The Himalayan mountain range is an absolutely enormous stretch, running from Pakistan in the west, through India, Nepal and Bhutan to China in the east. The word ‘Himalaya’ derives from ancient Sanskrit and means ‘abode of snow’, and the range is home to nine of the highest 10 peaks in the world. You might be …
Asia
Since I’ve come back from India one of the most common questions I get asked by women is about what women should pack for a trip to India. I was expecting to be asked how to avoid Delhi Belly, how to find nice accommodation, how safe it is to travel alone and what the overnight …
“Trust your feet and let your legs take your weight,” my guide shouted from beneath me. Trust my feet? ‘Trusting my feet’ was a totally new concept for me. I can trust my hands because they’re bendy and flexible and they’re right there in front of my eyes but my feet are just ugly stumps …
Luban Bajo in Flores, Indonesia, is quickly becoming a popular tourist destination for backpackers looking to get away from the usual routes and see something a little different. It is also the launching point for most people to visit Komodo Island which is why we’d travelled out to this point in Indonesia. But Komodo Island …
It’s fairly common knowledge that Singapore is a great stopover destination, especially for those venturing to or from Australia or New Zealand. Singapore’s airport, Changi, is a veritable playground for in-transit passengers, as proven by the fact that it constantly tops lists of best airports in the world. It’s a lesser known fact, however, that …
Singapore is an island city-state in Southeast Asia. Back in 2015 it received the title of ‘top country to visit’ from Lonely Planet and today it boasts a tropical climate, a multicultural population and the long list of things to do in Singapore will shock any tourist visiting the city. The sheer volume of activities, places …
Nothing can induce the jealousy in me like someone who lives in Thailand. Yes, actually lives in Thailand. And that includes all Thai people because Thailand is one of my favourite countries in the world. That’s why I’m really pleased to have an Insider’s Guide to Chiang Mai on the blog this week. Big thanks …
Nusa Lembongan is one of those places that I’m not sure if I should write about. On the one hand I want to tell everyone about this perfect slice of paradise, but on the other hand I want to keep it all to myself and do everything I can to stop anyone else going there. …
There’s something majestic and beautiful about tigers that has always fascinated me. I think it stems from my days of watching The Jungle Book on repeat so I could learn all the words to ‘The Bear Necessities’ and ‘I Wanna be Like You-oo-oo’ (and I can confirm that I still know them word for word …
Varanasi in northern India has a magical atmosphere that multiplies by approximately 10 million* times as darkness begins to fall*. *This may not be an entirely accurate figure but I’m sure it’s close. It is the holiest city in India so it isn’t surprising that the spiritual vibe makes it such an incredible place for …
I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand, but somehow I’ve always ended up booking holidays to other destinations, with Thailand sort of glaring at me from the top of my bucket list. The Philippines, however, was never on my radar. I wanted pristine white beaches, unspoiled islands where electricity is hard to come by, epic marine …
Southeast Asia is one of the most affordable places in the world to grab a little luxury at a reasonable price. Five star hotels which you would pay hundreds of dollars a night for in cities such as London, Sydney or New York sell for a fraction of the price in cities in S.E. Asia. …
The official name for the Monkey Forest is ‘The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary’. These monkeys have been living here for hundreds and hundreds of years and the three Holy Monkey Temples were built during the mid 14th century. There are the three grand old temples, two graveyards and intricate monkey statues everywhere; these all look …
Spiritual Sights around Ubud After a week of early morning yoga, afternoon cakes and carafes of wine in the evening, we thought it was time to break our well established Ubud routine and get out and about to explore the sights. We hired a scooter for the day and weaved our way through the polluted …
We left the Cliff and River Jungle Resort and headed to Arts River Lodge in Khao Sok National Park for another amazingly unique but completely different experience. Arts River Lodge is further into the lush national park and we were staying in a tree house in the midst of the dense forest. I used to beg …
While sailing around Halong Bay we stopped off at a huge cave system in the limestone peaks. It is called the ‘Cave of Awe’ due to the expressions on visitors faces when they first enter the cave. It went on for miles and miles and was like a magical grotto from kid’s films. It was illuminated with …
After a few days relaxing on Ko Phi Phi Don, the largest of the Phi Phi islands in southern Thailand, we decided to get adventurous and visit some of the uninhabited islands that surround. Koh Phi Phi Leh, the film location from The Beach, was the place we all wanted to see most but the surrounding …
At 4am on a misty and dark morning, we discovered that watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat was an extremely popular thing for tourists to do and hundreds of people were flocking to a place where they’d get a good view. I was disappointed at first; this was meant to be a really special …