'finding solace without internet & smart phones' cuba is one of those places that is on many a travellers list but for some reason they never reach and the capital havana has to be one of the most magical cities that i have ever been to, let me explain... when you first arrive at havana airport it's like like have been transported to a bygone era of brightly coloured cars & even more colourful people. It can be quite overwhelming but make sure to take a few seconds to catch y

two missed flights, lost luaggage & alot of cherry baklava the southern balkans region has been in my radar for a long time & while i visited croatia, montenegro in 2017 i never quite made it to the southernmost states. well, 2019 was the year that i finally made it to albania, macedonia & kosovo but not without its initial hiccups. coming from brno in the czech republic the nearest airport is vienna for flights to the region. we started the journey as normal with a train to

'the north south divide, a tale of two quite different cities' berlin & munich; this was not my first trip to germany. i had been to berlin a few years ago in wintertime but this was summer now so i was defiantly expecting something different. I find in europe that late spring/summer is when people truly have fun, they come out of their hibernation mode & enjoy the few short beautiful months of great weather. i decided that this time i wanted to visit munich as i have heard s

'6 countries, 10,000 km's & a day late. we made it' east africa. Its been a dream of mine for a long time to take one of the most amazing train journeys of the world. the tazara line from zambia to tanzania. a journey of over 3,000km that takes in some of the most spectacular scenery from the deserts of zambia to the vibrant highlands of south tanzania. after three days on the train, we moved on to the tropical paradise of zanzibar before taking in sights of the highest mount

'3 countries, 6,000 km's & a few breakdowns. we made it' our road trip of namibia, botswana & angola was my first epic road trip in a 4x4. i have done motorcycle trips many times in india & vietnam but this time around it was five (then 4) of us taking this epic journey travelling over 6,000km in less than 30 days. it was a journey of good & bad times but mostly good, from the deserts of namibia to the grand plains of the okavango delta its truly one of the most exhilarating

'boasting three times more bio diversity than the amazon' grootbos 5* eco nature reserve was truly a once in a lifetime experience. how do you define luxury? by the material possessions a person has or the experience one has in life, for me its long been the experience. working in luxury fashion & hospitality for over 10 years i have seen a major shift in clients need for an authentic one of a kind experience & i can happily say that grootbos exceeded my expectations in every

'not just the king of the jungle but the people of the rainbow nation' south africa; this was an unexpected journey that changed me in many ways. i had been planning to visit africa for years & 2019 felt like the right time. this vast country has so much to offer from landscapes to wildlife for me it has to be one of the greatest counties on earth. yes, it has its problems from water shortages to crime but if you look beyond the fear promoting propaganda you will find yoursel

'the true beauty of south africa shines through in kruger' Kruger; coming to south africa has always been a dream for me. since i was a kid i had heard stories of this magical country, especially the wildlife. arriving in joburg i decided that my first mission was to get myself to the kruger national park for a safari. i came across a company called kruger wildlife safaris they had some great itineraries for super reasonable prices. so this is where my adventure into the wild

'the land of fire has more to offer than bali' Indonesia; this vast island nation spread over south east asia is one of the top tourist destinations in the world but only because of bali. im here to tell you that bali's time is over its now the turn of flores & java to take centre stage. yes... i know your thinking i'm crazy is bali really over?.. for me as a traveller for sure. this was once the home of backpackers & yogi's alike but has now become more of a vacation spot. a

'a country caught between two cultures' Taiwan; so your thinking why the title? closer to japan than you think? well its quite simple when you visit this beautiful country you will notice straight away that this is a first world country unlike most of asia this to me is not a developing country its a country that has developed rapidly but has been conquered numerous times over its history but i felt that the japanese had the biggest influence on what you see in the country to

'malaysia, cultures bound in beauty & commonality' Malaysia; i always remembered the advertising campaign done by the tourism board of malaysia years ago, malaysia truly asia. at the time it was an interesting catch line but i never thought so much about visiting this country but as i came to realise after a few weeks of being in this country malaysia is truly asia. its a melting pot of different cultures from indian, chinese to portuguese descendants. life here has major con

'paradise islands hopping on a budget' Phillippines, named in honour of king phillip of spain was one of the biggest adventures that i have embarked on in recent years. i arrived to this beautiful island nation with the wide eyed optimism of staying here for the foreseeable future but as in life things tend not to work out as you plan so i decided that after a turbulent few days that i would make the most of this country. arriving in cebu city i really did not know what i was

'myanmar, a country still hidden from the tourist masses' Myanmar has been for me a must place to visit for the last few years after missing out on the opportunity two years ago i was very excited to be visiting this relatively unexplored country in south east asia. although there has been huge news coverage showing the country in a negative light in the past year i can honestly say that this was one of the safest & friendliest countries that i have ever visited. if you visit

'oman | dubai, the desert comes alive with fauna & flora in winter' The middle east was never at the top of my list of places to visit, i really didn't know why but i knew one day the time would come to visit this vast region. on this trip i got to visit the futuristic city of dubai & the lesser know beautiful country of oman. these places have such vast riches to offer in scenery, culture and religion. dubai i started my journey in the gateway to the middle east. this city h

'at the eastern frontier of europe these humble countries are making a splash on the world travel scene' Arriving in kutaisi in the middle of the night from london i couldn't help but wonder what awaited me in georgia, armenia & azerbaijan. i had heard so many stories about these amazing countries that have all gone through a renaissance since the collapse of the soviet union. now georgia seems to have had the biggest impact on tourists due the the government's initiatives fo

'one of the smallest countries in europe has a secret, an amazing wine history' moldova, after having my faith restored in humanity by a nice guy in romania after being left to hitchhike by a renegade bus driver in the middle of nowhere i arrived in the capital of this lesser known eastern european country nestled between ukraine & romania. over the last few years i have been teaching myself about wine going on countless tours to wineries around the world learning about this

'a tiny lake with slovenia's only island that has captured the world's imagination' lake bled is situated in the tiny country of slovenia wedged between italy, austria & croatia. its also the first country in the world to be declared a green destination. as i drove from budapest and entered slovenia i could really see why its been declared a green destination, the landscape looks as if it was plucked from a book of fairy tales. as we drove from the south of the country toward

'the cradle of modern day society has it home in athens' after all these years of travelling, thirteen to be precise. i had never been to greece for some reason it felt like a package holiday destination. but this winter i had the opportunity to visit the capital, athens for a few days before flying home for xmas. the first thing you will notice coming from north america or northern europe in december is the temperature is a lovely 20 degrees. as soon as i arrived i pulled ou

'the former yugoslav republic has come along way since the war' i actually started the tour of the the balkans in the non balkan countries of czech republic and hungary. i wanted to take the night train from budapest to belgrade as i'm a big fan of train journeys. even though this trip was a short one its really a pre cursor to a summer trip that i plan here but since i had a few weeks for free i decided to come here in the winter time. everyone told me only come to this regi

'an unknown natural wonder with epic landscapes' when i arrived from peru crossing the border near copacabana, a lake side resort town where i spent a few hours visiting isla del sol before hoping on my bus (bolivia hop) and making the 4 hour journey to la paz i had limited expectation as i did not hear much of this vast country before. la paz at around 10pm we started to see glimpses of la paz. a sprawling metropolis built from mostly what it seemed like shanty homes and nea