Cruising with Agatha Christie on the Last Steamship of the Nile

The passage up the Blue Nile has always been both a physical experience and an allegorical tale. Thousands of years after pharaohs were ferried to the afterlife on golden barges, the steamboat began transporting mesmerised 19th century tourists past their temples in search of something otherworldly. This graceful journey up the river, passing ancient pyramids and…

Travel like Wes Anderson on the Real Darjeeling Limited Railway

It was arguably the tea that put Darjeeling on the world map, but for me, it was really Wes Anderson… The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the very first hill railway in India and its still in use today. By the tea and the gurkhas, the train has become a part of the identity of these…

My Secret Mediterranean Island

I haven’t technically discovered the lost island of the Mediterranean, but you won’t find this place in any packaged deals on travel websites, nor on any ‘Top European Hotspots′ lists. And I’m hoping it stays that way so it can remain our little secret for a bit longer. In the Maltese archipelago of the Mediterranean Sea,…

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A Hauntingly Good Guide to Autumn in New York

No one does Fall like the East Coast. The air grows perfectly crisp, and a tide of orange leaves sweeps the Catskills and Central Park alike in such cinematic fashion, you practically expect Meg Ryan to come sauntering around every corner with a jug of piping hot cider. Of course, this year is different in…

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10 Inspiring Cafés Around the World

Everyone needs to find their own café– it’s an identity thing. 1. The Grounds, Alexandria, Australia Once a former warehouse and pie factory in the early 1900s, The Grounds has got to be one of the most beautiful and eclectic coffee shops I’ve ever seen. With a coffee ‘research and testing facility’ alongside the café,…

Postcards from North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is probably one of the most fascinating places on Earth, mostly because we know so little about what really goes on over there. What we do know is only what they want to show us. I’ve come across these rare archives of retro postcards and what looks like tourist…

In Berlin, Don’t be a Tourist

Like many of you, I hate being a tourist. When I’m visiting a new city, I’ll admire the great landmarks from afar and keep on moving in search of the smallest backstreets and the hidden local haunts. And this is why I write my Paris blogs, for all of you who would rather be discovering…

The River Café Waiting at the End of a Hidden Valley

The internet can be sometimes be terribly misleading. I stumbled upon the above photograph on Pinterest, but the photograph’s location had been erroneously captioned and gone viral with its misinformation. As far back as I could go on the internet search pages, the paradisiac spot purported to be among “10 Unique things to do in Santorini”. Never one to…

The Luxury Hotel Complete with Live Giraffes.

Hotels just don’t give enough giraffe these days. Luckily, I’ve found one that’s keeping up the standards. Giraffe Manor, located 20km outside of Kenya’s diverse capital Nairobi, is a five-star hotel with a resident herd of Rothschild Giraffes that roam the 12 acre private property freely– meaning they’ll poke their heads through your luxury bedroom…

Streamliner Trains that Oozed the Elegance of Old World Travel

Say, can I get that train pamphlet in a framed poster? That’s not something you’re likely to wonder about any of the marketing coming out of today’s rail travel industry. I found this gorgeous vintage pamphlet design by Union Pacific Railroad and it sent me on a cyber hunt for more memorabilia from a glittering era in train travel between the 1930s to the…