Exploring the Isaan wasn’t only about scrambling spectacular Khmer Empire temples at dawn, feasting on fiery northeastern Thai food at local eateries and mouthwatering markets, and absorbing lush bucolic landscapes dotted with farmers tending rice crops and herding cows, Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region is also famous for its silk, another remnant of ancient Angkor, and … Read more
It was a scorcher of a day. We’d tried hard to time our arrival at the ruins of the Khmer Empire era temple of Prasat Hin Phimai, slap bang in the centre of the small town of Phimai in Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region, for the late afternoon. But somehow we’d still arrived early in the … Read more
We left the Khmer temples of Prasat Phanom Rung and nearby Prasat Muang Tam in Thailand’s remote Isaan region, which we’d woken up at 4am to drive to in order to capture the temples at their best at magic hour. And we began our drive back to Korat and another Khmer temple complex, Prasat Hin Phimai. … Read more
Our third morning in Portugal’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Douro Valley wine region began with the now mandatory drive through magnificent countryside, our small bus skirting the edge of the misty valley before climbing up to Favaios, on a plateau which at 600 metres is the Douro’s highest point. Favaios is home to Quinta da Avessada, … Read more
So we’re in the Douro Valley? I’m not sure if it was the three days of intense activity at Wine Pleasures’ International Wine Tourism Conference in Porto, Portugal – watching presentations, live-tweeting, blogging, networking, lunching, drinking and dining, and, on the last day, giving a presentation on Grantourismo. Or whether it was the twelve months of … Read more