Tang: Treasures from the Silk Road capital
If you wanted to brush up on your knowledge of China’s Golden Age, the Tang Dynasty, you could do worse than regressing to a 1970s childhood. Grab the beanbags 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!
Whales, worship and weird cabaret: the Tongan triumvirate
Humpback whales bring their (very big) babies into the safe waters of Tonga each year, from July to October. Photo: Belle Jackson We’ve all been lamenting the devastation in Fiji […]
Airline review: Qatar Airways economy class, Melbourne to Doha
A street scene from Doha’s Souq Waqif. Photo: Belle Jackson Qatar Airways, the newest Middle Eastern airline to service Australia, does the Melbourne-Doha (Qatar) route and recently started flying from […]
Peppers Docklands review: Melbourne’s newest five-star hotel
A couple of weeks ago, I popped in to the newest five-star hotel in Melbourne, Peppers Docklands. It’s right beside Etihad Stadium, at the bottom of La Trobe St. Loved […]
Roberts’ portraits the ‘selfies’ of their day
With her huge blue eyes, plump rose-kissed cheeks and a tumble of golden curls spilling over her fashionable fox-fur trimmed coat, Lily Stirling is the perfect face of a beautiful […]
Mussels and brisket: eating Melbourne this week
It’s been a good week for eating in Melbourne, and I checked out the new Marion wine bar, by chef-restaurateur Andrew McConnell in happening Gertrude St, Fitzroy. How’s that for […]
Tom Roberts’ cigar box lids a touchstone of Australian impressionism
I recently wrote a couple of pieces on one of Australia’s leading artists, Tom Roberts, and was surprised to find the lengths that he travelled in Australia during his career, […]
Christmas gift guide for people who love to travel
Buy a goat for Christmas…you know you want to, worldvision.com/gifts Thought about giving someone a goat for Christmas? It’s time for *drum roll* the Christmas gift guide for travellers. No […]
The 16 must-see new architecture projects for 2016
An artist’s impression of WTC transportation hub, US In what’s becoming an annual story for the Sydney Morning Herald, here’s my round-up of next year’s great architectural openings. Thanks, as […]
Homecoming for Australia’s cultural treasures
Part of Kebisu’s headdress, collected in the Torres Strait from Maino by Alfred Cort Haddon in 1888. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum The day he pressed his […]