501 Places

Wherever we go, somehow we manage to be there off-season. We get there just as the rest of the world has decided it’s too hot/cold/windy/humid to visit. And so it was with our trip to Florida – taken in June admittedly as we were out of a home in NY having sub-let our appartment (sssssh) [...]

Have you ever wandered around a place and wished all the people would go so that you could take the right picture? This is a place where you can walk the streets, see the perfect shot, size it up from many angles and be confident that a stray intruder will not spoil your picture at [...]

Meaning “many heads”, this outcrop of rocks not far from Ayers Rock (Uluru) is a favoured sunset visit while staying in this barren area. Named the Olgas by the Europeans (in honour of Queen Olga of Wurttemberg) it is less than an hour’s drive from the main accommodations around the Ayers Rock resort. We took [...]

I had seen pictures of Carcassonne years before, and marvelled at the completeness of the walled city, compared to many of the ruined castles of Wales or England. So we included it within our trip around SW France; and it proved to be a real highlight. Walking through the old city gates, the narrow cobbled [...]

As a rule we never visit the same place twice. The world is too big, and time too short. We explore a new destination as much as we can and move on. And while every place we have visited holds some good memories, few have left us with a longing to return. The Seychelles are [...]

Just over an hour’s drive from the Grand Canyon, far from the crazy chaos of the South Rim, is a natural wonder that for me rivals the beauty of the Grand Canyon, yet attracts a fraction of the visitors. It looks like nothing from ground level. A crack in the desert floor, giving no clue [...]

As a student I spent many nights sleeping in European stations, on benches, in dark corners, fearing the moment when the sadistic cleaner would fire up his waterhose – usually around 3am. It was part of the adventure, and the only way a hard-up youngster could see the continent. For many of us it became [...]

Coming face to face with a polar bear certainly sets the heart racing – even if the window of the vehicle is seperating us. After many such encounters during our three days on the frozen shores of Hudson Bay, it was tempting to be lulled into a false sense of comfort with these giant creatures. [...]

No.1 rule – NEVER photograph military parades, miliary exercise, military installations… in fact anything with the M word. No.2 rule – No.1 rule especially applies in Uganda. This photograph was taken in 1993, in the north western town of Masindi. We had been conducting eye camps in the area as part of a Vision Aid [...]

As the sun dropped behind the imposing Tien Shen range to our west, the mercury plummeted. In less than 30 minutes we went from relaxing out on the pasture in T-shirt and shorts, to tightly wrapping up with a hat, gloves and several warm layers to keep out the mountain chill. Kyrgyzstan is a land [...]