Electric Ladyland

       There’s a buzz in the air in Hong Kong on a Sunday. Not just the hustle of the millions taking to the transport system to find the best shopping, or the best Dim Sum, or even the best hiking spots. Something else is emanating audibly as you come down from the Island’s…

Working Class Hero

My partner hates any sign of peril or danger to animals.  Who doesn’t?  It’s why I watch Game Of Thrones alone,  it’s why every tiny creature that flies, crawls or floats into our house gets put gently outside on a red carpet, and why the Grand National sweepstake is an absolute no-no.  It’s also why…

The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking

Nostalgia is a funny thing.  A friend of mine calls it ‘being drunk on the past’.  I’m not sure that’s wholly fair, but I’m as guilty as anyone of a rosy tint on my lenses when I look back at past trips.  One of the things I miss, is the ease with which one could…

Delayed in Delhi.

You know you’re culturally out of your depth, when you’re waiting for a man to stop defecating in front of you, staring you in the eye and actually smiling, before you can check into your hotel. Strangely that titbit of local knowledge hadn’t been made clear to me as I arrived in Delhi, and thumbing…

Under The Northern Lights

As I’m sure every one of you can testify, it’s hard work juggling a metre long live cod at four in the morning with frozen hands, when your wellington boots are three sizes too big, and the boat deck you’re swaying on loses all its lighting and your glasses have fallen into a mop bucket….

Sex, Lies & Amtrak

The whole ‘crossing America’ thing is of legend. I guess most people with an inner joy of travel would have contemplated it at some time or other, and thought romantically of the dusty highways, the endless panoramas, and the rail track stretching out to the red-tinged horizon and beyond.  I’m no different, and so when…

There’s A Ghost In My House

There’s a number of reasons to spend a little time in Flagstaff, Arizona. This is a very laid-back, bohemian small-town with a calm artistic vibe, but it’s also favoured by  adventure seekers coming to stop off before the Grand Canyon, or to ski in the nearby mountains.  It’s also home to the excellent Lowell Observatory,…

LA Woman

“Hola , Mi nombre es Marc y me encanta Los Ángeles” My first line of Spanish in conversation.  I nervously say the line prompted in front of a handful of people, loosely arranged as a class in a circle in Downtown Los Angeles.  We’re a loose mixture of around five people sat in the bright…

Off The Beaten Track In Hong Kong

I had already had the immense pleasure of being in Hong Kong a couple of times before my employer stationed me there in 2006.  I’d come to like the city very much, but before living there had only really experienced the business life of the Island and the neon night-towns of Wanchai and Lan Kwai…

The Cane Toad Experience

When a traveller first arrives in Port Douglas, Northern Queensland, he or she would be forgiven for thinking the term ‘Ocean of Calm’ had been coined here. Not just because of the startling sapphire Coral Sea lapping up against its clean sands, and around into the modest marina, but because the atmosphere of the town…