Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
It’s approaching my 6 months anniversary of being a resident here in the UK. Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun? Remember how I was both excited about and dreading the move to London? A couple of months ago, a friend asked me how I was and what I liked and disliked about the UK, …
It’s first of March! It’s first day of Spring! Well, for the northern hemisphere anyway, and it has been warmly welcomed. Not that winter had been all that bad. Apparently it was the sunniest winter in England for 90 years. Sunniest! Can you believe it? And they say winter in England is horrible. I had …
It’s been a running joke at work, because no one so far has done it this way round, that I had moved to the UK because I preferred the weather. I have (officially) been here for a couple of weeks now and have seen the weather turn from beautiful to horrid, most times within a …
I thought I’d write a follow up post to pair up with what I wrote last week on In Defense of the ‘Tourist’. As I said, you can’t avoid being the tourist, but you can avoid being that tourist. Even the most touristy destinations have local areas that will give you an insight into the …
Street food does exist in Europe, and in Germany where the society is used to the concept of ‘take away’ snacks, it is no wonder that there are countless of these wurst stands all over the country, selling variety of sausages and meats stuffed in a bread roll, just enough to fill the gap between …
It’s been nice. Our little apartment in Bonn. We packed up, cleaned it spotless and gave the keys back. The door closed with a loud thud behind us marking the end to another chapter of our travelling life, and what a fantastic couple of months it has been Living in Bonn has been a different …
We went for a walk yesterday in a quiet and serene part of the neighbourhood, where the grass is green and the ground covered by flowers. Its residents never make a sound, and some often prove to be great listeners to all one’s concerns and troubles. Many come here to sit and listen, to the …
We have settled into our Bonn apartment, our home for the next two and a half months. The excitement of moving somewhere new gave us a wave of adrenaline rush as we battled with jet lag, and as soon as we dropped off our bags, shook hands with the landlord and had a quick bite …
Hallo. Grüsse aus München! It has been ten years since I last set foot in Munich. Not much has really changed but at the same time it is now a different place. The city is still beautiful, with Marienplatz and its Rathaus-Glockenspiel the centre of it all, with the exception that now I must share the cobble-stoned …
[Feature image source: Morgue File. Credit to: muvuca] Some people like sunrises, some people prefer sunsets. Some, doesn’t understand why anyone would be impressed by either, as our trekking guide in Thailand wondered “why you tourists always want to watch sunrise and sunsets? It happens everyday. If you miss today, it’ll be there again tomorrow.” …
Before I met my husband, I have always been the solo traveller. I loved the freedom, the independence and the possibilities of solo travel and I have had no regrets. I was loving it so much that it didn’t occur to me, until last year’s Asian Women’s Empowerment Conference, that many women don’t travel solo, …
I’ve been avoiding Christmases for the past five years, mostly by travelling to non-Christian countries because I don’t really agree with the commercialisation of any religious/cultural events. (Despite the effort, I still found Santa in Brunei!) This year will be the first year that we’ll travel to a predominantly Christian country and it got me …
Everyone is talking about Lonely Planet’s Top Destinations for 2014. Not surprisingly, they’ve dished out under valued destinations around the world to try to give them a bit of a boost, which I think doesn’t always work with the travellers and the general public, because different people have different perceptions of what makes a destination …
We’ve been talking about the concept of ‘trust’ at work lately. We learned that ‘trust’ is the only thing that can change everything. At work, it’s all about internal trust between colleagues, as well as building a trusting relationship with our clients, however I think this concept can extend to any situation and have found …
One of my favourite things about travel is being able to make friends anywhere and everywhere. In this picture I was on Isla del Sol, one of the many islands on the famed Lake Titicaca bordering Peru and Bolivia. They had originally approached us to ask us if we wanted to buy their bracelets. Having …
Winter has always been a fascination of mine, especially snow. We don’t get a lot of winter and snow here in Australia, especially in Sydney, where we get mild winters and virtually no spring and autumn as transition between the extremes. So, I was naturally attracted to snow, and I had plenty of it during …
The last two booked I reviewed: A Moveable Feast and Female Nomad and Friends both have a focus on food around the world. I am a big fan of world cuisine, especially street food and traditional snacks, and I often try my hand at making them through local cooking classes. However, we all know that food …
This was taken at the Alter Brucke (the Old Bride) in Heidelberg Germany. They say that by rubbing the mirror the monkey was holding will guarantee my return to Heidelberg again and again. My wish came true three years later, when I took my now husband on a tour of Germany (on our way back …
2003, summer. I was on a bus between Germany and Czech Republic and we came across this field of blooming sunflowers. I’ve never seen a sunflower field (of this size) so I couldn’t resist a photo opportunity. I remember it was a fine sunny day with a pale blue sky, and as I stood among …
I have previously written about my love of street food, and my experience at creating culinary delights at cooking schools, there is no doubt that food is a great motivator (on top of culture, tradition, history and people) for me. It isn’t always just about the food, but the tradition and practices that come with …
Oh dear. I just cried in public again. It’s the fourth time this week (and considering there are only five working days a week it’s not a good record) and I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve been reading this really sad book called The Story Teller’s Daughter, an emotional (and funny) story about a daughter …
Have you ever arrived at an attraction, after much anticipation of seeing it and feeling it and thought… “WTF?” I felt that when I saw Pis. Yep, the little Pis of Brussels. It took me a bit of time navigating the back streets of the city from central station, through unmarked cobble stoned lanes and …
My posts in the past week have been a bit grim, so I thought I’d write on a lighter topic today and talk about my second favourite animal: monkeys. (My first favourite are cats, if you haven’t figured that out already ;-)) I was born in the Chinese zodiac year of the monkey and so …
I’ve spent the past three days in bed, lethargic from lack of eating, suffering from a stomach virus I picked up I don’t know where. There is nothing like a stomach virus that reminds me of being on a great holiday. Seriously. All of the fantastic trips I’ve had in the past, all those days …
