Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
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 …
At the entrance to Manila Bay lies an island that has seen the battle lines of World War II. Due to its strategic location Corregidor Island was used and re-used by American and Japanese forces as a battle base for their Pacific and Asia campaigns during the war and has since become an important piece …
Why did I come to Bohol? I could have gone to Boracay for the white sandy beaches, or Palawan for the unspoilt nature. However, we chose Bohol, because I wanted to meet the smallest primate in the world and Will wanted a piece of the Chocolate Hills. We stayed in the main city (town) Taglibaran …
Cebu had been an adventure. Many visit only to stay on the small side island of Mactan to enjoy the sandy beaches and its five star resorts, but we chose to stay in the city centre, as I heard, it is a city only to be experienced full on. It was Christmas day when we …
I’ve been avoiding Christmases for the past five years, mostly by travelling to non-Christian countries because I don’t really agree with the commercialisation of any religious/cultural events. (Despite the effort, I still found Santa in Brunei!) This year will be the first year that we’ll travel to a predominantly Christian country and it got me …
Everyone is talking about Lonely Planet’s Top Destinations for 2014. Not surprisingly, they’ve dished out under valued destinations around the world to try to give them a bit of a boost, which I think doesn’t always work with the travellers and the general public, because different people have different perceptions of what makes a destination …
A book by William Dalrymple Some say, William Dalrymple is the best writer on India, outside India. I don’t really know any better, but he certainly had me enchanted about India by the end of the book. I didn’t really know what to expect when I picked up this book at the local book store. …
A book by Rory Stewart I seem to have developed a fascination with the Middle East and have been selecting to read books related to travelling in the region. Many of the books, including the previous two book that I’ve read – Talking about Jane Austin in Baghdad and One Upon a Time in Beirut …
This week’s #TTOT got me drooling over memories of street food all around the world. The question was more towards the paranoia of bugs and germs in terms of what’s worse: street food or a dirty hotel room? Overwhelmingly, a dirty hotel room was voted the worse out of the two, as most of us …
It wasn’t meant to be, yet I found myself perfectly caffeinated in Fremantle. We had missed the boat to Rottnest Island earlier that day, which was a major disruption to our original plan for the day, so I took solace in coffee at Fremantle’s Cappucino Strip. ‘Freo’, the local nickname for Fremantle, is a short …
To me, there is no experience so enriching, so challenging and so exciting as to travel. My travel experiences are what continue to make me who I am. Of course, not everyone share the same curiosity for other people’s cultures and traditions, and not everyone has the same reasons to travel. I will however, share …
“Are you from Malaysia?” is generally the question Malaysians would ask me whenever I start talking about Kuala Lumpur (KL). I know the city like the back of my hand; I know how to work its public transport system, the locations of the best shopping malls, the best streets to hit up for a good …
Beyond the harbour, the beaches and the expensive real estate that lines our shores, Sydney is a melting pot of cultures. It isn’t immediately apparent if you are only spending a few days in the city, but venture out to many of Sydney’s distinct suburbs, it is possible to eat around the world in a …
Well, I am glad the world didn’t end, as we’ve been having so much fun since the 21 Dec and have had some fantastic experiences out in the countryside of Cambodia since. Tonle Sap, the heartbeat of Cambodia as the locals call it, accommodates many communities that relies on the lake for its water and …
So it’s true. Thrones of tourists (yours truly included) descend upon this ancient Khmer Hindu temple each day. Arriving on a tuk tuk, I was immediately herded along to the entrance, past the children chorusing “buy a postcard from me” and the ladies at the street stalls shouting “cold water ‘mam?” into Cambodia’s most recognisable …
(continued from Chasing festivals around the world in 2013 January to June) JULY Gion Matsuri Old Japanese tradition turn tourist attraction, Gion Matsuri represents the occasion when dignitaries paraded through Kyoto to request the god of plague leave the city back in AD869. The main even happens on the 17 July each year, however you can watch …
There may be different ideas about how to have a party but who doesn’t like a good party? One way to explore and travel the world is to chase the festivals of different countries, cultures and religion. Some of the best times on my trips have been around festivals, which often bring out the spirit …
There is a saying that you haven’t properly experienced Taiwan if you haven’t visited its night market culture. Night markets are the essence of Taiwanese culture and if you are travelling around Taiwan you’d be silly not to experience one! So we took on the challenge and visited as many night markets in Taiwan as …
I am not weird. I just like to step out of the usual tourist attractions and seek for that special something about a place. So I found a hobby – I visit the dead. It’s not just me. A lot of people are doing it as part of their search into someone else’s life. Some …
