“I have a robe for you’. This short statement left me laughing and engaging with a gentle sense of humour that crossed politics and the equator. The line came from a monk in the precinct where the mighty Shwedagon Paya (Pagoda) gleams and beams across the city of Yangon.



We had been…

Vienna Travel: ‘I am trying to convince a group of friends to visit Vienna Austria. We are planning our annual city trip. My friends love the good things in life and like culture. Which tips would win them over for a Vienna city break?’, my ex boss recently asked an unusually simple question.

I can actually write a book about the answer. Here are my key winning arguments that will provide…

10. UP IN THE AIR SOUNDTRACK: A great movie with some great performances, but the soundtrack is also very good, well about half of it. Mixes new school and old school with some great messages. If you like travel, this is a great place to start with some music.

9: U2 GREATEST HITS. Ok, here's the thing. I'm not a obessive U2 fan or nothing. I just think they got some good tunes, its inspring, and they mean good. They aren't the next coming of Jesus, but,…

Call me a masochist (or whatever), but even after sitting through the often cheesy but extremely popular annual song festival that is Eurovision and…

‘Went to the centre of Australia. Saw a big rock. Had lasagne for dinner’

This morning, a brochure came through my letter box, promising an ‘Uluru Experience’. We could travel by four wheel drive, and camp under the stars … in fact, we could visit exactly the same places we visited six…

Hotel guests have said it again and again: after location, and service that exceeds  expectations, free and reliable WiFi matters the most.

So why do hotels charge for WiFi and why do guests have to struggle find a location that works?…

For those who daydreamed through their high school Spanish vocab, el ganso means "the goose." El Ganzo tweaked with a z is also the name of Los Cabos’ newest 72-room Preferred Boutique waterfront hotel which bespeaks of its distinctive  long, white, sinewy exterior designed by…

One thing about Costa Rica is the country loves a good party! Costa Ricans are known for being gregarious and fun-loving and their enthusiasm is contagious when the country celebrates its numerous fiestas, festivals and horse parades.…

The Queen's former Crown Colony of Hong Kong is easy enough to like, but hard to love, writes Erik Bergin, as he goes on a quest to find the real characters of a really good book.

There sometimes are books that make you want to travel places. One such story – having been filmed in part starring Pierce Brosnan, no less – is James Clavell’s epic saga about Hong…

Let’s face it, the internet has created a whole new world of travel opportunities, and has made making new friends over a computer entirely possible. Social media has taken over the travel world, and meeting new travel friends has never been easier. Recently, on my annual trip to London, I was given a most…

Door County, WI, a vacation hot-spot for mid-westerners and Europeans alike, is known for its wonderful sweet and tart cherries, which are made into wonderful preserves and sweet wines. Grape growers produce lovely dry whites and reds in addition to the sweet wines. Local cuisine is lighter than I expected (the fish boil is a not-to-be-missed tradition) and the desserts are heavenly.  There's lots to see, including an exemplary Maritime Museum, "haunted" houses…

Júzcar is situated in the Alto del Genal, which is in the Serrania de Ronda region, extending from the Jarastepar peak, at 1,425 metres above sea level, to the coastal municipalities of Estepona and Benahavís.

The landscape is varied in this large municipality, from the rocky terrain of the northern Sierra del Oreganal to the pine and chestnut woods of the lower Sierra Bermeja mountain range. There are small mountains of pine and oak…

by Jordan Simon



Despite its bodacious beaches and historic towns, New York State’s Long Island still cruises medium to low on the travel radar. Most Americans — even many New Yorkers — who know anything about the largest island in the U.S., flaring out from the Big Apple like an enormous forked tongue, think: NYC bedroom communities, then beaches (Fire Island, the tony Hamptons).



But how many…

Now is the best time to start planning a quick getaway in sunny Portugal. June is already the beginning of the high season, but still not plagued with the crowds of July and August, making it the perfect time for an escapade in southern lands. And least you should think that there's nothing more to be found in this lovely country other than beautiful beaches, let me prove you wrong. June is a time of celebration in Portugal and many cities and towns hold their annual festivals around this…

The City of Light has many things to offer besides welcoming locals, famed French cuisine and the Eiffel Tower. A bustling city year-round, this tourist hot spot is home to some very exclusive restaurants and shops, also custom-made finds or 'bespoke,' including jewelry, scents, fashion, and more.



In the high-end jewelry district of rue de la Paix is a…

Visitors to Costa Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region probably don’t realize the area was once a thriving community for the indigenous Chorotega tribe. Indigenous history and traditions maintain a low profile in the Central…