You’ve just flown 3 hours south after a long, dark and exceptionally rainy Scandinavian winter, in the hopes of finding some spring sunshine only to step off the plane into colder, greyer, and wetter weather than you left behind.
That’s …
The Time I Didn’t Make It to Anjuna
[mks_boxquote align=”right” width=”400″ arrow=”0″]These were the days before the technology revolution: we had no laptops, not even a regular phone. We didn’t even have a watch between us. We were two foreign females, alone in the middle of nowhere, …
Life Advice From ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’
**Warning** This post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty turn off the computer right now, go and see it, and come back later.
From the first moment I saw a trailer for the …
My Upcoming Summer Plans
Now that the light is finally shining at the end of Sweden’s long, wintry tunnel, I am feeling the urge to climb out from under the thick duvet I have hidden under for the last 6 months and plan …
10 Awesome Movie Locations Around The World
When I travel I don’t deliberately seek out places that have been used as film locations, but every now and then I happen to stumble into one. Here is a round-up of the 10 best movie locations that I have …
Stockholm Winter Blues. Or, What Happens When the Snow Doesn’t Come.
Stockholm is a truly stunning city; that much has been established by pretty much any traveller to set foot on the cobbled stones of the Old Town. In the short summer months, boats chug across sparkling inlets that separate each …
25 Signs You’re a Long-Term Expat
I have been an expat for almost a decade. After a year in Tokyo waaaaaay back in 2002, I left the UK permanently on July 27th, 2007, when I moved to Vietnam. Since then I have also lived in Tenerife, …
The Highs and Lows of Searching for the Northern Lights
[mks_boxquote align=”right” width=”150″ arrow=”0″]”An obsession consumed me, and the more I saw, the more I wanted”[/mks_boxquote]Relentless blasts of icy wind grasped at the exposed skin of my cheeks, the only flesh not covered in layers of wool and …
Dogsledding in Lapland with Arctic Husky Adventures
A memorable journey is often more about the people you meet than the things you see, and when I went dogsledding with Arctic Husky Adventures in Jokkmokk, Swedish Lapland, last week I met quite possibly the most welcoming people I …
35 Reflections on Turning 35 – (updated at 42)
I recently came across this post and thought it would be fun to revisit it. True story, it took me at least 15 minutes to figure out if I am 41 or 42. Sadly, it turns out I’m 42! But, …
Exciting News: I’m Moving to India!
Judging by the response that I have received from various people to this news, you probably fall into one of the following categories: “India?! Are you crazy?” or “Wow! What an amazing experience!”
If I’m totally honest with …
Too Afraid To Seize The Day
This is a post that has been languishing in my drafts folder for four months. I have simply been too afraid to post it, because if I post it I have to commit to the message. I have to Seize …
Spending 14 Hours With A Tour Guide Who Hated Me
[mks_boxquote align=”left” width=”150″ arrow=”0″]“We were only two hours into a fourteen-hour trip. It would be a long day if we couldn’t get on with the tour guide”[/mks_boxquote]Looking through the windows on the left-hand side of the bus, we …
Why I’m Doing a 365 Day Photograph Project
[mks_boxquote align=”left” width=”150″ arrow=”0″]“Photographing one thing every day will force me to think about the ‘here’ and ‘now’”[/mks_boxquote]This year I have set myself a target (I am apprehensive to use the word ‘resolution’) to carry out a 365-day …
New Year’s Eve Celebrations in Cornwall
This year I decided that my NYE celebrations would be very low-key as my Iceland trip and the run-up to Christmas has been pretty expensive, so I decided to hold back for New Year.
My parents moved to lovely Looe…
What to Pack for Iceland in Winter
There is a common saying amongst Icelanders that goes like this: ‘If you don’t like the weather in Iceland, wait 5 minutes’. The point is this: Iceland’s climate is changeable, and this makes it difficult to pack for. Expect to …
My 5 Travel Highlights of 2013
At the beginning of 2013 I had no travel plans. I had just moved to an expensive apartment in Stockholm and expected a light travel year similar to 2012. But, as is often the case for me, it turned out …
The Jim Thompson House, Bangkok
When I was a student we used to visit a restaurant called Jim Thompson’s. It was an Asian fusion restaurant that was well known in my university town, not only for good food, but also for its beautifully exotic furnishings; …
Jökulsárlón: Finding Icebergs on the Beach in Iceland
Incredibly, I had not heard of Jökulsárlón, the glacier lagoon, until a week before I left for Iceland. Of course, I knew that Iceland is full of beautiful scenery and that there is a very good reason that it is …
Searching for the Northern Lights in Iceland
Driving deeper into the Icelandic wilderness the excitement on the bus was tangible: the atmosphere quickening with anticipation at every twist of the winding road. People clutched their cameras and stared at the opaque blackness beyond the windows; waiting for …