Homestays and Trekking with the Hmong
Vietnam 18.09.2017
The journey to Sapa, a town in the North West Corner of Vietnam, is not an easy one. From Hanoi, a night train takes you to Lao Chai, where a bus will greet you in the morning to wind your way up through the hills to Sapa. Located around 15…
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Jaisalmer: Exploring the Sandcastle City and Desert
India 12.09.2017
Rising from the Western Thar desert, Jaisalmer’s Fort appears from the dusty desert plains like a giant golden sandcastle. Placed elegantly between dunes and nomadic villages, it’s in the far West of India, and the desert which surrounds th…
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Temples in Tokyo: Silent Escapes from the City
Japan 16.08.2017
When you imagine Tokyo, you may not think of temples. Perhaps you think of city lights and crowded streets. Eating sushi in back alleyways, admiring cherry blossom season and seeking out Harajuku culture. Tokyo is all these things, it’s a c…
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Varanasi: A Day on the Living River
India 16.08.2017
If there’s one place in India which encompasses the spirituality, colour and vibrancy of the whole country, it’s Varanasi. A city located on the banks of the Ganges, and the holiest place in the world for Hindus. It’s a city where many come…
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The Greatest Show on Earth
Sri Lanka 20.06.2017
August is around the corner, which for Sri Lankans means only one thing: Esala Perahera, a torchlit parade involving more than a hundred decorated elephants. Elephant processions are a speciality of both Sri Lanka and its near neighbour, t…
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Cruising Kerala's Backwaters
India 17.06.2017
India is a land offering diverse experiences, but one that should not be missed is the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle and cruise the backwaters of Kerala. Some of the best places to stay in Kerala are on houseboats, and travell…
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India’s Sacred Geography: Religious Pilgrimage in the Subcontinent
India 30.05.2017
Over thousands of years, an elaborate network of pilgrimage routes has evolved in India, inter-connecting the great religious centres of the subcontinent. And thanks to the ease of modern travel, these are more popular than ever. The most r…
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A Guide to Myanmar’s Ancient Capital City of Bagan
Myanmar 23.05.2017
Myanmar’s incredible history has made it one of the most unique places to visit on the planet. Invasion, immigration and colonisation have all helped to create a diverse country but it was the Kingdom of Pagan that has had the biggest impac…
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A Lifetime of Discoveries
India 06.05.2017
For aficionados of Indian monuments, architectural historian George Michell and his archaeologist partner, John Fritz, need no introduction. For the past forty years or so, the pair have been documenting ancient sites across the country, an…
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Highlights of Mongolia
Mongolia 17.04.2017
With its vast expanses of steppes, desert and taiga, Mongolia encompasses some of the most pristine wilderness on earth. Landscapes rather than monuments provide the main focus for visitors here. In the north, a band of wild, pine-forested…
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Fighting for Survival: Saving the Orangutan in Borneo
Malaysia 10.04.2017
Orangutans – the ginger-furred ‘Old Man of the Forest’ – number among the rarest mammals on the planet. Only two vestigial populations survive, in remote tropical enclaves on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Numbers have been decimated in…
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Ladakh and the Hemis Festival
India 27.03.2017
I’ll never forget the one and only time I’ve ever ridden on the roof of a bus. I was a 21-year-old student, travelling on a shoestring around Kashmir and Ladakh, in India’s northwest Himalaya. The bus in question was crammed to bursting poi…
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