Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
It was the year 866AD. The Vikings sailed from the Scandinavian region under the leadership of Ivan the Boneless, arrived and captured Northumbria Eoforwic. They didn’t like the name, so they renamed it to a Viking name Jorvik. Today, this city is known as York (derived from its last Viking name). The viking history of …
Looking for things to do in Kuching? Most international travellers heading to Borneo side of Malaysia think of going to Sabah, and few show interest to venture west into Sarawak, not realising they are missing out! Being the crazy cat lady that I am, I was originally drawn to Kuching for its name – for …
Most people try to escape winter and go on holidays somewhere warm, in the sun and preferably on a beach and in a resort. Us? No. Seeing that we are finally living in a region where there are distinct four seasons and have proper winters, I am going to take the opportunity to actually enjoy …
It’s Guy Fawkes Day this Thursday (5 November), something that I experienced last year as a fresh arrival, and having just came from a country where fireworks are banned (outside the nation’s tiny capital) it was quite a stir. People freely let off fireworks in their backyards, on the streets and along the riverbanks, …
Come together, right now. Over me. My mother is a big Beatles fan. I am also partial to a good tune by the Fab Four, and visiting Liverpool was somewhat of a pilgrimage, made on behalf of my mother, to the home of the band that made millions of girls worldwide scream their hearts out …
People in their environment have always intrigued me. While meeting them on my travels and taking part in festivals and cultural events form the highlights of most of my trips, I also take a lot of time people watching, observing behaviours and actions as the inhabitants of a place go about their daily routine. …
Two hours train ride away from St Petersburg took us somewhere in complete contrast. Stepping out of the train we were greeted with a bland concrete station building adorned with the Soviet hammer and sickle, and image that told us that we were definitely not in imperial grounds anymore. This was Veliky Novgorod (or simply …
My previous business trips to Moscow had given me a taste of the extravagance of the Russian architecture and their love of showing off, so on arrival in St Petersburg I wasn’t surprised to find a metropolis of grand palaces and elegant gardens, encircled by cathedrals and churches with golden onion domes. We chose to …
There’s much to celebrate about English history this year, one of which is the 500 years of Hampton Court , built by Henry VIII (the one who keep killing his wives for not bearing him sons) which is a leisurely boat ride (or 10 mins by train) up the Thames from where we currently live. …
It’s approaching my 6 months anniversary of being a resident here in the UK. Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun? Remember how I was both excited about and dreading the move to London? A couple of months ago, a friend asked me how I was and what I liked and disliked about the UK, …
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, …
I have been to Moscow a couple of times and will be heading off again in a few days. One of the things I have enjoyed in Moscow (as usual) is the food. You can find any sort of cuisine in Moscow, even an American Diner just a block away from the Red Square (notice …
Don’t be surprised that most of our activities at the Christmas Markets had something to do with food. Well, after all, I do love some market street food! In my opinion, Germans have got the best ‘street food’ culture in Europe, mostly because Europe as a continent just doesn’t really associate itself with street food …
I have been waiting for this moment for ten years, when I am able to finally spend Christmas in Europe and have easy access to the Christmas markets that I loved in Germany. It took an easy hour’s hop from London to Cologne, and we were among Cologne’s four Christmas markets. Markt am Dom The …
I’ve just spent a week in Moscow. Average temperature throughout hovered around -6, the air was super crisp and every breath I took was a steam of confirmation that this was indeed winter. And I loved it. “It’s not the coldest yet!” Said a writer friend in an email to me, when I described how …
If you have been following my journeys for a while you may have noticed that food features heavily in all parts of my travels. I am b y nature fascinated by food, and have realised that what we take on face value of a dish isn’t always what we assume. Similar book review: A Moveable Feast …
I am starting to look into possible travel opportunities around Europe, and many of you know that the Middle East has always intrigued me. One of the first I’d like to attempt is Egypt (because cats were worshiped as Gods in Egypt – you know where this is going ;-)), having spoken about tourist destinations …
While in Limoges, we had the opportunity to take part in the Le Journées Gaulouises de Saint-Gence, (The Gaulouises Day of Saint-Gence), a festival dedicated to the ancient history. This year’s theme was the Roman chariot and military splendors and the entire town was there (which, for Saint-Gence, a small village in the region, isn’t a lot …
I’ve been eating too much. Oh but I have been in food heaven. Not only have I had the opportunity to sample some regional Javanese snacks with Agata from Withlocals where we zigzagged the back alleys of local communities in search of her favourite street snacks and eating at some of the best local eateries. In …
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 …
One of those things that excite me about Europe is the abundance of its history and heritage that surrounds the everyday life, especially from a time when no one can no longer ‘remember’ (seriously, no one is that old!), the time of kings and queens, prince and princesses, and their elaborate castles and palaces. Castles …
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 …
It wasn’t immediately apparent what we should be trying in the Philippines. Filipino cuisine is not like that of the Japanese, Chinese, Italian and India, where there would be a restaurant dedicated for them on every street corner. No one hardly ever hear of trying Filipino cuisine unless you know someone who knows where to …
