The region around Vietnam’s UNESCO heritage city of Hoi An is home to tourist sites worthy of Lara Croft herself March 9, 2018 The narrow stone passageway opened into a small stone altar featuring the carved statue of a goddess. Was this a place of worship, I wondered, or sacrifice? At this stage it was hard to tell, but I was enjoying scaring myself. The shadowy passageway curved around again, this time leading to a set of steps [...]
Off-piste in Fieberbrunn, the little known freeride resort of the Austrian Alps March 5, 2018 Fieberbrunn is at one end of the elaborately named Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, an area of Salzburg dedicated to winter sports, and one in dire need of a rebranding agency. Fieberbrunn itself is named after the fever (“fieber”) quelling properties of its waters, which are said to have cured such dignitaries as Claudia de [...]
Explore Ontario with the First Nations – Manitoulin Island offers an insight into Canada’s rich cultural heritage February 9, 2018 Flags line the terminal as I land at Toronto Airport, celebrating ‘Canada 150’, the official birthday of the nation. My trip to a remote part of Ontario, however, would reveal that there is much more to the country’s history than the past century and a half. This was my first time in Canada, and as [...]
The Long Weekend review: The Grove in Hertfordshire is the countryside escape that’s only 20mins from London February 9, 2018 The weekend The Grove hotel and country retreat offers all the trimmings of a weekend getaway but without the Friday night journey from hell out of London. You can be on the terrace with a G&T in less time than your average daily commute. Where Just a 20 minute train ride from London in Hertfordshire, [...]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Shoot Them: We went on safari with Kenya’s top photographer February 2, 2018 Normally at hotels I’m rather picky about who joins me for breakfast, but this time I made an exception. Or as much of an exception you can claim to make when a herd of wild Rothchild’s giraffes wander over uninvited to pop their necks through the lodge’s windows in search of a bite to eat. [...]
Luxury alpine chalet Tivoli Lodge offers not only skiing, but the chance to rub shoulders with the global elite of Davos January 26, 2018 Even when debating the world’s most pressing issues – starvation, pollution and political repression at the World Economic Forum in Davos – the global elite still expect the luxury to which they’re accustomed. As the world's movers and shakers descended on Davos for the annual jamboree, Morning Wire grabbed the chance to sample that very [...]
Rich in history and home to some of the world’s most impressive architecture, Uzbekistan’s untapped tourist scene is a trove of hidden wonders January 26, 2018 Gold-leafed mosque interiors, silk carpets, smooth vodka, ninth century mausoleums and some of the best-looking people on earth — Uzbekistan is a hidden gem. And that’s not just a metaphor; it really is tucked away. The home of many of the world’s most impressive architectural, scientific and cultural artefacts has the rare distinction of being [...]
Rich in history and home to some of the world’s most impressive architecture, Uzbekistan’s untapped tourist scene is a trove of hidden wonders January 26, 2018 Gold-leafed mosque interiors, silk carpets, smooth vodka, ninth century mausoleums and some of the best-looking people on earth — Uzbekistan is a hidden gem. And that's not just a metaphor; it really is tucked away. The home of many of the world’s most impressive architectural, scientific and cultural artefacts has the rare distinction of being [...]
More and more pets are taking to the skies to join us abroad, but what happens to our four-legged friends when they fly? January 25, 2018 Air travel, it’s easy to forget, is arcane magic. We strap ourselves into big metal tubes to be voluntarily catapulted thousands of feet into the sky, a place where there’s free sour cream and onion flavoured pretzels and tiny bottles of vodka, and where we’re furious when the wifi doesn’t work. It is only the [...]
Nestled deep within the Ecuadorian cloud forest, Mashpi Lodge is a hotel at one with the nature surrounding it January 24, 2018 Shortly after the turn of the century the former mayor of Quito, Roque Sevilla, bought up a vast chunk of the Ecuadorian cloud forest from a local logging company, and turned the land into one of the largest privately owned conservation areas in the country. Somewhere in the centre of it all, on the site [...]