Category: Travel Article
-
Isle of Man
Mainland England has endured heatwave after heatwave this Summer. Flowers have lost their bloom, grass is short and shrivelled, leaves drooping and lifeless. Time to escape to a wetter cooler place but not a million miles away. The Isle of Man is one of the UK’s Crown Dependencies, like the Channel Islands of Guernsey and…
-
Moldova
I am guessing that Moldova is the not first country that springs to mind when contemplating a trip to Europe. But I have just been visiting Romania, ergo, it is an easy step to cross its eastern border into this relatively unvisited country. It was, in fact, once part of Romania, and Romania still has…
-
Romania, Part 3: the Black Sea and the Danube Delta
Constanţa I am heading out of the capital now to make my way eastwards to the Black Sea. I take the metro to the Gare de Nord railway station (yep that’s right ‒ named after the French station in Paris). Grimace as I eye the queues at the ticket desks. An employee with kindly countenance…
-
Romania, Part 2: Transylvania
I am on a journey in Romania. Sated with the sights of Bucharest, it is time to venture into its wildish hinterland to view the highlights of the enigmatic region of Transylvania. Not much sleep was had last night. Thumping music carried on until at least 03:30, making the fabric of this old palace hotel…
-
Romania, Part 1: Bucharest
Spring just never seemed to arrive in England this year. Day after day of dreary drizzle. Activities, which might normally rouse the passions, palled. Time for a trip to an undiscovered country, undiscovered by me anyhow, to rekindle the spirit. Things natural: mountains, water, forests. How about Romania. That should do the trick. It has…
-
Vietnam
Hanoi Hanoi. A charmingly chaotic city full of fascinating features, from the alleyways of the old quarter and its temples, to the grandiose buildings of the old French quarter. This capital city of Vietnam has been on my bucket list for some time. It is situated on the Red river, around which the ancient city…
-
The Falkland Islands, Part 2
Battlefield tour I am joining a battlefield tour today with the same knowledgeable chap, who we soon find out, has guided several TV crews and military experts and veterans. We are going to go up as far as San Carlos, where the troops were landed, back past Darwin, Goose Green, various memorials around those places,…
-
The Falkland Islands, Part 1
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Falklands. A friend inscribed in a copy of his book, ‘Falkland Islands Shores’ for me thus: ‘Please visit these beautiful islands’. That was before Argentina invaded and occupied the islands in May 1982 and the subsequent war with Britain. 43 years later and I finally get here.…
-
Chile, Part 3: Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Ana Te Pahu Our first stop today is at an area of collapsed lava tubes with gaping mouths. Inside the main cave here, Ana Te Pahu, after which the site is named, bananas are growing. The leaves poke out of it. Some bunches of green bananas droop from its branches. Also vines are grown in…