Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
We travel to experience the different cultures and traditions. To observe, how others do things, to learn that each culture is unique and has their own way to eat, to play and to live.
Here are some cultural experiences that may make you feel uncomfortable, but can change your perspective on things, to alter your ego and to see the beauty of the world, and its people that lives in it.
It was Friday the 13th. On top of that, it was the day of the full moon. I am not a superstitious person, but last week I couldn’t help if the cosmos was at play, when I hit a new low. I do not remember the last time I had such a bad day, it …
I am sitting here in a Michelin listed Restaurant Eugene in Orleans, France, trying to do my job. Scanning the menu with a pen and a notebook by my side, I couldn’t make the decision on whether to choose the item that I understood or, the item that sounded lyrical on the tongue. “Can I …
Not every little girl wanted to grow up to be a princess. As I can’t really remember much from my young childhood, so I can’t tell you what I wanted to grow up to be. But knowing what I am like now I can assure you I definitely didn’t want to be a princess. I …
Yesterday was the first day of a new year in the lunar calendar. To anyone celebrating – Happy New Year :) Last year I wrote about celebrating Lunar New Year in Taipei on this blog, but I also wrote a short feature on it in the hopes that some editor might pick it up. Well, …
2017 is supposed to be the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, yet, tourism hasn’t been all that sustainable at all. We saw this first hand on our recent trip to Dubrovnik, on a walking holiday with On Foot Holidays where we stayed 2 nights with our apartment window looking out to this wonderfully …
So I went to a girl school in the 90s ok? It was almost mandatory that I must have danced to the tunes of Backstreet Boys (or Take That, East17, 98 Degrees, Westlife…), to rock it out with Bon Jovi, watched Clueless and thought it was the coolest movie (like, TOTALLY) and of course, rehearsed …
The Victorians loved their seaside resorts. All along the English coast are reminiscences of Victorian terraces, which were holiday homes for many of the rich and wealthy, business families from the north who would spend the warmer months of the year soaking up some seaside sun. But when you are Queen Victoria, you don’t just …
I loved a recent article on Traveller listing the 13 best cities you’ve never thought of going to, listing Taipei, the place of my birth among the other exotic and fantastic cities around the world. Personally the idea of visiting places that may not be on the mainstream travel itineraries gives you an alternative view …
I had wanted to add a bit more about Old Dubai (areas surrounding Al Karama and Deira) to my previous Dubai stop over post, but I thought about it a bit more, it really does deserve a post on its own, as it is to me, a more interesting side to the Dubai compared to …
“You would love Marrakech,” a friend told me after she visited this popular Moroccan city ten years ago. “There are cats, everywhere.” Morocco has been on my mind for a long time – it is one of those places, like India, that intrigues me, and no, it’s not because of the cats either! (Although, the …
The night markets are the essence of Taiwanese culture. The markets are on everyday and is where you’ll get a feel of the diversity of food and games of this fascinating country. However, what exactly do you do at a night market? Eat everything from things on a stick to sticky sweets Well, most obviously …
It was with much persuasion and parental bullying (just kidding mum and dad!) that we flew the 17 hours to Taipei to celebrate Lunar New Year (or, more commonly known as Chinese New Year). I was born in Taipei, but left to grow up in Australia at the age of ten. As far as I …
This is what we did on Christmas day. We got up, phoned our parents and then got on a bus heading to Bratislava. The capital of Slovakia has been on our minds ever since we’ve been to Slovenia. I know, Slovenia, Slovakia – in fact it’s a bit of a joke among people of both …
Of all Budapest’s attractions, there is one thing you should never miss when visiting this fascinating city: The city’s many thermal baths. In this part of the world, natural spring waters are abundant, and these mineral waters are believed to have medicinal powers by pretty much anyone who found them. Similar to my Turkish bathing …
It’s not that it was unplanned, but I just didn’t think of the fact that I’ll be able to experience the Christmas markets again this year after Leipzig and Dresden. However, as we began to plan our annual Christmas and New Year getaway, I realised that we will in fact, be visiting Budapest during market …
Our second Christmas markets destination of the year is Dresden. It is about an hour and a half by Regional Express from Leipzig and is, one of the most interesting former East German cities to visit, outside Berlin. And being so close to Leipzig (and with direct flights from London currently only available to Leipzig) …
I am taking a small break from writing and we are on our annual Christmas Market visit to Germany. Since my first German Christmas markets experience back in 2003, I’ve looked forward to being able to visit the market every year if I ever lived ‘near by’, and the first destination for the year is …
We ended our Slovenian journey in the capital Ljubljana. The small, quaint city isn’t all that much of a ‘capital’ as you would imagine, but with only a total of 2 million people in this country, it is still vibrant and full of life! It’s impossible not to love Ljubljana. Having explored the city, Will …
Lyon is France’s third largest city, and you’ve probably not thought of it when you were there. In fact, it’s easy to forget that Lyon is a city at all if you don’t venture beyond the old town and see all the skyscrapers by the Part-Dieu station. Because you’ll probably be having too much fun …
I am all for supporting local businesses after events of disaster. The December floods last year devastated north England, including the city of York, so when Visit England called upon everyone to #lovethenorth, we responded with booking a train ticket to York. I have a soft spot for history. Ironically, while history wasn’t my best …
Lisbon is a great city to spend a long weekend in. It is small enough to be explored in 48 hours but not too bland and boring to leave you with nothing to do. Not only that, there’s something for everyone, from foodies to culture lovers to history buffs…. and surprisingly, almost everything was open …
For Easter, we decided to skip the drizzly cold English weather (because Easter always rained) and spent it in sunny warm Lisbon, where we could get by with a light jacket and the southern European sun provided the much needed Vitamin D. In the land of famous things – no, not the footballer! The Portuguese …
With the International sanctions lifted in Iran, more and more people are considering a trip to explore this fascination country that has been shrouded in mystery and bad press. However, Iran has always been a tourist destination, being a part of the ‘hippie trail’ in the 60s, those who have been will tell you tales …
On yet another rail journey we left from London Marylebone station, through beautiful country scenes of Warwickshire to arrive at historic town of Stratford upon Avon. Stratford upon Avon is an easy train ride from London Easily reached from London by train, Stratford upon Avon make a great weekend escape for busy Londoners looking for a …
