In Český Krumlov, we had a wonderful guide show us around the town – a town steeped in historical intrigue. Our guide had grown up in the vicinity and being inquisitive types, we quizzed her about topics outside the bygone days. In particular, as it falls within our lifetimes, we wanted to understand what it was … More Worlds apart in modern Czech Republic
There were men in ties in Tissamaharama. Ties, in the midday sun. The clear sign of brisker business than we’d spotted at the straggles of roadside stalls selling coconuts, watermelon and fairly fresh fish along our long and dusty route. My stomach churned a bit at the realisation that we were closing in on our … More Tears, but no fears, on my first time safari
Don’t worry. This is still a travel post. It’s just that you find us in Verona. And it’s been mentioned more than once that this is a romantic city. So it got me thinking about what makes a place romantic and, more broadly, what is this romance thing anyway? I freely admit to being a contrary … More What is romance?
Vietnam’s chaotic. The roads are a battleground: cars, cabs, trucks, buses and thousands upon thousands of scooters fighting for space; all, seemingly, blaring their horns at each other simultaneously . Our cab ride to the station at Hue immersed us into this now familiar tangle of traffic. On one side: ten-ton trucks bearing down on … More Life and death on the Vietnamese Express
We traveled the length of Vietnam on the Reunification Express – the train line linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. And then disaster struck. … More Life and death on the Reunification Express
We had a wonderful time in Sapa, which is in the north-western corn of Vietnam, not far from the Chinese border. It’s a mountainous region with the natural/artificial landscape of terraced paddy fields. Vietnam has many minority ethnic groups and each village in this area has one or two tribes living in it. What is … More Photo essay: the fantastic faces of Sapa, Vietnam
The woman beamed at me. And slipped her arm around my waist to give me a quick squeeze. She’d stood back to let me off the boat to the former Emperors’ Summer Palace first, and I’d attempted a ‘thankyou’ in her language. She seemed not only astonished by my gesture, but by my appearance. In … More Putting up walls: a sweet and sour taste of China life
There are six bloody pockets in these hilarious zip off hiking trousers. Six. But despite five minutes of frantic wriggling and searching, I couldn’t find a single tissue. The cab driver, probably suspecting I had ants in my pants, now had to endure a couple of loud, theatrical sniffs from his female fare in the … More Tears in Tonga as we bid a final farewell
I’ve always loved ocean mammals – especially dolphins. And one of my long-held ambitions has been to swim with them … sharing their world as a guest. In fact, despite being in many places where dolphins are known to inhabit, I have never actually seen one in the wild. On the flight from Auckland to … More How I didn’t swim with dolphins
Nigel always wanted to swim with dolphins. But his first experience was swimming with whales instead. … More Swimming with whales – not dolphins
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