Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
It has been two years since I went to the Maldives. It isn’t a trip I usually would take, as the destination is mostly associated (by marketing) with luxury resorts that are more popular for romantic holidays and honeymoons rather than the scruffy someone like me, who loves the wide open outdoors of the mountains. …
“Madam! Madam!” the concierge was chasing after me as I walked towards the escalator, red faced and dripping sweat. “Did you know we have a gym in the hotel?” “Yes,” I smiled, aware of the many eyes on me now. “You don’t have to run outside. It’s so hot!” I realised his concern and laughed. …
I know, it’s way to early to talk about Christmas. In fact, it would normally be me complaining about the shop front decorations that seems to be appearing earlier and earlier each year. It’s not that I am a Grinch, but Christmas has never been all that special to me. Getting dragged to Christmas masses …
Is there a secret London many of us don’t know about? I recently read Charles Dickens’ Night Walks and The Uncommercial Traveller, a series of essays based on his walks around London. Known to be an insomniac, he described the London he saw, from Haymarket, which he describes as “the worst kept part of London” (Uncommercial …
Some of you may remember, I first ‘picked up’ a healthy obsession with cycling just under a year ago. Not that I didn’t ride a bicycle when I was younger but to properly cycle for longer distances than just a round trip to the shops was a new thing for me, and it hasn’t been …
Lining up on Wednesday night outside London’s Phoenix Theatre waiting to be admitted into a musical when the rest of the England gathered to shout at the TV screen for 90 mins was an experience in itself. It was as if we were defying the norm, and had chosen to be the outcasts of society. …
It’s always exciting to attend a murder trial. Is it a murder? To be honest, when I first stepped into court I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was summoned for jury duty, with no background knowledge (because I didn’t really do my homework) on the back story. But that turned out to …
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 …
Having lived in this city for almost three years now and it has never ceased to surprise me. There is always something being transformed, being created and re-created and the way Londoners are so blase about stuff happening around them seems to indicate change is nothing new. Try wearing your loudest shirt or a pikachu …
Ok, it might be a little late for those not already in Europe to consider, but Eurovision is upon us in a few days and as Ukraine won last year’s song contest, the event will be held in the country’s capital – Kiev – this year. If you are still thinking about going along, here’s …
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 …
Tourist attractions can be really expensive. Once you have paid all the entrance fees to the things you want to see, you can easily spend your entire trip’s budget just in one day! So on our most recent trip to Hong Kong, we wanted an alternative to visiting The Peak – the observation platform sitting …
Taipei is getting ready to host this year’s Universiade, and earlier this year has launched a double-decker, hop-on, hop-off city sightseeing buses around the city. Although, personally, I’ve never really enjoyed these fixed destination tourist buses, and everywhere we go, we try to use local public transport to get around. Just like in London’s red …
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 …
Tourists generally come to London and spend a few days battling crowds of their own kind in and around the major attractions: Westminster Abbey, the Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the entire strip down Regent Street from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, maybe venture to St Paul’s, maybe nose around Soho …
I have always been a big advocate for public transport, whether at home, or on the road. Public transport to me, is a way to travel and to experience a place like those who live there. We are always complaining about being treated like tourists wherever we go, yet, many still book themselves onto tour …
I was in Prague 13 years ago, and I swear I could see the cobble stones that paved the way on Charles Bridge then. I could see where I was going. I didn’t have to push through thrones of bodies just to see the Astronomical Clock. I could walk normally, in my own strides, not …
Knowing very well that Prague was going to be in absolute tourist chaos, en-route from Bratislava to Prague, we decided to stop over at Czech Republic’s second largest city Brno to experience a quieter Czech life. We arrived by train, and just as we alighted in Bratislava, we were the very few non-locals getting off …
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 …
I have previously told you about Surbiton, the little corner of London I have called home for the past two years. I love it, and one of the reasons is that I was close to Kingston upon Thames, a ‘town’ with Saxon roots that make it feel more German than Britain. From Surbiton, we can …
Besides Berlin, Dresden is the most popular destination in the former East Germany. Not only does it has (officially documented) Germany’s oldest Christmas market in town, the city used to be called Florence on the Elbe, as the city is known for its beautiful architecture and a grand collection of art treasures. Today, the city …
