Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao – three cities, each with a different colonial history. Discovering the nuances – and the contrasts – between them was what inspired me to visit the oriental trio this autumn. I was not disappointed! The first time I became aware of Shanghai’s colonial past was as a child when I read […]
Turkmenistan is perhaps not at the top of everybody’s bucket list – indeed, it gets only 6,500 tourists a year – but it has a lot to offer the traveller looking for a trip with a difference. From spectacular landscapes worthy of the best sci-fi movies to ruins of ancient trading cities, from its quirky, […]
Ascension Island is a volcanic island just south of the equator about halfway between Brazil and Africa. It was the second stop on my trip to the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, three small islands scattered far apart from each other in the South Atlantic. My journey had begun […]
Saint Helena is perhaps best known for being where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final days in exile. It is one of six South Atlantic islands – separated from each other by 3600 km at their furthest points – that make up the British Overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. One of […]
Mountains are perhaps not the first thing one associates with Ethiopia but, after spending a couple of weeks in its northern region, I think I shall forever equate the country with dramatic, rocky landscapes. In this the second of two postings about my trip to Ethiopia, I look at Lalibela, the rural highlands and Lake […]
Ethiopia is a country of contrasts: jungles in the south, fertile soils in the west, and seemingly endless mountain ranges in the north. It is also a land of legends, where, when talking to the locals, the boundaries between history, archaeology and myths seem difficult to distinguish. It was to the north of the country […]
The spectacular waterfalls at Iguazú – as seen from a boat below and the cliff tops above!
As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to look back at some of the memorable moments of the year from among the 17 countries visited. One of the first trips I took outside Europe this year was to Algeria. Things got off to a bumpy start when I was detained by the police on […]
At the end of the summer, I headed off for a short trip to Greenland. An autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, it is the largest island in the world. It is also the most sparsely populated country in the world with a population of less than 57,000. Although the flight from the Icelandic […]
This summer I returned to Montenegro. When I first went to this small country in South East Europe it had only recently gained independence. My trip then focussed on the country’s beautiful Adriatic coastline and the fjords around Kotor. This year, I also ventured into the interior, which proved to be no less spectacular. My […]
