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 small writing, and euphemisms like “cozy, snug and homey” are used with abandon. The furnishings, sometimes brought in for the occasion, are pretty and very well matched, and exaggerated to maximum that the owner’s imagination can conjour. When one arrives, the room’s decoration may be […]

“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 are not terribly positive. There are nearly one million people living on the island; yes, that is a one plus six zeros. It covers an area of only 970 square miles (and no, I don’t know how many multiples of a football field or Rhode […]

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 Atlantic Ocean, and so far from any other land that until last month when an airport was finally opened it was accessible only with a regular schedule of the Royal Mail ship, the RMS St. Helena. This vessel served both St. Helena, and Ascension Island […]

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 a vast and geographically diverse region, and of historical significance to the British because of Catherine and her relationship with King Henry VIII; and that the pomegranate happened to be her symbol. Although betrothed to Prince Arthur (Henry’s brother) at the tender age of three, […]

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 of Oman is a true joy, simple and an experience like no other. I drove 1,200 kilometres through the country, and wished that I had given it more time to explore.   From the welcoming message as I crossed the UAE border to the universal […]

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, and offers visitors an extraordinary variety of experiences, and that is just the beginning. It is possibly easier to start by saying what Georgia is not. It is not a homogeneous destination, and it is not overrun with tourists; yet. It is not in the […]

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, settled here as refugees. This convenience has continued to this day, with more fleeing the 1993 war when the Russians so pitilessly bombed this small republic. Today, the vast majority of the Pankisi Valley are of Chechen origin, and here, Islam lives peacefully with the […]

  “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 resemble the picture on the tin. “Who are all these folks?”, you wonder, “and what on earth are they all doing here?” For me, Barcelona is the best of the best and the worst of the worst. It is a wonderful, quirky, enchanting and fascinating […]

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, and completing “bucket lists”. Ironically, escape is simple; unfortunately, the powerful “web” through which we get so many ideas is driven by extraordinarily powerful forces whose interests are usually and increasingly at odds with our own. Take, for example, VisitScotland. This governmental marketing body is […]