The first Los Angeles Travel Show I attended was many years ago at the convention center downtown - at one point there were two travel shows within a month or so of each other in Los Angeles/Long Beach - in recent years it was held at the Long Beach Convention Center - and this year it is back to where it belongs, downtown at the Los Angeles Convention Center. If you are in the Los Angeles area, enjoy travel put this consumer based travel show … [Read more...]
City Guide: How to spend time in Cape Town
The city of Cape Town, also known as the Mother City, is located on the southern-most part of the African continent. It’s one of South Africa’s most popular holiday destinations because of its pristine blue flag beaches, iconic mountains, beautiful fynbos landscape and diverse culture. Cape Town, more specifically Cape Point, is the site where the two oceans meet – the cool Atlantic and the warm Pacific. Besides the Mother City’s 360 degree … [Read more...]
On a Bike Through an Indonesian Kampong
On a bike through an Indonesian Kampong Indonesia is a fascinating country. The collection of islands close to the equator has everything from beaches, volcanoes, rain forest, legends and smiling people trying to make you feel at home. It's a gorgeous, mind boggling country that stole my heart already years ago. It was good to be back after many years. I arrived in Jakarta and was hurried to the car my friend had sent for me. ‘We have to go … [Read more...]
Experiencing the Chaos of Jakarta
By the time I reached my hotel and drifted off it was 2am. I woke early the next morning and wandered out exploring the streets of Mangga Dua - a section of this sprawling city that seems to be a cross between New Delhi and Dhaka. The roads are a sensory stream of noise and action - from motorbikes, three wheeled motorized rickshaw taxis, the ubiquitous Blue Bird Taxis, bicycles and people walking. Throw in a torrential downpour (after all this … [Read more...]
Harar, Ethiopia
Harar is undoubtedly Ethiopia’s brightest flower. If a jewel, she may be slightly chipped around the edges, though her centre continues to shine with undiminished brilliance. Of course, like most places on the continent – which Paul Theroux encapsulates as ‘a Dark Star’ – everything is a bit messed up. Located on the border of the far eastern Somali region, French-imported blue and white vintage Peugeot taxis cruise beneath Italian-built colonial … [Read more...]
Hidden Treasures in Kota Kinabalu
Thankfully there are stranger things in Borneo than a pale, sweaty Irish woman, otherwise I might have felt more self-conscious as I stepped out for the first time in Kota Kinabalu. While my travel companion and I weren't immediately struck by its beauty on arrival, Kota Kinabalu hides many unexpected treasures within its core. Food I never even heard of Beef Rendang before visiting Borneo, but now the smell of it instantly whisks me … [Read more...]
Three Reasons to Visit Bandung, Indonesia
In anticipation of my trip to Indonesia, I was told by the trip organizers that I wouldn’t be able to visit Borneo during my visit. Subsequently, I was disappointed - my first thoughts were purely selfish. I had long nurtured a dream of going to this 'ultimate jungle' to view orangutans in their native habitats. But then I started feeling a different level of sorrow: Borneo is burning! The forest is being destroyed, the animals are dying, … [Read more...]
Scuba Dive In The Gili Islands
Just a ferry ride away from Bali are the beautiful islands of Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno. I stayed on Gili “T”, where I put my new scuba certification skills to the test. And this was the absolute perfect location to do it! The water visibility was amazing and the ocean was teaming with an incredible variety of coral and fish. When I arrived and checked into Gili Yoga, I was half-drugged from the dramamine I had taken, just … [Read more...]
How Todays Hipster Makers Travel
The hipster maker culture The maker culture, part tech, part traditional, has been taking the world by storm, at least the hipster spaces. Now you can regularly find $90 courses teaching you wood-working, brass crafting or something similar along those lines. Its cool, definitely, but I always feel a little underwhelmed after participating in these kind of overpriced workshops. You make something really really simple (in the interests of … [Read more...]
Gelato World Tour 2.0
New Gelato Partner for the Second Edition, that will start in Singapore Record requests for participation from Australia for the first stage: 16 gelato artisans in Asia / Pacific in the race for the title of World's Best Gelato Rimini Fiera – The second edition of Gelato World Tour will start in less than days in Singapore making the city state the Gelato Capital of the World for 3 days in March 2015. The event will also be an occasion to … [Read more...]