunion is isolated, volcanic, wildly curious, gorgeous and completely counter to any concept of an-island-in-the-Indian-Ocean. And secondly because it is an astonishingly interesting destination. This, of course, was a little odd because one’s first impressions […]
St. Helena may not be the most recognised country in the world, but the predicament in which it now finds itself is quite extraordinary, and deserving of thought. St. Helena is isolated, and this simple fact is the cause of the islanders’ current sense of complete isolation, even abandonment. It is so far into the […]
Bodega Sommos, an idyll of natural wine There are wineries, and there is the Bodega Sommos, located in north-central Spain, just south of the Pyrenees in rural Aragon. For those (like me) whose knowledge of Spain is limited to the most iconic locations, exploring Aragon has come as a complete and wonderful surprise. It is […]
Muscat and Oman were an eye-opener. Beautiful, friendly, fascinating and a blend of ancient and ultra modern, it is a great place to visit. Travelling to Oman seemed so exciting and demanding; careful planning for visas, car insurance, hotels and every other facet of travel was indicated. However, as it turned out, visiting The Sultanate […]
Travelling to Georgia is a quite astonishing and unique experience, and I have had many requests for more practical information from readers. How, when, where and sometimes why are asked, and perhaps this will help. Georgia is, as you will have noticed from my blog, a truly remarkable country. It is remarkable on many levels, […]
In truth, I didn’t actually get to Chechnya, but I might as well have done so, and I loved the first flake of this remote, North Caucasian culture. There is a valley in north Georgia called the Pankisi Gorge; sparsely populated for millennia, since the 19th century, 10,000 Chechens, fleeing one brutal war or other, […]
“I love Barcelona”, we hear all the time, but here’s the thing. You travel for a vacation, pick your destinations carefully, research the sights, restaurants, walks and gradually paint a picture of your perfect stay in the world’s most interesting and desirable cities. And then you arrive, and find that it does not quite […]
The Scottish Highlands and Orkney make a marvellous combination for the independent traveller Some destinations are boring, some become boring and others have complete tediousness thrust upon them. Sadly, increasing numbers of “tourist destinations” are falling into the spectrum of tedium as vastly increasing numbers of tourists descend upon them with anxious visitors ticking boxes, […]