Emerging from the pint-sized terminal at Paro, Bhutan’s sole international airport, new arrivals are greeted by dazzling sun, crisp mountain air, and, most invitingly, a wave of genuine…
Before arriving at The Mira, I already knew this was an unusual hotel. Anywhere that accepts bookings via Whatsapp, the instant messaging app, is clearly striving to break the mould.
The taxi eats through the Kowloon traffic like Pac-Man. It weaves in and out of the busy streets, surrounded on all sides by endless rows of stained, ramshackle residential buildings,…
Mexico City is a study in diversity and contrast. From the enduring enclaves of Chapultepec, Coyoacan and the Centro Historico to the hip neighbourhoods of Condesa, Roma and Polanco, nods to…
I’m ensconced in my favourite spot on a chaise longue, one of two, overlooking the beach. The early morning sky takes on a ripe apricot glow as the sun begins to climb. Sunbeams strike the…
I am one of those people who is unable to relax until I get to where I am going. I don’t do airports well and I thoroughly dislike the security check process. In fact, the whole ‘getting…
More than one person said to me when I confessed a desire to visit the Greek capital, “Oh, don't bother with Athens; skip it and head straight for the Greek islands.” And miss the…
Cairo was a tumultuous introduction to the Middle East’s largest country, with four constantly weaving lanes of vehicles occupying every two-lane road, a constant tumult of noise and…
The salaryman is slumped asleep on the train, oblivious to everything — maybe even his own station of disembarkation — doomed to ride to the end of the line. But no, his clockwork…
In Split, on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, I met an elderly man who attested to having lived through most of the 20th century and, at one time or other, carried at least 12 different…