A highlight of our time back home in Australia was getting to gourmet foodie weekend Great Barrier Feast at qualia on Hamilton Island for master-classes and meals with Chef Dan Hunter, formerly of The Royal Mail, now running his own restaurant, Brae. Held periodically throughout the year on this tropical Queensland island in the Whitsundays group of 74 … Read more
Yesterday I was chatting about boutique cruises over a glass of wine with a hotelier in Siem Reap, as I seem to be finding myself increasingly doing these days. Not the chatting about boutique cruises bit, but the chatting over glasses of wine. I’ve come to the conclusion that the more you travel the more … Read more
The best parks and gardens in the world include everything from sprawling botanic gardens with lakes and ponds to palm-lined parks that skirt waterfront promenades. If you seek out green spaces when you travel, whether for respite from big city chaos, some exercise or a leisurely stroll, or to spread a picnic blanket out on … Read more
The patchwork of green rice fields and farmland dotted with lofty palm trees warmed my heart when I first got a glimpse of the scene from the window of the plane on our recent approach to Siem Reap last month. If the image above looks familiar, it’s because we posted that snap after our last … Read more
After a couple of months staying in boutique hotels in Siem Reap and Bangkok, we’ve reaffirmed something we’ve increasingly felt over the years and that’s that when it comes to choosing hotel accommodation when we travel, boutique hotels suit us better. We much prefer small local boutique hotels to big bland multinationals. We’ll take more … Read more