The question I’ve been asked most in the last few years is how on earth I’ve been traveling for so long. Lots of people I know from Australia have written to me for advice, and as a big thank you to all my supporters and readers, I’ve decided to finally write this article. After 20 …
Since I moved to Hoi An, Vietnam, I get asked this question all the time. Old friends and Facebook friends, locals, and especially people that come to stay with us all want to know what on earth it is that I do here all day long while my husband is at work. My mum, in …
Barcelona is the place where I learned a lot about myself. I made so many mistakes there, had so many triumphs, and saw things that still inspire me to this day. I got a tattoo from “the best tattoo artist in Barcelona”, an extension of an original I had painlessly recieved in Daejeon, Korea in …
by an adamant lover of Orvieto Orvieto, a much, much older than medieval city carved out of stone atop a now-extinct volcano, is my favorite place on earth. I would never ruin Orvieto by moving there or visiting it too much, and no amount of photos could ever do it justice. Winding streets of tunnels …
Arguably the most famous, and certainly the most loved, of all European bookstores is found rather conveniently on the Parisian Left Bank. Entitled The Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, it’s a moth-filled, rickety-staired, nook-and-crannied, crackety-floorboarded organism of books, books, books. Heavy velvet curtains shield the sacred entrails of the shop from its overly-photographed exterior, and inside …
Versailles is simply amazing. Unlike Rome’s Vatican, which lies in a sad and neglected state (more on that later) Versailles is gorgeously restored and beautifully upkept, thanks to the sponsorship of Google, Chanel and Hennessy. From the main palace of Kings, Dauphins and their royal court, to the spectacular Hall of Mirrors, the intricate details …
I doubt it’s easy to find a Western woman without an interest in Paris. If a Freudian psychologist asked one of us to voice the words evoked once we heard that city’s name, amongst them would surely be “fashion”, “beauty”, and ultimately, “love”. And this is why Paris was always, in my mind, the most …
It had everything to do with The Life of Pi and an airline special, and little to do with reality. Sure, what did a 40 degree celsius heatwave matter? I was going to India. And being stubborn and somewhat fanciful, fantasizing about bazaars filled with jewellery and brightly hued silks, where men and women danced …
“Miss, where you from?” is a common opening line of the urchins of Siem Reap, Cambodia. They travel in groups of two or three, and they each have a basket of goods: photocopied Lonely Planet guides, handmade bracelets, lacquered wooden key rings, scarves. “Australia,” I’d answer, and take in their enormous brown eyes, skin burned …
Tioman Island, off the east coast of Malaysia, is the one place I keep returning to. Yes, what you’re reading on travel review websites is correct: it is overrun with tourists during peak season, and yes, it is becoming commercialized. But take it from a traveler that’s been to Thailand 12 times: compared to popular …
Ah, Laos, which most Americans pronounce “Lay-oss” or “Louse” (neither: think “Laow”), how I miss you. It all started during the Great South East Asia backpacking trip which included Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, India. All the elements contained in the Lonely Planet existed during that backpacking trip – elephant riding, natural turquoise waterfalls, the splendor of …
I’m going to start at the end: a concert that was one of the strangest cultural experiences I’ve ever encountered. I hadn’t heard of the band Elixir before, but I had heard of Katie Noonan, who was something of a prominent musician even back when I was living in Australia. The concert was a bash … Continue reading »
A gallery of 2 years of canine panache, from Korea to Vietnam and onto Germany. It all started innocently enough. But when did that turn to this? Was it because I showered him too much? Because I terrified him by neutering him so young? Because, even after a week in doggy hospital, he still secretly … Continue reading »
A how to get your dog into Vietnam, how to keep it there, and how to get it out guide for all your busy Googlers. There’s an astonishing lack of information on the internet for this very thing, so I decided to be a pioneer and give all you busy Google-searchers the tools to help … Continue reading »
It’s been two months since my wedding and ever since it became officially over, I’ve become happy again. Weddings are not for the faint-hearted, and only those full of energy and vegetables and vitamins and general zest for life should ever attempt it. But me, somewhat moody, very emotional, pretty lazy really (would rather eat … Continue reading »
It’s been a few months and I’ve had a lot more on my mind than the great midnight run of 2010. However, my site stats inform me that dozens of you all stuck in Korea have been reading up on midnight runs, and that Part One is the most read article of this entire blog, … Continue reading »
While you’re all dreaming of a white Christmas, I’m hating every moment of it. Wearing five layers of clothing gets boring, and I’m sick of sporting the red-nose-reindeer look. I want to be on the beach with a Mai Tai, a snorkel mask hanging around my neck instead of this itchy scarf. Diego Pablo, on … Continue reading »
There was a time when I considered deleting T off Facebook. It wasn’t that we’d fallen out of contact (we have a long-running Skype conversation, which T has labeled “The Skypothetical”), or that we’d disagreed on some issue (T is like the lime in my Corona), but it was the matter of his profile pictures. … Continue reading »
