Stories

The view of Mt Fuji from Lake Ashi is one of Japan’s most iconic sights, but it’s often lost behind mist. At times, Japan’s social boundaries can feel like another kind of mist for visitors, yet accepting them can reveal more of the country, not less.

The Japanese city of Hiroshima was subjected to the most brutal weapon in humanity's arsenal. Join me as I walk around the city and its surrounding areas, exploring how its people, infrastructure, and even its baseball team, managed to rejuvenate so spectacularly.

Balkan countries like Serbia are increasingly popular alternative destinations for many travellers. I visited Serbia's Uvac Special Nature Reserve and the Ledena Pecina caves in heavy storms with a group of uncooperative tour members. Here's what my experience was like.

Onsen are Japan's public baths that are popular with citizens and visitors alike. I didn't anticipate learning the most about Japan while nude, but my onsen dip in Nikko demonstrated how attitudes toward public nudity, body image, and even tattoos differ in Japan.

If you’re drawn to cities that feel like they belong in a Cold War briefing, you’ll enjoy Trieste. Its Art Nouveau façades push right up to the border with former Yugoslavia, it speaks almost as many languages as it has cafés, and it has straddled a century of shifting alliances.

Jeita Grotto is a vast network of Jurassic-era caves just a short taxi ride north of Beirut. They’re open to the public and their scale is staggering: vaulted chambers, electric‑blue lakes, and formations you’d normally have to travel to South America to see.

Hanami is the act of enjoying Japan’s brief blossom season. Between Tokyo’s gardens and a sakura‑goldfish exhibit in Ginza, I saw people enjoying picnics under the trees, people watching the season pass on screens, hurried salarymen missing it entirely.

I spent two days as a guest at a Hindu wedding in Ramnagar, playing cricket between rounds of drums, fire, dancing, and avalanches of hospitality I was absolutely not prepared for. This is what it’s like to attend the grandest destination wedding.

The Sentier de la Lune trail passes through suburban streets and pine forests to reach the magnificent Christian shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. I stumbled up it without GPS past spent bullet casings, beautiful groves, and friendly gardeners.

Argumentative scientists and superyachts could be either an aberration or sum San Diego up entirely. But its skyline soothed me, and the hand‑rolled cigars I bought from a street seller proved you can still enjoy yourself here for twelve dollars.

Udine is the home of world‑class Friulano wine and a city of quiet Venetian elegance, well off the tourist trail. It’s a place for morning coffee rituals, unique Friulian food, easy cross‑border trips, and Alpine adventures that begin at your doorstep.

Warhammer is a cherished tabletop and miniature‑making institution. I took the offer of a tour of Warhammer World as a complete novice and came away a convert, clutching a Kharadron Overlords kit. This is what impressed me most.

More than ten million people visit Venice each year. So many visitors create familiar myths—a city sinking fast under thronging crowds holding their noses. Although theatrical, this iconic place is far less intimidating than many other destination cities.

Venice has a Five Guys, luggage drops, busy architectural masterpieces, and quiet lanes. There are no rules to having a great time here, but a few simple habits make the whole experience easier and more enjoyable, whatever you’ve planned.

Enjoying Venice's splendour without fighting the crowds is as easy as stepping off the main waterways and walking at odd angles, just a little further than most people stray. Far from wasting your trip, exploring Venice like this is delightful.

Luxury hotels in India are a great way to escape the crowds and the noise of the subcontinent, but they can be wonderfully odd. At Namah Resort I got: traditional dancing set to bagpipes, a lifeguard in heavy canvas fatigues, and curried potato faces.

For clear water, easy snorkelling, and great underwater photos on a budget, head to Rhodes. Haraki’s calm bay is ideal for beginners and anyone who just wants to float and admire brilliant fish.

Rawdogging flights is the practice of flying without screens, books, podcasts, or comforts. These are my toughest rawdogged flights and my entirely qualified advice on strategy, seat selection, and surviving on willpower and water alone.

Visiting Agra means dealing with clever scammers, insistent touts, baffling rules, and the occasional moral debate in a moving rickshaw. This is the Agra I experienced—the frustrating kind of trip that nothing can prepare you for.

A 30‑hour train ride across North India sounds exotic until you’re enduring long waits, avoiding scams, and hoping you'll know when to get off. By the time it was over, my trip on the Brahmaputra Mail became an unexpected guide to surviving long train journeys in India.

Delhi’s winter air quality can reach 20 times the World Health Organization safe limit and is some of the poorest on the planet. I drove straight into it. This is the story of a taxi journey from the rural north into India's capital city, where pollution is one of the biggest killers.

India tests you before it lets you in, especially when celebrating Republic Day—the annual commemoration of the country adopting its constitution in 1950. My arrival that morning, after three days without sleep, became an initiation I won’t forget.

My train journey from Delhi to Agra on the Hirakud Express started in the pre‑dawn crush of New Delhi Station. Read on to see why travelling between India’s major cities by train is chaotic, memorable, and challenging—yet far more rewarding than flying.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute preserves the legacy of Tenzing Norgay and the early Everest expeditions. Explore its exhibits on Himalayan geography, the Great Trigonometrical Survey, and the climbers who shaped mountaineering history.

