501 Places

There are many great posts about the delicious, disgusting or plain bizarre food on offer in every corner of the world. It’s fair to say that most of the bloggers who write about the food they enjoy on holiday are adventurous in their willingness to try the local cuisine. It is a wonderful way to [...]

I may be weird, but one of my favourite things about exploring a place is climbing to the highest vantage point to see what is around me. So many cities now have observation towers: TV towers, revolving restaurants, skyscrapers with public viewing areas; you get the picture. An elevator whisks you up several hundred feet [...]

Chances are, the camera (if you only take one) is one of the most important items to be packed for a trip. It will capture those amazing landscapes, the faces of the people you will encounter, maybe a beautiful sunset or two, and of course it will provide a definite record that you were there. [...]

After a day of stormy winds and rain yesterday, we woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny sky. It was even quite warm. A perfect day to put on the hiking boots and enjoy the autumn colours near home. No words needed today, just some of the delights of home (and only 20 mins [...]

I recently read this provocative post from well known travel blogger Nomadic Matt, The Four Things I Hate about Europe. Not only did he manage to give a level of balance to his opinions on what annoys him about this continent, but he inspired a plethora of comments, some more sound than others, on the [...]

This morning I’ve been checking out hotels in Cambodia. We will be there over Christmas, and given that it is the peak of the high season I thought it worth booking somewhere to stay in advance. Searching for a suitable hotel online in Cambodia is considerably easier than in the UK. The websites I have [...]

Just how much of the real world is played out in our online activities? Are we really escaping from reality, or is social media an authentic extension of our personalities and everyday lives? I mentioned this in passing in my 501 Places blog post yesterday, but thought it was worth exploring further. In the last [...]

Another year, another WTM. After three days of treading the floors of the exhibition I am exhausted and will be happy to have a day by the PC tomorrow. I have a large stack of new and old connections to write to, and that will start next week. But for now it feels like a [...]

I’m back at World Travel Mart and on the train home after a long first day of chatting, meeting old and new faces, and walking many miles across London’s ExCel centre. It is my fourth year here, and there are now few surprises. The exhibitors occupy the same spaces, and even the guy who last [...]

Mention that you are travelling to most Muslim countries and you are likely to get a look of concern. “Is it safe?”;  “Why do you want to go there?”; “I don’t understand why they don’t like us”; all likely reactions if you live in the US or UK. And this is a shame, as people [...]