501 Places

Anyone can take part. We can indulge in any public place wherever we are in the world. Best of all it’s free to do it. I challenge anyone to deny that they enjoy sometimes just sitting back and watching people go about their daily lives. People watching is of course a very easy thing to [...]

If you spend any time reading all these fancy travel blogs you’d be forgiven for thinking that travelling is one big holiday. Seeing new places, meeting new people, sampling the food and drink of the world and watching the most glorious sunsets day after day on a string of exotic beaches: surely it can’t get [...]

Most of my travel memories are very happy ones. I’ve seen things at first hand that I’d long dreamed of since learning about them in childhood books, I’ve had unexpected encounters with people who have left their mark long after I’ve returned home and I’ve been fortunate to have travelled far and wide without any [...]

I’d had a bad day. And to top it off, here I was in a pastel pink Parisian hotel room, complete with a frilly lamp and that textured wallpaper that a previous generation had considered the height of interior design chic. There was no TV and no view from the dirty window. I was only [...]

If you’re like me and can’t sleep on any form of transport, you’ll be familiar with the endless monotony of being in a dark plane full of sleeping people. The minute hand on your watch moves as if through treacle, each hour seemingly taking two and the arrival time at your destination never getting any [...]

1. Why it’s so difficult to get a consistently good hotel pillow. They range from heavenly to neck-breaking. Surely this is one of the most basic necessities for a hotel to get right? 2. How hotel interior designers can create such complicated showers that are impossible to operate. Do they actually try and use them? [...]

This week’s guest post is a real treat. Intrepid traveller and founder of adventure travel company Untamed Borders James Willcox provides us with valuable advice on how to communicate with the locals on our travels. His 7 easy to follow tips will guarantee that you will make an impact on arrival. While his language skills [...]

Following a previous post on the topic, a number of people advanced the notion held that those who aren’t passionate advocates of cruising simply haven’t yet tried the right cruise. Which led me to create this little skit. Related post: Cruises for people who don’t do cruises {lang: ‘en-GB’}

The boat rocks gently, engines off as the ten or so passengers stare intently at the surrounding water. Cameras are poised, ready to snap the moment when the prey emerges. Suddenly there’s a shout: “Eleven o’clock! There’s two of them!” For those quick enough, the reward is a fleeting glimpse of a snout or a [...]

This is one list I couldn’t resist compiling. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the many colourful, creative and downright bizarre depictions of the birth of Jesus that are displays in central America’s many churches. Months of hard work culminates in elaborate scenes that portray the Christmas story, each with their own unique twist. [...]