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...]
THE 10th Annual Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show Will Bring Thousands of Travel Options and International Culture and Cuisine to Long Beach February 21-22
Nation’s Largest Travel Show Will Feature Roster of Celebrity Expert Travel Speakers Including Samantha Brown, Rick Steves, Pauline Frommer, Peter Greenberg and Phil Keoghan (LOS ANGELES, CA) – Tens of thousands of travel enthusiasts will once again be inspired by the sights, sounds and culture of faraway destinations from across the globe as the nation’s largest consumer travel show returns to the Long Beach Convention Center on February 21 … [Read more...]
Backpackers – by Paul Bellamy
This is not just your ordinary tale of backpackers seeing the world. The scene is the late 1980's in South East Asia - before Internet, before cell phones, before instant communication around the world. Two budget backpackers (Andrew and Kirsten) are trying to see the world on the cheap - pinching pennies by staying in ratty cockroach infested hostel dorms and quickly running out of money. Then Andrew discovers a money belt full of money and … [Read more...]
The Amazingly Industrious Trishaw Driver from the Sultan’s Kraton
John M. Edwards rides around into infinity with an amazingly industrious trishaw driver skilled in perpetual motion for a mere pittance (a pocketful of rupiahs) at the Sultan’s Kraton in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. At the Sultan’s Kraton in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, I stood face to face with “The Great Man”--the Sultan himself! Since I was a known American “oil baron,” not a gas station attendant but part owner of a privately held oil and … [Read more...]