Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
“You are going there voluntarily?” asked a few colleagues. Well, yes. Why wouldn’t I? “You do know what they say about Essex?” Yes, in fact I’ve hear plenty of bad rap about Essex, especially the stereotyped ‘Essex Girls’, known to be, as described by Wikipedia, “as females viewed as promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to …
Look what I got in the mail last week…. Lonely Planet’s Toilets – A Spotter’s Guide Now there really is a guide for EVERYTHING! “As any experienced traveller knows, you can tell a whole lot about a place by its bathrooms,” How hard is it to find the toilets? Follow the familiar man/woman sign anywhere in …
Oops, I had missed World Tapas Day. I have been so engaged with eating my way through Italy that I’ve neglected this wonderful eating tradition from the old world of Spain. So, here’s a belated happy World Tapas Day! Earlier this year Spanish Tourism declared the third Thursday of June would be World Tapas Day …
British beaches beautiful and enjoyable? Believe it or not, there are some stunning beaches around England, especially on the south coast! Some pebble, some sand, and some look like they really should be somewhere along the Mediterranean. If you had told me two year ago that I’d enjoy British beaches, I wouldn’t have believed you, …
Italy. One of those great destination for food lovers. And whenever I am in Italy, I just want to eat everything. It was my second visit to Italy on a recent long weekend visit, a country I will always associate with fine arts, impressive churches and incredibly lovable food. Incredibly. My most favourit-est (if that …
The most popular destination in Norther Ireland is the Giants Causeway. The beehive like basaltic rocks formed by volcanic eruptions (a long time ago) on the North Channel (the stretch of water between Scotland and Northern Island). Most people join a day tour and get here by bus, directly from Belfast and back. However, what’s the …
Preparations are under way for this year’s Asian Women Empowerment Conference (AWEConnect 2016), an initiative started by Juno Kim of RunAwayJuno to share and connect with women on work, life and everything in between. I have known Juno virtually for a long time and I had attended the first ever AWE in Kuala Lumpur …
“Thank you for visiting Belfast, it’s good of you to come.” Our AirBnB host couldn’t be more welcoming. We arrived in the wee hours of 2am on a Saturday morning, from a flight that was 3 hours delayed in London and he wasn’t the least bothered. The reassurance that we were in fact, welcome, is …
A while ago I had a chuckle when I saw this ad on the train to work: That’s one way to get your attention isn’t it? It got mine! And that’s how we found ourselves stepping off the train at Portsmouth last weekend. Portsmouth? That’s no where near Dubai! Ok, don’t scream. It’s not Dubai, …
I am going to take you back to the days when the world was still black and white – at the movies I mean – and have you check out this film: Brief Encounter. A station made famous by Brief Encounter It’s one of those oh-so-sad, oh-so-romantic and oh-so-tragic love stories that probably won’t get much …
Harrogate is posh. Posher than any other northern towns we’ve come across. There are beautifully manicured gardens, expensive tea rooms, royal looking buildings…. there’s definitely something in the water here. Ah. Of course. There IS something in the water – sulfur – and it has been used for therapeutic and medical purposes since the Georgian …
This year is a big year for England’s literature greats. Widely celebrated is Shakespeare400 both in Stratford upon Avon and in London, to commemorate the 400th year after his death on the 23 April. However there is one other literary master who also died on this day 234 years after Shakespeare – William Wordsworth. As …
How beautiful was the weather on the weekend?! I can tell you during our trip up north 2 weeks ago it was a completely different story…. Apparently I was mad when I booked a trip up north at this time of the year. “It’s just going to rain the entire time!” Rain, I can …
I am all for supporting local businesses after events of disaster. The December floods last year devastated north England, including the city of York, so when Visit England called upon everyone to #lovethenorth, we responded with booking a train ticket to York. I have a soft spot for history. Ironically, while history wasn’t my best …
Stayed: 1 night, 25-26 April 2016 Room: 9 Price Paid: £69 through discount site Wowcher, inclusive of dinner and breakfast for two You knew I liked trains right? It was only a couple of months ago that we visited York’s Railway Museum and since then I found out there was a hotel where you can stay …
Whitby, a small seaside town surrounded by the North York Moors National Park, is significant to Australia as a modern nation. It was here that Captain James Cook trained as a seaman, who then took on a voyage to map out new worlds and claimed Australia as one of the British colonies in 1770. We …
Stayed: 1 night, 23 – 24 April 2016 Room: 3911 (Superior Shard Room) Price Paid: £435, booked through Secretescapes.com Breakfast: Included That feeling, when you’ve done something that you normally wouldn’t do – like, spend this kind of money for a night’s accommodation – is still lingering in my head 7 hours after checking out of the …
Lisbon is a great city to spend a long weekend in. It is small enough to be explored in 48 hours but not too bland and boring to leave you with nothing to do. Not only that, there’s something for everyone, from foodies to culture lovers to history buffs…. and surprisingly, almost everything was open …
For Easter, we decided to skip the drizzly cold English weather (because Easter always rained) and spent it in sunny warm Lisbon, where we could get by with a light jacket and the southern European sun provided the much needed Vitamin D. In the land of famous things – no, not the footballer! The Portuguese …
With the International sanctions lifted in Iran, more and more people are considering a trip to explore this fascination country that has been shrouded in mystery and bad press. However, Iran has always been a tourist destination, being a part of the ‘hippie trail’ in the 60s, those who have been will tell you tales …
On yet another rail journey we left from London Marylebone station, through beautiful country scenes of Warwickshire to arrive at historic town of Stratford upon Avon. Stratford upon Avon is an easy train ride from London Easily reached from London by train, Stratford upon Avon make a great weekend escape for busy Londoners looking for a …
I am, in a railway museum and I love it. I am not a train nerd. I really am not. I don’t know the ins and outs of a train engine, I can’t tell the difference between a R class steam and RC 4 electric, and I certainly do not know the history of train …
It was the year 866AD. The Vikings sailed from the Scandinavian region under the leadership of Ivan the Boneless, arrived and captured Northumbria Eoforwic. They didn’t like the name, so they renamed it to a Viking name Jorvik. Today, this city is known as York (derived from its last Viking name). The viking history of …
Looking for things to do in Kuching? Most international travellers heading to Borneo side of Malaysia think of going to Sabah, and few show interest to venture west into Sarawak, not realising they are missing out! Being the crazy cat lady that I am, I was originally drawn to Kuching for its name – for …
