Dolmabahce Palace was really easy to get to, it’s at the northern end of tram line T1 and from our hotel in Sultanahmet in the Old City it was just a short walk to the tram stop near the Blue Mosque where we bought a couple Read more…
His posture was like Fagin’s from Oliver Twist, only he was collecting bus tickets not money. “If we get refused entry I’ll blame you!“ he said, not making eye contact. I began to calculate the number of passengers on the bus times the cost of the ticket Read more…
You’ll meet some lovely people in India – but at New Delhi Railway Station you’ll probably meet some less-than-lovely characters who have spent years skillfully parting foreigners from their cash. It takes a clear mind and strong heart to withstand them, but hopefully reading about these Read more…
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest lasting Empires in the world and the backbone of this huge Kingdom was the asker or soldier. Considering the size and the duration of the Ottoman Empire and significance of war in Turkish History, every traveller to Istanbul Read more…
I’d booked a sightseeing tour with a difference – a hot air balloon ride at Jaipur and at 5am at my hotel I got in the car Sky Waltz had sent for me and set off in the clear lilac dawn through streets mercifully free of Read more…
The Yamuna Expressway is a new fast road between Delhi and Agra and is set to improve immeasurably the lot of the weary traveller between these two important tourist destinations when it opens in August 2012, and will make day trips from Delhi to Agra a lot Read more…
You’ve seen the photos of these cute, pink-faced hairy monkeys with frosted whiskers bathing in steaming hot springs in the middle of the snow? You can visit them all-year-round at ‘Hell’s Valley’ near Nagano on a day trip from Tokyo – it’s a bit of an Read more…
As the skycrapers of Tokyo became ever taller the 50-year-old radio and tv broadcasting tower, Tokyo Tower, was unable to provide good coverage and a new broadcasting tower became necessary. Skytree, opened on May 22 2012, is twice as high as Tokyo Tower (and the Eiffel Read more…
Ever since the 9th century Japanese samurai were all skilled in yabusame – shooting arrows whilst on horseback – which combined the essential warrior skills of archery and horseriding. It developped into a religious ritual designed to please the gods, and nowadays is more of a Read more…
I am reading a very interesting book by Laurence Sterne called A Sentimental Journey written in 1768 about travelling through France and Italy. At one point in the book he divides “the whole circle of travellers” to one of these types: – Idle Travellers – Inquisitive Read more…
Bus Did you know that you should get on the buses in Kyoto at the back, and get off at the front?! And that you pay when you get off the bus, not when you get on? Getting around Kyoto is surprisingly easy compared to Tokyo Read more…
Walk to the lower part of Kalamegdan Fortress passing the Nebojsa Tower which used to be a prison during the Turkish occupation and which today is a museum dedicated to the Greek revolutionary Rigas Feraio, strangled by the Turks here and thrown into the Danube. Not Read more…
If you want to eat healthy wholesome meat dishes, the best time to visit Serbia is the winter – the amount of tempting homemade food makes you fat just by looking at it! One of the most popular winter dishes is stuffed cabbage leaves and I Read more…
UNESCO has included the following sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina on its World Heritage List: The Old Mostar Bridge (Stari Most) commissioned in 1557 by Suleiman the Magnificent, the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Construction began in 1557 and took nine years. Charged Read more…
Mathematical formulas are my forte, and I can solve most daily riddles with ease. The amount spent on my weekly shop are in my head before reaching the checkout desk, surprising the cashier with my accuracy. Numbers were my friends. Until now. Sitting in front of Read more…
“I was here, I saw this and it mattered to me.” Alain de Botton How many times have you been seduced by reading an article on the 10 best things to do at the destination you always wanted to see? The flawless writing full of Read more…
