Shark el-Sheikh: a fishy tale
This is so weird, even by Egyptian standards, that I have to share… The beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, is famed for its diving and snorkelling, […]
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!
Jacarandas and moody blues
“BALFOUR Street, New Farm?” asks the airport bus driver. “Are you sure? There used to be a real rough, scuzzy backpackers’ down there.” “No, really. There’s a new hotel and […]
Why phones are the new fire
Because my Blackberry can’t take pix to save itself, here’s what The Age saw… In the last century, it used to be said that television was the new fire – […]
Feed me, Portuguese
You can end up in a world of pain, trying to be authentic in an ethnic restaurant. Try, for example, lunch yesterday in Madeira restaurant in suburban Melbourne, a Portuguese […]
Hot to shop: Dubai
33C outside, -4 inside at Ski Dubia, in the Mall of the Emirates In the US, they’d ask ‘do you want fries with that?’ In Dubai, they ask, ‘do you […]
Singapore’s new groove
It’s a country built on shopping malls, where chewing gum is illegal and nerdism is in, so the brief was to find the new, hip, not-necessarily-so-shiny Singapore. Doing the research, […]
Hot to shop: Seoul
They call it Planet Korea, and the bizarre north Asian capital, Seoul, is regularly written up in the world’s big newspapers of the day for its new design focus and […]
CPI: the cappucino index
According to the most CPI (that’s Cappuccino Price Index to you), Brisbane has the most expensive coffee in the country. A cuppa will set you back on average $3.31 compared […]
Feeling the love (or not) in Dubai’s rarified air
“No kissing or overt displays of affection,” warns a sign on Dubai Mall’s glass doors. “Please wear respectful clothing. For example, shoulders and knees should be covered,” it adds. The […]