Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
I have been thinking about the Pacific lately, thinking about the islands, the beaches and friendly people. Combining the European setting and thoughts of smiling islanders I landed my mind back in bustling Noumea, where it is easier to get a good croissant than it is to order the Bougna, a traditional Melanesian feast cooked in banana …
Kiev made me fall in love with fat. Yes, that’s right, fat. We are talking lard, we are talking slices of pig fat rolled in spices, we are talking pan fried dumplings with its thin coating of oil. It’s very much country food in this region, and for both Russia and Ukraine, I have been …
As I am about to head over to Kiev for the second time, I thought I’d share 5 interesting facts I learned about Kiev that you probably didn’t know! 1. Kiev, or Kyiv, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Eastern Europe. The city was founded in the year of 482BC. That’s pretty old. Ok, …
One of the best things about living in a ‘global’ city is that you get to experience film and tv sets everyday. How many times have you seen the Tower Bridge, the Big Ben and those iconic red Double Decker buses on screen? From James Bond to Harry Potter to Doctor Who to Thor. London …
Edinburgh is beautiful, as I have been told many a times. “Edinburgh is beautiful. You should go.” Go we did, but before we could savour the beauty we needed to understand her first. Wha’ yer din her? I am sorry? Wear yer flom? Nothing made sense, I was starting to wonder if we had perhaps …
I was driving home last night from the east side of Sydney back to the west. I haven’t driven this way for a while and at one stage took the wrong turn and instead of heading toward the main road that would have taken me directly west, I was heading east again. Then, like the …
I work for an international office and have colleagues all around the world. From time to time, they would come for meetings in Sydney and being the traveller of the office, I end up being the ‘go-to’ person for travelling around Sydney. And just like what I mentioned about tourist destinations, they all want to …
Discovering a place is like making a new friend. The first time you meet them, you may be taken aback by what it immediately throws at you, and the more you visit and get to know a place, the more you realise there are layers to the personality that you never know existed. This is …
Luxembourg really was a blur. Ten years ago I had come here, on a weekend trip with my fellow in-country studies students. It was the beginning of Spring in 2003, we braved the cold chill in the morning air and got on the train (in those days, we enjoyed both the student discount and the …
Whether it be the City of Lights or the City of Love, it’s one of the most photographed cities in the world and the setting of many romantic (and often tragic) novels and films. Audrey Hepburn, in a series of photographs and films, created the romantic image of Paris many women now dream of. Paris …
We have settled into our Bonn apartment, our home for the next two and a half months. The excitement of moving somewhere new gave us a wave of adrenaline rush as we battled with jet lag, and as soon as we dropped off our bags, shook hands with the landlord and had a quick bite …
Our flight had to circle when it got to Yogyakarta (locals affectionately call it ‘Jogja’), that’s how popular the place is. From the window I can spot the pointy tip of Mount Merapi in the distance, tall and mighty like a volcano would, with a lush green landscape sprawling from it. “There are a lot more …
I am in Indonesia to see if we can get sponsors for the Asian Women’s Empowerment Conference. I thought I’d mix business with pleasure and check out the area too. A friend from Jogjakarta warned me about this. “I prefer to avoid Jakarta at all costs,” she said, “you’ll never get anywhere.” I was determined …
There is a large patch of green on the banks of the Isar that extend from the centre of Munich all the way up north west of the city’s boundaries. This is one of Munich’s little surprises (well, not so little) and a place to escape to from the chaotic tourist scene of the city …
When I was in London last month, I had planned to just sit around, drink Earl Grey and chill. I’ve been to London so many times and have exhausted most of the tourist activity options that I was out of news things to see and write about. Then, something caught my eyes on this wonderful …
Hallo. Grüsse aus München! It has been ten years since I last set foot in Munich. Not much has really changed but at the same time it is now a different place. The city is still beautiful, with Marienplatz and its Rathaus-Glockenspiel the centre of it all, with the exception that now I must share the cobble-stoned …
Like anywhere else in the world, you have to come to London with an open mind. It is a city that is old and new at the same time, and it is constantly evolving, and that is what makes this city so fascinating. The current skyline is dominated by buildings of various nicknames: the gherkin, …
Along the Masarykovo nabiezi at dusk, Prague felt magical. It is the City of a Hundred Spires, and even in this ordinary shot, mini spires rise from the top of the buildings pointing to the sky. My memories of Prague is filled with such images. Outside the Prague Castle, the architecture – Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance, dashed …
We are experiencing heat waves here in Australia, and I am trying think cooler thoughts. So, that got me thinking about Stockholm when I visited in winter of 2003. Stockholm is a beautiful city and it was particularly beautiful when I visited in winter. They’ve had some light snow falls and made everything powder white, …
Manila was our last destination for the Philippines, and what a chaotic end to our journey! From the air Manila sprawled across the horizon like any other city, with sprouts of modern skyscrapers in all directions. Metro Manila comprises of 16 cities with an overall population of just over 11 million people, and the traffic …
On the morning we arrived in Noumea, there was an audible excitement around the cruise. We were arriving somewhere with people, with buildings and with a lot of history. The possibilities of a great day was endless. Due to mum’s mobility restrictions, there were not a lot she could do on the sandy beaches of …
I wanted to have a postcard this week that is relevant to my cruising theme. However I’ve never cruised before remember! So I thought I’d put on the next best thing: my memories of Venice, where getting on board local ferries to traverse through its many islands was the closest to cruising I’ve ever done! …
Wow, yesterday was a big day. As you know, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 3am in the morning, was able to ‘go to bed’ at around 5am and I slept for about three hours before my body clock woke me up due to the time difference between Sydney and KL. Never mind, I needed …
Last night we were treated to a free concert by Her Majesty’s Royal Marine Band on the Opera House Forecourt against the backdrop of Sydney skyline, the Opera House and the lit up Harbour Bridge. It was one of the activities as part of the International Fleet Review and the crowd and I loved it. …
