Although I enjoy travelling the world and have branded myself a Runaway Brit, I do still appreciate the beauty of my home country. The UK is a small but diverse island and has many unappreciated areas of natural beauty. Many …
Singapore Zoo Photo Essay
Most zoos in Asia are best avoided if you do not want to see malnourished animals pacing sadly around miniscule, urine-soaked cages. In contrast, Singapore Zoo is more of a 5-star resort where the animals genuinely seem happier, healthier, and …
Valborg – Sweden Welcomes the Spring
In Britain, Bonfire Night conjures up childhood memories of sheltering from the driving November rain, eating jacket potatoes while effigies, or ‘guys’, burn on a huge bonfire. Overhead, fireworks crackle with the acrid smell of sulphur – all to commemorate …
Ha Long Way from Home
I have read many blog posts about visiting Ha Long bay in Northern Vietnam, some recounting positive experiences but many negative. I almost decided not to write about my own experience as I feared it may become a cliche. …
Spring Fever
It has been a long and cold winter in Sweden. After a very short Autumn, it started snowing in October and powdered snow lay on the ground until March. The temperature remained below zero for almost five months, sometimes …
A Day on board the Princess Anastasia
The journey from St. Petersburg back to Stockholm takes about 25 hours so we were pretty grateful to discover that the newly refurbished Princess Anastasia boat had a bit more to offer than the Princess Maria—the duty free shop …
Getting a drink in St.Petersburg is impossible!
I always imagined that drinking vodka is a national pastime in Russia so imagine my surprise when I discovered that it is almost impossible to find a local bar in St.Petersburg!
Of course, this is based entirely on my own …
St.Petersburg – No Visa Required.
According to the St.Petersburg Times officials are concerned about the lack of tourism to the city and measures have been put into place to address the problem. In early April of this year visa rules were changed to allow ferry …
A Few Hours in Helsinki – Photo Essay
We had a few hours to spend in Helsinki after taking the Silja line ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki and then planning to take the St.Petersline from Helsinki to St.Petersburg. The weather was clear and sunny, if a bit cold.…
Mt Fuji: Climbing the World’s Most Perfect Volcano
“A wise man climbs Mt. Fuji once, only a fool climbs twice”
Japanese Proverb.
Consider this the writing of a fool for I have climbed Mt. Fuji twice.
At an altitude of 3776m or 12,395ft, Fuji-San is the tallest mountain …
My Saigon Ink
Getting a tattoo while travelling. Great souvenir or terrible mistake?
Personally I think that it is a great idea and I had one done while I was in Vietnam. The downside of travelling for prolonged periods of time is …
Chaul Chnam Thmey – Khmer New Year
Cambodia is quite possibly my favourite country on my travels so far. There is just something about the rural countryside and its proud people that I love to return to time and time again. I have mentioned Sihanoukville before as …
Tokyo from the Air
Tokyo is a vast urban jungle that stretches as far as the eye can see. From the ground it is a complex web of buildings, bridges and train tracks that criss-cross for miles and miles. The only way to fully …
The Working Women of Vietnam
Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman. Especially in Vietnam.
But they do it with a smile…
And the men of Vietnam?
Please do not think this post is intended as sexist in any way. I will even up the …
My Top Five Asian ‘Chill-Out’ Destinations
Travelling is all about taking time out of the craziness of modern life to experience new cultures, meet new people and to reflect. Here is a selection of my favourite places for peace, tranquility and some much-needed soul refreshment. So …
Why Sweden is a Great Place to Live
Sweden is often regarded as being somewhat of a liberal country; many people think that blonde, tanned Swedes cavort naked in forest lakes all summer long before retreating into their saunas for the duration of the long and cold winter. …
Miss(ing) Saigon
I was inspired by a post about Saigon that I read on another travel blog recently. So here is my very own tribute to the place that I once called home. These are some of the things that I loved, …
The Arctic Journals #4 Aurora Borealis
“The Aurora blazed all of a sudden into brilliant life… a thousand miles high and ten thousand miles long: dipping, soaring, undulating, glowing, a cataract of glory.”
This is Philip Pullman’s description of the Aurora Borealis in ‘Northern Lights’, the …
The Arctic Journals #3 Cross-Country Skiing
There are two things that I have always disliked: sport and being cold. For this reason I have never understood why people want to go skiing. Skiing holidays baffle me, why would anybody pay a lot of money to go …
The Arctic Journals #2 Northern Lights Apartments
We were met on the road by Patricia Cowern, owner of the Northern Lights Apartments and Arctic-Color gallery in Porjus, who greeted us warmly and led the way to our cabin. The complex comprises of 4 wooden cabins aptly named: …