“He knows not where he’s going, For the ocean will decide, It’s not the destination, It’s the glory of the ride” Edward Monkton, Zen Dog I have often been asked how I choose destinations I travel to. It’s not…
Highway Stories in Uganda
On the road again Goin’ places that I’ve never been Seein’ things that I may never see again And I can’t wait to get on the road again (On The Road Again, Willie Nelson) Christmas Eve and we were on…
The Art Has Its Reasons
The immigration officer at Mumbai looks at my boarding pass and wants to know where Yeravan is. I tell him it is in Armenia. He ponders for a while and then asks me where Armenia is. I explain its geographical proximity to…
Bohemian Rhapsody
Looking out from the balcony of our apartment in Old Town Vilnius, I could not have been more delighted. For down below, alongside the road that bordered the Old Town, flowed River Vilnele and across it a bridge that led…
The Spirited Train to St Petersburg
“He’s a liar,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Lonely Planet’s Russia Guide that my sister held in her hand while responding to her question on the safety of drinking water in St Petersburg. “I don’t think he has…
Blue Eyes Don’t Lie
It was oddly weird (or weirdly odd?) to be sitting alone in the city square of a magical foreign destination waiting to be propositioned by a drug peddler. After all I was up in the Rif Mountains, the main hashish…
Passion with Compassion
As the waves gently lapped the rocky shores and the sun set on another gorgeous day in Koh Lanta, I sipped on my lemongrass margaritas and watched nature’s brush paint gorgeous colours against the skyline. It was a surreal setting…
Of Laundry Lines and Ghost Cars…
It’s interesting how some towns define themselves for you by a certain quirkiness. It’s Sunday morning in Split, Croatia. As I do on Sundays in many little towns on my travels, I find a church I can go to.…
Memorable Acts of Travel Kindness
In the midst of spring cleaning a few weeks ago, a little yellow note fell out of a travel notebook I had carried on a trip to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia some years ago. “Dear Guests,” it read,…
Mountains of Faith and Blessing
“Thank you, Lithuanians, for this hill of crosses which testifies to the nations of Europe, and to the whole world, the faith of the people of this land.” Pope John Paul II, Hill of Crosses, Lithuania, September, 1993. It did…