My farewell trip out of Lebanon showed me its contradictions. One minute I was being charmed by a kickboxing concierge, the next I was beside an expat happily defending Bashar al‑Assad who casually mentioned she’d been to a party at Carlos Ghosn’s place.

I attended a Greek Orthodox wedding and partied with Syrian guests from Homs. Middle Eastern and European cultures came together in Lebanon—an unlikely country for a destination wedding that changed my view of the Levant.

In a bamboo carving workshop in Sìchuān, a craftsman studied me for all of five minutes before carving a pendant that rewrote my personality in two lines—equal parts Sun Tzu, affection, and gentle humiliation.

In 2024, a direct train linked Italy to Croatia for the first time in over 90 years, slipping through the limestone hills of Slovenia. The beautiful route was an economic failure and wasn't reintroduced in 2025. Ride it with me to find out why.

I travelled to Chóngqìng to experience authentic Chinese dining etiquette, and instead found myself drinking baíjiǔ before lunch and learning more about the country’s hospitality than any guidebook could teach.

Darjeeling Zoo offers close‑up views of rare Himalayan species, including snow leopards, for which it leads the world in conservation work. Explore its role in protecting endangered wildlife and why it’s a rewarding stop for travellers and photographers.

New Delhi’s Rajpath, officially Kartavya Path, runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate along the Central Vista. Designed by Edwin Lutyens, it makes a beautiful evening walk through lawns and fountains to absorb the city’s imperial history.

Huánglóng National Park, also known as Yellow Dragon Valley, features gorgeous multicoloured pools. Reaching it involves climbing to 4,000 metres, passing through misty forests and a surreal market devoted to fungus products.

Indian Railways overnight journeys vary wildly. I went to bed tired and harassed on the Agra–Ramnagar night train, finally slept for the first time in three days, and woke in the jungle, breathing cool mountain air near Jim Corbett park and the Himalayas.

From Udine in northeast Italy, it's an easy day trip to get to the Julian Alps. A cable car will take you up Monte Santo di Lussari and the region boasts fantastic views of Jôf di Montasio. Here’s what it’s like to make this alpine day trip.

In summer 2023, a major wildfire on Rhodes forced the evacuation of around 19,000 people and damaged homes and businesses. I was there in the days before the evacuation. This is how the rising heat and falling ash marked the end of my stay.

Croatia’s Dalmatian coast gets most of the attention, but Rijeka offers scenic hikes, World War II history, and seafront dining—if you don’t mind a little gritty industrialisation in the mix. Here’s how I spent a day getting to know this underrated port city.

A tiger safari in Jim Corbett offers striking views and the chance to see rare wildlife, but unclear licensing and troubling animal treatment complicate the experience. Read my full account to decide if the adventure is worth the time, money, and moral cost.

“Chóngqìng is home to China’s iconic hot pot. I came to learn about the origins of this famous dish, but the meal took a turn when a jilted lover burst into the restaurant and started waving his nunchaku around.

You can travel between the Greek island of Rhodes and Türkiye on the daily Rhodes–Marmaris ferry. It’s a pretty crossing, but a very difficult pleasure cruise thanks to the queues, touts, and savage heat.

A walk through a local supermarket in Héféi became an unexpected crash course in Chinese culture. Wander the aisles with me to explore attitudes toward fresh food, booze, and the very different ideas of acceptable body types for men and women.

Visit the Shangri-La of transactional sex. Reeperbahn is Germany’s most notorious red‑light district, made iconic by the Beatles. My night there involved drinking alone and smoking cigarettes by the River Elbe, with the city’s noise fading behind me.

Jiǔzhàigōu National Park is home to dazzling multicoloured lakes and are deep in Tibetan and Chinese heritage. Join me as an unlikely foreign tourist on a group tour through Sìchuān's dramatic valleys and wildlife.

Guāshā is a traditional East Asian healing therapy where flat stones are scraped across the skin to release tension and improve circulation. Share in my experience with this intense ritual.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s fourth‑busiest land border, links San Diego with Tijuana. Cross it from America with us for breakfast in Mexico and see how sharply the two countries diverge.

Darjeeling is a hill town famous for its tea and mountaineering culture, shaped by the Raj and long‑established Himalayan communities. Discover the best sights in town, great places to eat and drink, and the layered history behind its distinct character.

Hamra Street is a famous lane and cultural centre in Beirut. Discover its early history, French influence, street art, and nightlife on an east-to-west walk through the city to the sea.

Lebanon is a gorgeous country in the Middle East that’s open to Western visitors. But it also faces deep economic and political challenges that travellers should be aware of. Here’s what you should know before you go.

The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his consort Mumtaz Mahal, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a monument to love and loss. Explore how it embodies romance and what it’s like to visit as a Western tourist on his memorial day.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a narrow-gauge train and UNESCO World Heritage Site built in 1881 that takes passengers up 7,000 feet into the Himalayan foothills. Join us on the 8-hour trip and enjoy what this famous attraction offers visitors today.