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Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

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An Update from the Road – and Sky and Sea. Sheep grazing in the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

An Update from the Road – and Sky and Sea

We thought we owed you an update from the road, an explanation as to why we’ve been slow blogging on Grantourismo lately, before we get back into the swing of things and get up to speed with our posting.

Travel writers and bloggers continually complain that one of the biggest challenges is finding balance between work, travel and life. We’re no exception. We’ve been travelling even more intensively than usual lately, which has left little time to breathe, let alone post. Our travels have taken us to remote places, from Milford Sound to Malaysian Borneo, including ten days at sea where we had little or no Internet.

What’s been terrific about a lot of our travel is that it has been solely for Grantourismo. People are increasingly inviting us on trips to blog about their destinations. Inevitably we’ll turn those experiences into stories for print publishers, because that’s still our main source of income, but what this means is that you’re more likely to read about our travels here first, and if you follow us on Twitter at @gran_tourismo you’ll hear about our adventures even sooner.

Not all trips we get invited on are a good fit, mind you, and we decline a lot because they don’t align with our travel values or match our interests – slow and sustainable travel, local travel, experiential travel (just in case you forgot). But these are the ones that have worked for us. In other words, this is what we’ve been up to lately and we’re looking forward to sharing these journeys with you very soon here on Grantourismo.

AUSTRALIA

We’ve spent a lot of time in Australia over the last year, somewhat unexpectedly, for a combination of family reasons and work. From our base at my uncle’s Bendigo home, we bounced around the country, to Melbourne, where we spent much of our time, mainly for magazine stories; to Brisbane, to take the six-day Southern Spirit train journey as guests of Great Southern Rail; to Adelaide, where the train deposited us so we could revisit our favourite Australian foodie city, wine region (Barossa Valley) and island (Kangaroo Island), courtesy of South Australian Tourism; to the Pacific paradise of Lord Howe Island, thanks to Lord Howe Island Tourism, who helped make it another of our favourite islands; to Hamilton Island for Great Barrier Feast* with Chef Dan Hunter, where we were guests of qualia and Hamilton Island; and to Perth (twice) for magazine stories (as well as to visit my Mum), and we have Tourism Western Australia and Tiger Airways to thank for assistance with those trips.

Sydney – the hometown we hadn’t spent much time in for many years – lured us back for some magazine stories late last year, and again a few months ago for a Destination NSW social media project. We have more Sydney stories to come from both trips. After that project, we stayed on for five weeks to pet-sit for our dear friends and stayed on a bit longer after they returned to spend time with them, and, well, okay, we admit it, their cats, who we couldn’t face leaving. We spent a tasty weekend in Orange, New South Wales, now another favourite food and wine destination, to visit my uncle and scout out potential stories, and we have Taste Orange to thank for delicious experiences there. We’ll continue posting on Sydney and the rest of Australia from tomorrow onwards.

MALAYSIA

We left Australia for Malaysia, primarily to do a 10-day Orion Expedition around the northern tip of Borneo, as guests of Orion, while Air Asia provided our flights. It was our first proper cruise and you can read our pre-trip reflections here and here. Aside from our luxurious stateroom – and the thrill of finding an invitation card on our door that said “The Captain requests the pleasure of your company for dinner at his table tonight…” (!) – we enjoyed the abundant wildlife, cruising tranquil rivers, visiting traditional villages, and making new friends, and we were continually touched by the tragic stories of lives lost during World War II that we learned about at Sabah’s many war memorials.

Pre- and post-cruise, Sabah Tourism gave us guides and drivers and hosted our stays in Tawau and Kota Kinabalu, where we seemed to spend most of our time hiking through forests, marvelling at colossal trees and teensy orchids, and eating our way through markets. We spent four days in Kuala Lumpur, doing even more eating while gathering stories for a Tourism Malaysia project, before Selangor Tourism whisked us away to discover Kuala Lumpur’s closest region yet the one most neglected by overseas visitors. Highlights included a farm stay, exploring Malaysia’s largest Little India in Klang, and visiting a mosque during Ramadan prayers.

NEW ZEALAND

An offer too good to refuse drew us temporarily away from Asia: an 8-day trip to New Zealand as guests of Air New Zealand and Relais and Chateaux, who invited us to experience their New Zealand Route du Bonheur (Road of Happiness) and created a journey for us travelling with Air New Zealand between four of their luxury lodges: Huka Lodge near Lake Taupo, Matakauri Lodge just out of Queenstown, Wharakea Lodge on Lake Wanaka, and Otahuna Lodge, near Christchurch. We joked that we must have been the last two Australians to visit New Zealand and after each day’s adventure we were wondering why we’d left it so long.

It was an extraordinary trip that saw us learning about modern Maori culture and trout fishing on misty Lake Taupo, tasting our way through all the gorgeous grape varietals of the Central Otago wine region, flying to Milford Sound on a light plane to cruise through the dramatic fjords, hiking up an island on Lake Wanaka to see another lake with an island, being collected by helicopter from a beach on that lake for a spectacular flight up to a chalet overlooking Mount Aspiring and Mt Cook for lunch, exploring the beautiful lush green Canterbury region, and visiting Christchurch, to discover the resilient city is reassuringly very much back in business.

We tweeted on Twitter about our New Zealand adventures during the trip but if you missed out on those, we’ve got a series of stories coming soon on Grantourismo. We’ve also popped up a post on Kiwi Sceptics campaign here and would love to know what you think about that. Have you been to New Zealand? If not, why not? Are you a New Zealand sceptic?

BANGKOK

And now we’re back in Bangkok, one of our favourite cities in the world, and the city where we’ve probably spent the most time after Dubai. We’re not here to finish our Hedonist’s Guide, which will be released with the re-launch of Hg2 apps late in the year. So, yes, we’ll return again to update the unpublished manuscript before then.

We’re actually here for 10 days to have that $10,000 holiday you helped me win – the first thing I’ve ever one in my life, and the first “holiday” we’ve had in a long time – when I participated in the Sony Australia ‘No More Bad Photos’ contest. (Read about that here and here.) But of course you already noted my use of punctuation there, because this isn’t entirely a holiday. I have to re-take my photo of Buddhist monks using the brilliant Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V camera which Sony gave me, and the equally clever advice of our readers.

Between now and then I’m planning to do some things in Bangkok that will give me a chance to play with the camera’s functions and have a go at some of those things you suggested I try. You can follow us on Twitter @gran_tourismo where I’ll use #NoMoreBadPhotos for my Sony holiday tweets and if you’re not on Twitter, then you’ll be able to read our series of posts on our Sony trip in a few weeks. But for now, well, we’re in Bangkok, so that means it’s time to go out and eat…

Pictured above: Sheep grazing in the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. Copyright 2014 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

  • The next Great Barrier Feast with Chef Martin Boetz takes place from 14-16 September 2012. Details here.
Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Keith Kellett says

    September 8, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    ‘Captain requests the pleasure of your company …?’ … you mean you had to eat with the crew? :D

    Joking apart, sounds like a great few months, & looking forward to reading all about it.

  2. Lara Dunston says

    September 9, 2012 at 11:56 pm

    Ha! Ha! Well we did eat with the “crew” (i.e. Captain) that night, and again later in the trip when he asked *me* to organize a table for his last night on board (they were swapping Captains), so that was quite a privilege. I felt like I was on the Love Boat.

    It was good fun! I now get a lot of things about cruising that I didn’t understand before. Thanks for dropping by, Keith! Need to get over and catch up on your posts now :)

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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