We walked through the doors of Quito’s “Gold Church” (La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús) and were immediately surrounded by a golden glow. We found the church version of El Dorado, but the fact that photography is forbidden left us a bit frustrated. We took a few anyway (sorry Jesus, if you exist) and continued walking the streets … Read more
Rain pounded the streets of Cartagena. Due to poorly chosen footwear (this seems to be a recurring theme in my travels) we had to walk slowly over the slippery sidewalks. We waded through ankle-deep puddles and crossed streets overflowing with traffic and rain, eventually arriving at the deserted entrance to the old town. We took … Read more
If you’re visiting Peru then you are probably, at some point, going to make your way to Machu Picchu. Most people pass through Ollantaytambo on the way to the famous Inca ruins, but many don’t realise that this tiny town, with its own impressive ruins and laid-back atmosphere, is a memorable attraction in its own right. … Read more
Tourists in Thailand often complain of being “templed out”. There are certainly a lot of wats (temples) in Thailand and some of them do start to blend into each other after a while, but the white temple in Chiang Rai, known locally as Wat Rong Khun, is sure to impress even the most jaded suffers … Read more
Recently, while doing a bit of a blog overhaul, I bumped into a folder full of photos from Myanmar. I started to get annoyed that I had never written about Bagan, one of the most impressive ancient wonders in Southeast Asia. I figured that since it was over four years since I visited the Bagan … Read more
If you’re looking for a scenic day hike in Spiti then you won’t do much better than the walk from Kibber to Tashigang (and back again). The path takes you up over rocky hills, past a tiny village, through crops, above tiny ponds and eventually to an ancient hillside monastery located 4500 metres above sea … Read more
Your level of excitement about visiting Bali depends heavily on whether you’re a redneck Australian or middle-aged Julia Roberts fan looking for love. If you fall into those categories you’ll want to plan a longer trip, but for the rest of us, two days in Bali is probably enough*. I’ve been to Bali twice now … Read more
A lot gets made of the fact that Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands. While a lot of those are probably just rocky outcrops poking their heads out of the ocean, there are a lot of island destinations to choose from. Raja Ampat, a group of small islands off the coast of West … Read more