Notes from a zombie zone: Turkmenistan’s Ashgabat airport
To get through the departure gates at Ashgabat airport, in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan, I had to have my passport scanned. And my fingerprints. And my thumbprints. And […]
NOTEBOOK
Canter past Patagonian icefields. Sail the tranquil waters of Lake Como in Italy. Sip coffee in a Palestinian village. Listen to the ancient voices of Australia’s Arnhem Land. Climb the mountain paths of northern Albania. Let’s go!
How to sauna like a Finn
Over Christmas and New Year, I spent my days leaping in and out of saunas like a lemon into a G&T in Scandinavia. My first dip was in the Allas […]
Vintage train returns to the rails, from Melbourne to Sydney
Slow travel, nostalgia travel, train travel – Australia’s oldest working train ticks all the boxes when it comes to travel trends. The old train will bring a slow-travel mentality to […]
Travel at high altitudes: tips from Chile’s Atacama Desert
Don’t eat the guanaco and go easy on the merlot: two pieces of advice that seem counterproductive to a trip through Chile. However, when you’re staying more than 2.4km above […]
Tips for visiting Cairo’s Pyramids: Egypt
Each year, I return to Egypt for so many reasons – family, kunafa, fresh, chunky mango juice and a hit of history. This year, I teamed up with Ahmed Aziz, […]
Tips for exploring Punta Arenas, Chile
Down the bottom of Chile, looking south toward Antarctica, Punta Arenas is at the confluence of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and has a subpolar, oceanic climate. Its average […]
Best hotel breakfast buffet 2019: Helsinki, Finland
Breakfast buffets, I’ve had a few in this job. But this morning’s buffet at the Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, in Helsinki, was one of the best. I’m currently in the Finnish […]
Walking the Camino: a guide to finding your feet (and heart, and solutions to life’s problems)
Author John Brierley spends every spring and autumn following in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims making their way to the medieval cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in far western […]
How to get along with Parisians: a cheat sheet
Swapping Australia’s Bellarine Peninsula for Paris for a decade or so, writer and actor Jayne Tuttle knows all the tricks about getting along with Parisians. Speak French first, kiss left […]
What to do in Prizren, Kosovo
It’s the prettiest town in Kosovo, and the centre of Prizren is its Shatërvan square. Its cobbled streets are lined with cafes, snow-tipped mountains send snowmelt rushing down the river […]